Showing 78 items
matching hoeing
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University of Melbourne, Burnley Campus Archives
Photograph - Black and white print, Students Working in Field Station, c. 1950
Black and white photograph. Two students working with hoes in the Orchard.On reverse, "Ted Windsor (sic) Dept of Ag. Students are E (Ted) Winzer CRTS and V.A. (Anne) Tate (1951)."e.winzer, ted winzer, v.a. tate, anne tate, commonwealth reconstruction training scheme, orchard, students working outside -
Stawell Historical Society Inc
photograph - Slides, Ian McCann, In A Hole, 1976 - 1984
Colour Photograp of a back hoe in a deppe trench with a Man looking on. -
Tatura Irrigation & Wartime Camps Museum
Garden hoe, 140's
Used by internees at Camp 3Hoe/mattock. Wide chisel-like edge on one side and slightly pointed edge on the other side of a hoe like head. Square metal shaft attaches head to a wooden handlehoe, mattock, bissinger g, wied g, camp 3, tatura, ww2, domestic, gardening -
Mont De Lancey
Tool - Scarifier, Unknown
A small combined hoe and rake metal headed hand scarifier or cultivator tool with a wooden handle. It has a pointed hoe shape at one end and at the opposite two hooked spikes. It could be used in small areas such as a garden.agricultural tools, tools, rakes, scarifiers, gardening tools, hand tools, hoes -
Beechworth RSL Sub-Branch
Letter - Letter to relative
Letter from Pte B A Bristow commander 2LT A H Ethinage to the next of kin Mrs B A Bristow advising that her husband was missing in actionLetter address to Mrs A.B Bristow 42 West Avenue Road, Hoe St Walthamstowe soldier at war missing in action -
Mont De Lancey
Tool - Hoe, Rake Head, Unknown
A small forged steel combined hoe and rake head hand cultivator tool. It has one flattened hoe shaped edge at one end and at the opposite, three rake prongs, and there is an extension on the head for the wooden handle to be attached. It could have been used in small areas such as a garden in the 19th century..agricultural tools, tools, rakes, gardening tools, hand tools, hoes -
Mont De Lancey
Tool - Hoe, Unknown
Used in the 19th Century A forged steel curved and straight blade headed hoe with a long handmade handle. It was used for chopping into the ground in the late 19th century.agricultural tools, hoes, gardening tools, gardening hoes, steel, wood -
Mont De Lancey
Tool - Fork Hoe, Unknown
A thick forged steel three pronged fork hoe head made by a blacksmith. There is a hole at the fork head where a handle can be attached.agricultural tools, gardening tools, hoes, gardening forks, handtools -
Mont De Lancey
Tool - Fork Hoe, Unknown
A thick forged steel three pronged fork hoe head made by a blacksmith. There is a bent extension piece at the fork head where a handle can be attached.agricultural tools, gardening tools, hoes, gardening forks, handtools -
Kiewa Valley Historical Society
Double Tyne Pronged Pick - head
Possibly used for cleaning out animal pens.eg. horses and pigs. Used like a hoe but heavier and stronger.Used by residents of the Kiewa ValleyThick steel tool head with hole at one end for the handle and two parallel points. Possibly hand made.pick, double tyne prong pick, farming equipment, hand tool -
Mont De Lancey
Tool - Fork Hoe, Unknown
Used in the 19th Century. A forged steel two pronged Forked Hoe head used to break up very hard or dry ground. There is a bend at the top of the fork with a hole for the handle. It was made by a blacksmith and used in the 19th century.agricultural tools, gardening tools, steel, pitchforks -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Slide - RALPH BIRRELL COLLECTION: EIG SCHOOL, c1966
EIG School - Ralph Birrell Collection. - Construction of Latrobe Uni. C1966. Bendigo Institute of Technology, Engineering School, Applied Science. Men working with jackhammers and shovels at their sides. Back hoe in back ground.Kodakeducation, tertiary, latrobe university bendigo, eig school - ralph birrell collection. - construction of latrobe uni. c1966. bendigo institute of technology, engineering school, applied science. men working jackhammers shovels. back hoe -
Greensborough Historical Society
Movie Film, Alan Partington home movies, 1960s
Alan Partington's hoe movies: Reel 1: Football Greensborough; Reel 2: Stawell Gift; Reel 3: Homecoming; Kids at Zoo; Geelong HeatsThree 8mm movie films in yellow card boxes.greensborough football club, stawell gift, geelong heats, alan partington -
Mont De Lancey
Tool - Scarifier, Unknown
It was used on well worked ground.A combined hoe and rake metal headed hand scarifier or cultivator tool with a long wooden handle. It has three curved metal hooks with sharp points and was used to break up the ground. It could be used in small areas such as a garden.agricultural tools, tools, rakes, scarifiers, gardening tools, hand tools, hoes -
Churchill Island Heritage Farm
Functional object - Adze
The adze is an agricultural tool, similar to an axe, but the blade is affixed perpendicular to the handle. Used primarily for smoothing or carving wood, the adze can also be used as a hoe. This adze is missing its wooden handle, which may vary in length depending on their particular purpose and can be designed for one handed or two-handed use. Rusted, well worn, blacksmith made with bias on blade. No handle. An adze is a tool similar to an axe.adze, churchill island, farm, axe, tool, tools, blacksmithing, smithing, blacksmith -
Churchill Island Heritage Farm
Tool - Adze, late 20th century
The adze is an agricultural tool, similar to an axe, but the blade is affixed perpendicular to the handle. Used primarily for smoothing or carving wood, the adze can also be used as a hoe. The wooden handles vary in length depending on their particular purpose and can be designed for one handed or two-handed use. This adze was made by Australian farming company, Hytest.Adze. Long, slightly curved wooden handle, with a steel arched blade perpendicular to the handle. Hytesthytest, adze, axe, tool, tools, farming, farm, churchill island -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.
Machine - Scarifier, 1900- 1940
Lever tyned walking scarifier, pulled by a horse. Designed for use in market gardens and is adjustable so the distance between rows may be varied. These items were on sale between C1900 and C1940 .Its lightweight construction suggests that this exhibits a late rather than an early model. Similar to a horse hoe scuffer used in America.rural industry, agriculture -
Ballarat Tramway Museum
Photograph - Colour Photograph/s, William. F. Scott, 4/12/1995 12:00:00 AM
Colour photograph of installation of new sleepers into access track of Ballarat Tramway Museum, using a backhoe. Taken on 4.12.95. In photo are: Gary Wood (working with shovel), Richard Gilbert (with hat) and Greg Rogers. New sleeper being inserted. Remains of old sleeper by back hoe bucket. Photo appeared on page 22 of Trolley Wire, Feb. 1996.On rear in pencil is 4 inside a circle and stamp with sticker 'William F. Scott/ 4.12.95 23'btm, trackwork, sleepers -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Adze - small
An Adze is versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the sharp cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. The wooden handle is straight and the blade has a slight curve. They are used for smoothing or carving wood such as sleepers An adz, with its long handle, cuts with the grain, and the nature of the chips is different from an axe. While they have a similar shape, they should never be confused with a hoe or mattock used for agriculture and horticulture. Adze - smalltimber tools -
University of Melbourne, Burnley Campus Archives
Album - Black and white prints and negatives, Photograph Collection, 1940-1950
... hoeing ...Collection of 39 photographs. Some photographs with handwritten annotations in what looks like the handwriting of J.L. Provan. Mostly at Burnley, some at Moorabbin. (1) "Opium Poppy 1942 Burnley. Publicity Branch Department of Agriculture." Negative in envelope marked, "Prints 1 of No. 398 Department of Agriculture 'McP.' " (2) Grape vine and cabbages. (3) Rows of seedlings in the Orchard. (4) Orange tree? unpruned. (5) Flowers. (6) "Double and single rows of French Beans." (7) "Sage & marjoram." (8) Hydrangeas. (9)Sprinkler on newly planted cabbages. (10a)"Lettuce Iceberg 1/1/43." Seeds on soil surface. (10b) "Lettuce Iceberg 1/1/43." Seedlings emerging. (11)? planted in terracotta pipes. (12) Rows of seedlings in the Orchard. (13) "A student sowing Parsnip seed in a drill row. School of Horticulture Burnley Gardens." (14) Student distributing fertilizer? (15) Similar. (16) Similar. (17a) Flowers. (17b) Flowers. (18)"Beetroot Crimson Globe." (19) A seed drill. (20)Canna. (21a) Vegetable rows. (21b) ? (22) Student hoeing. (23) Student hoeing. (24) Similar. (26) "Cabbage Burbees Allhead 2/2/43," seedlings. (27) Water, manure, etc. (28) "Celery beds Ray Marriott Moorabbin April 2nd 1943." (29-37) Also at Moorabbin probably: (29) Vegetables. (30) Onions. (31) Vegetables. (32) Planting seedlings. (33) Vegetables. (34) Celery, carrots, turnips on display. (35) Carrots growing and just pulled up. (36) Peas. (37) Ploughing with horse. (38) Student spraying vegetables at Burnley. (39) House?j.l. provan, burnley, moorabbin, opium poppy, grape vine, cabbages, seedlings, orchards, orange trees, flowers, french beans, sage, marjoram, hydrangea, sprinkler, lettuce iceberg, seeds, students sowing, parsnips, school of horticulture burnley gardens, beetroot, hoeing, water, manure, celery, vegetables beds, ray marriott, onions, carrots, turnips, peas, ploughing, horse, spraying -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Adze - Large
An Adze is versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the sharp cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. The wooden handle of this adze is shaped like an axe handle and the blade also has a slight curve. They are used for smoothing or carving wood such as sleepers An adz, with its long handle, cuts with the grain, and the nature of the chips is different from an axe. While they have a similar shape, they should never be confused with a hoe used or mattock for agriculture and horticulture.Adze - Largetimber tools -
The Beechworth Burke Museum
Ceremonial object - Ushabti of Taweret-Khaiti, Circa 1292 BC
Ushabti are tiny anthropoid (human-shaped) figures placed in the tombs of wealthy Egyptians. They were intended to do the work of the deceased in the afterlife. This purpose is implied through their name, which may have derived from the Egyptian word “to answer”. The Burke Museum in Beechworth is home to a particular ancient Egyptian Ushabti figure. This artefact was donated to the Museum in 1875. No details about how it left Egypt, arrived in Australia, and where it was located before this donation are known. The Nineteenth Century, when this artefact was donated, was a period when many museums acquired items of ancient Egyptian heritage. Many of these items were procured in less than desirable circumstances, having often been looted from ancient tombs and sold to tourists without documentation as to their original location and/or accompanying grave goods. These artefacts were also divested through partage (the trading of artefacts for funds); however, the latter is unlikely to have been the case for this artefact. Since the Ushabti was donated by an unknown donor, it is likely to have been in a private collection rather than an institution. Ushabti can be dated using iconographic analysis which is non-invasive and provides a comprehensive study of the artefact. The later period of the 18th Dynasty marked the beginning of an increase in both the inclusion of Ushabti as essential funerary items and the creation of Ushabti with tools. From this period, they are no longer depicted without tools. Depictions of tools including gardening hoes are frequently depicted grasped in the Ushabti’s hands whilst items like the seed-bag are depicted hanging on the back rather than in an alternative position. This Ushabti figure grasps a gardening hoe and a mattock and a small seed bag surrounded by a yoke bearing water jars are depicted on the upper back of the Ushabti. These features are essential in helping narrow this dating to the late 18th and before the early 20th Dynasty. The position of this seed bag also provides dating information. In the early 18th Dynasty this bag was consistently drawn on the front of the figurine; however, by the reign of Seti I, this feature moved to the back. Thus, since the seed bag is located on the back of this Ushabti, it cannot date to the early 18th Dynasty. By the 19th Dynasty, Ushabti’s were increasingly made from either faience or terracotta. The availability of these materials in Egypt resulted in the increase of Ushabti production with tombs containing many more figurines than previously seen. The Ushabti held by the Burke collections is made from terracotta. Terracotta was rarely used for Ushabti before and during the early 18th Dynasty with only the odd appearance until the late 18th Dynasty and becoming common through that period until the late Third Intermediate Period. Whilst the face has been damaged, there is no evidence for the Ushabti having been provided with an Osirian false beard. This omission rules out a dating of later than the 25th Dynasty when beards became prominent. The inscriptions also date the Ushabti to the New Kingdom. This is because of the use of sḥḏ (“to illuminate”) with Wsjr (“Osiris”) which only occurs in these periods. Therefore, considering all these elements, the Ushabti can be confidently be dated to between the late 18th to early 19th dynasty.Artefacts like this Ushabti are no longer exclusively representative of their origins in burial assemblages and significance in the mythology of the Egyptian afterlife but are also significant for the accumulated histories they have gained through travel. The movement of this artefact from Egypt to Australia allows insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century, and in particular, the reception of ancient Egyptian artefacts in small rural museums. The procurement of Egyptian artefacts was a social trend around the late 1800s to early 1900s. Egyptian artefacts were considered curiosities and recognised for their ability to attract public attention to museums. They were also utilised in Australian museums, like the Burke Museum, to connect the collection to one of the oldest civilisations known to man and since Australia was considered a “young” country by European settlers, this was vital and derived from an interest in Darwin’s “Origin of the Species” 1859. Furthermore, there was a culture of collecting in the 1800s amongst the affluent in English society which led to the appearance of many Egyptian artefacts in private collections. The acquisition of this Ushabti figure is not certain, but it was likely donated from a private collection rather than an institution. This particular artefact is significant as an example of a high-quality Ushabti representative of those produced during the late 18th or early 19th century. It provides insight into the individualism of an Ushabti and the mythology of ancient Egypt. It also provides an example of the types of items required in the tomb assemblages of this period and reinforces the importance of ensuring the successful afterlife of the deceased through art. This Ushabti belonged to a woman named Taweret-Khaiti, Chantress of Amun, in the late 18th Dynasty or early 19th Dynasty (c.1292 BC) of the Egyptian New Kingdom. It likely comes from an undetermined tomb in the locality of Thebes. This figure is made from Nile silt clay (a polyester terracotta; clay sourced from the banks of the Nile River) which was a popular material for Ushabti construction in the early 19th Dynasty. It is in a fair state of preservation (with the exception of a break through the centre) and originally made to a high quality. The face has been damaged but the eyes and eyebrows are clearly marked with black ink and the sclera painted white. The Ushabti is painted a light brown/yellow colour and features a vertical line of inscription down the lower front. The Ushabti wears a large wig and and a schematic collar. The arms are painted light brown and depicted crossed with bracelets around the wrists. It grasps a hoe and mattock. A yellow seed-basket is depicted on the Ushabti’s back. These features represent the likelihood that this particular Ushabti was intended to complete farm work for the deceased in the next life. There would have been additional Ushabti of similar design within the tomb who worked under the supervision of a foreman Ushabti. The foreman Ushabti would be depicted dressed in the clothing of the living. The inscriptions are painted freehand in black ink and written in a vertical column from the base of the collar to the foot pedestal on the front of the Ushabti. The owner of the Ushabti could elect to have the figures inscribed with their name, the Ushabti spell and any other details they deemed necessary. In the case of this example, the Ushabti is inscribed with the owner’s details and is an abbreviated version of the standard Ushabti formula. This formula ensured that the Ushabti would complete the desired task in the afterlife when called upon by the deceased. Ushabti which were not inscribed would represent their intended purpose through design; however, this Ushabti, like most made in the late 18th Dynasty, conveys its purpose both through both design and inscription. The inscription is as follows: sHD wsir nbt pr Smayt imn tA-wr(t)-xai(ti) mAa xrw which translates to: "The illuminated one, the Osiris (the deceased), the mistress of the household, Chantress of Amun, Taweret-Khaiti, true of voice (justified)"ancient egypt -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Document - MALONE COLLECTION: GREETING CARDS, 1926
Document. Greeting Cards. Large white card with two holes at the top for hanging. It has a piece of orange cord through it. On the right, printed in silver capitals is: 'Be not afraid only believe Mark. 5.36.'. There is a piece of scroll work on each side of 'only'. On the left is a coloured picture of a brown house with a red roof. In the foreground is a path leading over a bridge to the house. On each side of the bridgeare flowers. On the left is a tree. Nearer the house, on the path is a man using a hoe or similar.person, greeting cards, malone collection, malone collection, greeting cards -
Ringwood and District Historical Society
Photographs, 1979-80 MMBW pipe line project at Hubbard Reserve, North Ringwood � Back-hoe at pit
E560 N6 Dec 1979 A43 The back-hoe works on the beginnings of pit in 39 Burlock Avenue backyard Part of a 43-photo record of the MMBW�s engineering feat in drilling a 12 inch pipe line up to 40 feet deep through rock hardened by volcanic action associated with geological fault that occurs along the line. The work took place from October 1979 to May 1980 on the southern boundary of Hubbard Reserve, North Ringwood. The collection was presented to the Ringwood Historical Research Group by J Clarke on 9th June 1980. -
Southern Sherbrooke Historical Society Inc.
Photograph, Alice and Tom Breen's wedding
Black and White formal wedding portrait. Mrs Alice Breen stands on the left wearing an ankle-length dress with high neck and full-length sleeves. She has a knee-length veil with a floral headpiece and is holding a large bouquet. Her hoes have a small curved heel. Mr Tom Breen is seated on a wicker chair. He is wearing a dark 3-piece suit, a shirt with a high collar, study lace-up shoes and he holds a pair of white gloves. They are in a photographer's study. Both look solemnly at the camera. -
Bayside Gallery - Bayside City Council Art & Heritage Collection
Flag, Evan Evans, City of Brighton flag
The coat of arms on this flag were granted by the British College of Arms in 1970 and represented Brighton City Council's "growing awareness of the importance of formality and correct symbolism in local government". It replaced the council's crest of a pier and yachting scene and was used as council's seal, emblem on its flag and letterhead. The new Coat of Arms, drawn up by the College of Arms in England, depicts the progression from a seaside gardening community to a modern residential city. The prominent forms are on the shield-like coat of arms include waves and a Lymphad (a ship, symbolic of the sea); a market gardener; an aboriginal man; two horns of plenty with abundant fruit and vegetables (the wealth and plenty) and Elster Creek (now Elster Canal). It is underscored by the motto "By their fruits, ye shall know them". Brighton was first incorporated as a borough on 18 January 1859, it became a town on 18 March 1887 and was proclaimed a city on 12 March 1919.Green flag with circular City of Brighton Coat of Arms in the centre. The central circle is white with a yellow edge, with a polychrome coat of arms featuring: the crest which is two cornucopia with fruits and vegetables, above sits a seagull. The mantle above the helmet is in green and gold. The shield is also green and gold with a lymphad (ship) and blue and white waves. The market gardener, holding a hoe, and Aboriginal figure, bearing a boomerang, support the shield and stand upon the compartment which is soil with a representation of Elster creek. A ribbon below contains the motto in blue 'FRUCTU NOSCITUR'.flag, brighton, city of brighton, coat of arms, college of arms, market gardener, aboriginal, elster creek, lymphad, fructu noscitur, armorial bearings, heraldry, cornucopia, by their fruits ye shall know them, motto -
Mission to Seafarers Victoria
Programme, Multicutural Arts Victoria, Mapping Melbourne 2018, 2018
On 6 December 2018, a recurring event was organised at the Mission. From the Multicultural website: "Meeting at the Seafarer’s bridge on the Yarra, you will be welcomed into a little-known site nearby, a sanctuary for seafarers for the last 100 years and a symbol of old-world generosity amidst the rapidly shifting landscape of the Docklands. A journey through the quirky spaces at Mission to Seafarer’s site through a compelling contemporary ritual performance. The Echoes Projects artists evoke fragments of stories embedded in this site through mesmerising live soundscapes, movement and imagery. Ria Soemardjo, Janette Hoe and Pongjit (Jon) Saphakhun collaborate to create an ongoing exploration of contemporary rituals in response to urban sites in Australia. Based in Melbourne, their contemporary performance work draws deeply from their personal connections to Thai, Chinese and Indonesian ceremonial traditions. Featuring Intricate rhythmic compositions inspired by the rich heritage of Indonesian and Middle Eastern musical traditions, performed by Ron Reeves and Matt Stonehouse – two of Australia’s foremost world music percussionists. Note: 7 PM and 8 PM sessions include delicious vegetarian Indonesian food. 9 PM session includes Indonesian and Thai cakes and sweets. You are invited to stay and eat after the performance, drinks available for purchase at the venue. Performers: Janette Hoe – dance artist Pongjit (Jon) Sekhukhune – actor Ria Soemardjo – musician Ron Reeves – musician Matt Stonehouse – musician /instrument maker Supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Grants Program Details: 6 Dec 2018 (Thursday) Sessions: 7 PM, 8 PM & 9 PM The Mission to Seafarers Audience Meeting point – next to the entrance of the Seafarer’s Bridge, Siddeley St, Docklands. Wheelchair accessible venue. Bookings essential. Tickets: $10 – $15 via Eventbrite. Ticket price is purely to pay for the food element. Companion Card ticketing available. Please contact Multicultural Arts Victoria for ticketing options. Companion ticket will allow admission only. The Seafarers Welcome is presented as part of Mapping Melbourne 2018."The Mission has always welcomed artistic events Colour programme of events with illustrationstop right corner: Multicultural Arts Victoria lower left corner: MAPPING MELBOURNE/1-15 DECEMBER 2018arts, events, multicultural arts victoria, the seafarer welcome, echoes project, 2018, cultural events, community -
Forests Commission Retired Personnel Association (FCRPA)
Rakut - Fire rake, Unknown FCV District, c 1952
Bushfire perimeter rather than bushfire area is the main control problem for firefighters on the ground. A conundrum rapidly compounded by spot fires. A small 5 ha fire can be nearly 1 km around the perimeter. That's a long way to build a control line by hand in rough bush. Dry firefighting techniques by hand were mostly confined to “knocking down” or “beating out” the flames, as well as "digging out". Digging or raking a “mineral earth” trail down to bare dirt proved most effective in forest fuels which, unlike grass, tend to retain heat and smoulder. Early tools were whatever happened to be close at hand. They were simple and primitive and included shovels, slashers, axes, hoes, beaters and rakes. A cut branch to beat the flames was often the only thing available. Farming and logging tools, developed over centuries of manual labour, and readily available at local hardware stores came into use, but little thought was given to size, weight, and balance. For years foresters experimented with combination tools. In about 1952 fire beaters and other implements were being replaced with Rakuts.Fire tool used before the introduction of RakehoesRakut - Fire Rake and cutting toolGreen and red coloured handle and 020 marking indicated which FCV District the tool belonged tobushfire -
Bayside Gallery - Bayside City Council Art & Heritage Collection
Document - Certificate, College of Arms, City of Brighton Coat of Arms, 1970
The Coat of Arms, represents Brighton City Council's "growing awareness of the importance of formality and correct symbolism in local government". It replaced the council's crest of a pier and yachting scene and was used as council's seal, and emblem on its flag and letterhead. The new Coat of Arms, drawn up by the College of Arms in England, depicts the progression from a seaside gardening community to a modern residential city. The prominent forms are on the shield-like coat of arms include waves and a Lymphad (a ship, symbolic of the sea); a market gardener; an aboriginal man; two horns plenty with abundant fruit and vegetables (the wealth and plenty) and Elster Creek. It is underscored by the motto 'By their fruits, ye shall know them'. Brighton was first incorporated as a borough on 18 January 1859, it became a town on 18 March 1887 and was proclaimed a city on 12 March 1919.Ink and gouache on parchment with wax seals. Allocates a Coat of Arms to the City of Brighton, by the College of Arms in London on 08/09/1970. The Coat of Arms is located on the upper left quadrant and has the following parts: the crest, the wreath, the helmet and mantle, the shield, the supporters, the compartment and the motto. The crest is two cornucopias with fruits and vegetables, above which sits a seagull. The mantle above the helmet is in green and gold. The shield is also green and gold with a lymphad (ship), and blue and white waves, representing the sea. The market gardener, holding a hoe, and Aboriginal figure, bearing a boomerang, support the shield and stand upon the compartment which is soil with a representation of Elster Creek. A ribbon below contains the motto in 'FRUCTU NOSCITUR'. The certificate text explains the origins of Brighton and the parts of the coat of arms. At the bottom of the folded parchment are three signatures and titles, below which three red wax seals in gold tin containers hang from blue ribbons.coat of arms, certificate, city of brighton, college of arms, market gardener, aboriginal, wax seal, elster creek, lymphad, fructu noscitur, letters patent, armorial bearings, heraldry, seal -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Tool - Hand Adze, A Mathieson and Son, First quarter of the 20th Century
An adze is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes are used for smoothing or carving wood in hand woodworking, and as a hoe for agriculture and horticulture. Two basic forms of an adze are the hand adze (short hoe) a short handled tool swung with one hand and the foot adze (hoe) a long handled tool capable of powerful swings using both hands, the cutting edge usually striking at foot or shin level. Mathieson & Sons Maker: In 1792 John Manners had set up a workshop making woodworking planes at 14 Saracens Lane Glasgow. He also had employed an apprentice Alexander Mathieson (1773-1851). But in the following year at Saracen's Lane, the 1841 census describes Alexander Mathieson as a master plane-maker now at 38 Saracen Lane with his son Thomas Adam working with him as a journeyman plane-maker. Presumably, Alexander must have taken over the premises and business of John Manners. Now that the business had Thomas Adam Mathieson working with his father it gradually grew and became more diversified, and it is recorded at the time by the Post-Office Glasgow Annual Directory that by 1847-1848 Alexander Mathieson was a “plane, brace, bit, auger & edge tool maker” In 1849 the firm of James & William Stewart at 65 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh was taken over and Thomas was put in charge of the business, trading under the name Thomas A. Mathieson & Co. as plane and edge-tool makers. Thomas's company went on to acquire the Edinburgh edge-tool makers “Charles & Hugh McPherson” and took over their premises in Gilmore Street. In the Edinburgh directory of 1856/7, the business is recorded as being Alexander Mathieson & Son, plane and edge-tool makers at 48 Nicolson Street and Paul's Work, Gilmore Street Edinburgh. The 1851 census Alexander is recorded as working as a tool and plane-maker employing eight men. Later that year Alexander died and his son Thomas took over the business. Under the heading of an edge-tool maker in the 1852/3 Post-Office Glasgow Annual Directory the firm is now listed as Alexander Mathieson & Son, with further entries as "turning-lathe and vice manufacturers". By the early 1850s, the business had moved to 24 Saracen Lane. The directory for 1857/8 records that the firm had moved again only a few years later to East Campbell Street, off the Gallowgate area, and that through further diversification was also manufacturing coopers' and tinmen's tools. The ten-yearly censuses report the firm's growth in 1861 stating that Thomas was a tool manufacturer employing 95 men and 30 boys; in 1871 he had 200 men working for him and in 1881 300 men. By 1899 the firm had been incorporated as Alexander Mathieson & Sons Ltd, even though only Alexander's son Thomas appears ever to have joined the firm so the company was still in his fathers' name. In September 1868 Thomas Mathieson put a notice in the newspapers of the Sheffield & Rotherham Independent and the Sheffield Daily Telegraph stating that his firm had used the trade-mark of a crescent and star "for some time" and that "using or imitating the Mark would be proceeded against for infringement". The firm had acquired its interest in the crescent-and-star mark from the heirs of Charles Pickslay, the Sheffield cutler who had registered it with the Cutlers' Company in 1833 and had died in 1852. The year 1868 seems also to be the one in which the name Saracen Tool Works was first adopted; not only does it figure at the foot of the notice in the Sheffield press, it also makes its first appearance in the firm's entry in the Post-Office Glasgow Annual Directory in the 1868/9 edition. As Thomas Mathieson's business grew, so too did his involvement in local public life and philanthropy. One of the representatives of the third ward on the town council of Glasgow, he became a river bailie in 1868, a magistrate in 1870 and a preceptor of Hutcheson's Hospital in 1878. He had a passion for books and was an "ardent Ruskinian". He served on the committee handling the bequest for the setting up of the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. When he died at Coulter Maynes near Biggar in 1899, he left an estate worth £142,764. The firm of Alexander Mathieson & Sons was one of the leading makers of hand tools in Scotland. Its success went hand in hand with the growth of the shipbuilding industries on the Firth of Clyde in the nineteenth century and the emergence of Glasgow as the "second city of the Empire". It also reflected the firm's skill in responding to an unprecedented demand for quality tools by shipyards, cooperages and other industries, both locally and far and wide.Hand Adze or Cooper's adze No 4 A Mathieson & Sons Glasgowflagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, adze mathieson & sons, cooperage tools, woodworking, barrel making, working timber, joiners tools, carpenters tools