High or low, wooden or metal, multicolored or shadeless – a fence functions not only as a protection but also as the item of home or street design. But sometimes it is a way of self-expression.

In 2006, a citizen of Hamilton Graham Cairns decided to hang toothbrushes on a fence along a quiet rural road running through green hilly landscapes close to Te Pahu. Friends and neighbors joined to this activity, and soon even the Prime Minister of New Zealand hung his toothbrush next to hundreds of others.

For the first time, the fence was decorated by Cairnsom's toothbrushes. “All we need to do is add a few hundred toothbrushes, and people will come here from all over the world to see that, I am sure”, - said the “author of the idea” in an interview with a local journalist. He also compared toothbrushes to tropical fish because they are also “strikingly different in shape and color”. 

More and more toothbrushes were appearing on the road. The fence was decorated not just with toothbrushes, but also kitchen, toilet, and electric brushes. Since that moment, tourists from various regions and countries have left their care items on the fence. Even some celebrities added their brushes to the collection, the most famous of them is, of course, New Zealand's former Prime Minister Helen Clark.

In 2014, the five-meter toothbrush fence was destroyed. The driver lost control while absconding from the police. The car crashed the fence, completely wrecking it and the hundreds of toothbrushes innocently hanging from horizontal wires. The citizens were worried about that problem, and a week later the fence with toothbrushes was reinstalled on its place. 

The toothbrush fence is located along Limeworks Loop Road, close to Hamilton. Do not forget to hang your brush with the others.