Innovations: Humespun concrete pipes

Walter Hume was born in Melbourne and during the Depression found it difficult to gain employment. He and his older brother, Ernest, moved to South Australia and established a fencing business. While investigating a method to remove excess paint from fencing using centrifugal forces, Hume saw the possibility of using a similar method to cast concrete pipes. The brothers formed Hume Brothers Cement Iron Company Limited in 1910 to patent the idea. A spinning mould was designed in which to cast the pipes and the technique continued to be perfected, with wire reinforcement added. When the First World War restricted the availability of the reinforcing wire, Hume sourced discarded wire and recycled it for use in his spun concrete pipes. After the First World War, the availability of these strong and durable spun concrete pipes assisted in making the expansion of irrigated agricultural areas under government soldier settlement schemes possible. In the 1920s Hume's company expanded into the manufacture of steel pipes and the spinning process was used to line the steel pipes with concrete for added strength. This practice is now used throughout the world.