The Ewbank Nail

A productive liaison between an American mill engineer and an English merchant, led to the production in Newport, Monmouthshire of one the first effective machine made nails suitable for hardwoods. It had a remarkable run of over one hundred years in use in Australia, where for a long time it was ubiquitous. Subtle changes to the nail profile are particularly useful in establishing a series of threshold dates for various buildings constructed there during the pioneer period and hence assists in estimating their construction dates. The “Starhead”, or “Ewbank” nail, as it was often known, was also exported to China, Chile, India, New Zealand, and other parts of the British Empire, during the latter half of the of nineteenth century, as well as being widely used within Britain.