Note from collector: I love the generous size and thickness of Albany blankets and know someone who collects from this Mill only. The colour shades and combinations Albany used are still so gorgeous. From Western Australia. Note from collector - "For more than 100 years blankets were made all over Australia in over 100 woollen mills. My aim, is to preserve 100 examples of these wonderful pieces of history. Ten years ago I started collecting the iconic Onkaparinga travel rugs, so that on movie nights at home there would be plenty to go around. Everyone had their favourite; even the cat had his own – a small red tartan one. Keeping an eye out for those travel rugs at op-shops and markets, collectable stores and bazaars, led to noticing vintage blankets. I'd never really thought about them before or paid much attention though of course I had grown up with them at my grandmother's. When I discovered my first Laconia cream blanket with blue stripes, my eyes just went gaga. Well that was it, I was hooked and since then over 500 blankets have passed through my hands. These common, everyday items, found in all households for so many decades, were traditional engagement gifts. Pairs were prized wedding presents turning into family heirlooms. They were fashionable dressers of beds, givers of warmth, bestowers of security and reliability. The comfort found in these objects resonates with almost all of us; we grew up with them ourselves or fondly recall them in a grandparent’s home. There is no modern replacement with the integrity of these old blankets, many of them now older than most of us. They are romantic, sensible, special, familiar, nostalgic and nothing else feels so appropriate in so many situations. No offense to the great Aussie doona, but from hippie to hipster, at a music festival, picnic, campsite or couch, a vintage blanket is something coveted by all. This industry that employed tens of thousands and must have been such a huge contributor to the economy is almost completely lost now. Blanket Fever is an ode to everything that came before: the land, the sheep, the shearers, the hands, the mills, the weavers, the designers, the distributors, the department stores. To the grandparents that gave them, the people that received them, the families that kept them; thank you. I’m passionate about my collection of Australian blankets manufactured in mostly Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania from the 1930s to the end of the 1960s. The collection has blankets from each of these four decades representing the styles and fashions of their time and includes dated advertisements which help determine the eras the blankets are from. " Checked blanket, blues and creamAlbany Woollen Mill/Blanket/All Pure Wool/Emblem: A, Albany blanket, blanket fever, wool, albany, albany woollen mills

The Australian Service Canteen Organisation operated from 1959 - 1979 and served troops throughout Australia, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam by providing services such as canteens, bulk stores, snack bars, news agencies and bank agencies. ASCO became the Army Air Force Canteen Service [AAFCANS] in 1979. This included provision of services in Army bases such as the barracks at Bandiana, Victoria outside of Wodonga. Noritake is a well-known producer of a wide range of merchandise including high quality, western-style dinnerware for export. On January 1, 1904 the Nippon Toki Kaisha Ltd - the forerunner to the present Noritake Company - was formed in a small town near Nagoya, Japan. The maker's mark "Noritake N Japan" mark has been used since 1968.A china dinner plate bearing the logo of Australian Organization Services Canteens in gold paint. The maker's mark of Noritake Japan is printed underneath the plate.Logo - Australian Organization Services Canteens Maker's Mark - Noritake ® JAPANnoritake, australian services canteens, chinaware

This image of the Ralph Falkiner’s Mueller Petrol-Electric Road Train was taken in Wodonga in February 1914. Imported from Germany by Mr Ralph S Falkiner in late 1913, the train’s inventor, Major W A Mueller with two assistants, came to Melbourne to assemble then commission the train. The train cost Mr Falkiner about £13,000 plus £4,591 import duties. The Falkiner family were sheep breeders in the Western Riverina and he hoped to use the road train primarily to convey wool to the railways for despatch to Sydney. The train was 216 feet long, weighed 43.5 tons with a top speed loaded of 6-8m/h and petrol consumption up to two gallons per mile. Its first Australian journey was to haul 50 tons of cargo to Edmondson & Co at Wagga Wagga, 277 miles away. The journey from Melbourne was plagued with problems including broken cylinders and crank shaft and overheating as it was not designed for Australian climatic conditions. Three months after leaving Melbourne it arrived in Wodonga. A series of problems between Springhurst and Wodonga, including broken cylinders and valves caused an eight day delay. Some of the cargo was off-loaded in Albury, then after repairs the train continued on to Wagga where it arrived in May 1914. After unloading there, the road train was taken to Mr Falkiner's Groongal Station, near Hay and subsequently made several long trips into drought-stricken areas or the Western Riverina. Eventually the dream collapsed when the engines gave out after the train bogged in the sticky black soil of the Hay plain with 251 bales of wool on board. The train was finally railed back to Melbourne and stored but destroyed when the warehouse burnt down. In this photo, the road train is drawn up outside the Wodonga Stores and Bakery owned and operated by George Leighton. Mr Leighton began his business opposite the Terminus Hotel in Sydney Street, Wodonga in 1885. His business included a general store, stocking groceries, ironmongery, drapery, crockeryware, boots and shoes as well as a bakery. He was very actively involved in the community and served on the Wodonga Council for 18 years including three terms as Wodonga Shire President in 1901 – 02, 1910-11 and 1913-14. He was also Chairman of the Wodonga Waterworks Trust for several terms. Mr. Leighton also took a prominent part in the movement to establish a Public Library in Wodonga. His other involvements including being a Founder of the Wodonga Lodge of Freemasons, Honorary Treasurer of the Wodonga Bulldogs Football Club and Secretary of the Wodonga Racing Club. Mr Leighton passed away in Wodonga in 1916.This image is significant because it records a rare event in Wodonga and an experiment in Australian road transport.Black and white images of the Falkiner Road Train in Wodonga and on its first journey from Melbourne to Wagga, NSW It is taken in front of the Wodonga Stores and Bakery operated by George Leighton in Sydney Street, Wodonga.falkiner electric train, early road transport, high street wodonga, george leighton

A photo of a mural in Libya painted by a South Australian Sapper of a bottle of Victorian Bitter Ale being poured into the Melbourne Cup trophy and horses racing. The photo, and two others, were sent to Melbourne Legacy in 1979 by Legatee Syd Wilson of Yamba NSW. He thought Melbourne Legacy might be able to use them to generate money by selling them for advertising or publicity. He said they were enlargements of snapshots he had found in his old army trunk. The text says 'A good thing for the Cup but better for the tonsils'. Legatee Wilson's letter says the murals were: 'painted on three walls of a white concrete Italian block house (Police Check post I think), some 18/20 miles west of Tobruk, between Tobruk and Derna, and near a captured Italian airfield, somewhere about February 1941. Obviously they were painted by a Victorian Sapper. They were very well done, by a competent Sign-writer/artist, in correct and excellent colours (captured Itie paint no doubt - there was plenty in their Naval Stores at Tobruk).' (NB Itie was slang for Italian). 'The photos were there when we were coming back from Western Libya sometime in March 1941, prior to the 6th Division going to Greece.' From the AWM website the signs were painted by South Australian painter, SZ538 Sapper Leslie John “Doc” Dawes, 2/3rd Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers. There are several photos on the AWM site including the building the three murals were on.Photos taken by a Legatee when on active service in Libya in World War 2. They were donated to Legacy when it was thought they could be used for fundraising, which shows that Legatees were conscious of the way Legacy needs to generate funds to continue its work.Black and white enlargement of a photo taken in Libya of Victorian Bitter Ale for the Melbourne Cup mural.tobruk, beer, victorian bitter ale, ale, horse racing, murals, world war 2

This sports coat was made at a Fletcher Jones factory about the 1970s. David Fletcher Jones (1895-1977) served in World War One and in the 1920s set up as a travelling hawker selling drapery in Western Victoria. In 1924 he leased three shops in Liebig Street, Warrnambool and in 1928 opened his Man's Shop at the intersection of Koroit/Liebig Streets. He manufactured men's clothing on site in a new building erected in 1931. In 1946 a Fletcher Jones shop was opened in Melbourne and in 1948 a factory was established in Warrnambool with a new company Fletcher Jones and Staff established in 1951.This company then operated in other States and known Australia-wide firstly for its production of men's trousers and later for men's and women's clothing. By 2011 the Warrnambool factory was closed and the company dissolved. This coat was bought by Lew Officer, a member of a family with pastoral interests in the Western District.This item is of considerable historical interest as an example of the high quality work produced by the Fletcher Jones and Staff Clothing Stores. This company was a key industry in Warrnambool in the 20th centuryThis is a man's sports coat made of Harris tweed hand woven in the Outer Hebrides made from Scottish-grown wool. The checked material is in brown tonings. The coat has a brown material lining and there are two brown buttons down the front and two on each sleeve. The collar has a grey felt lining.fletcher jones clothing stores, warrnambool, harris tweed jacket, lew officer

This skirt was made by the Fletcher Jones company as part of the uniform of the Penleigh Grammar School, Essendon, Melbourne. David Fletcher Jones (1895-1977) setup as a travelling hawker in the 1920s selling drapery in Western Victoria. In 1924 he opened a store in Warrnambool, moving into a two-storeyed building in Liebig Street in 1931. He manufactured and sold men's clothing at this site, opening a store in Melbourne in 1946 and a factory in Warrnambool in 1948. The company of Fletcher Jones and Staff, established in 1951, opened more stores and factories and operated Australia-wide and became well-known firstly for its production of men's trousers and later men's and women's clothing. By 2011 the Warrnambool factory was sold and the company dissolved. This skirt is of interest as a fine example of the quality clothing made by the Fletcher Jones clothing company. This business commenced in Warrnambool and was a dominant one in Warrnambool (and Australia) during the 20th century.This is a woman's tartan skirt in green and navy tonings. The skirt is pleated at the back and sides and has a silver-coloured metal buckle at the left side. It has metal clips and buttons that adjust the waistline size and a green cloth folder designed as a wallet with a press stud closer inside the front waist.College Apparel by Fletcher Jones Australiafletcher jones clothing stores

Earliest known photo of the stores. Johnson's Bridge store built 1873. Procter's c. 1876. Western end, left hand side of High Street, Charlton. Earliest known photo of the storesPhotograph of Peter Johnson's Bridge Store High St Charlton. Titled Wylie's Buildings 1877. Group of people on footpath. Peter Johnson's store, Reed Chemist shop, Procter's Butcher shop, Bank of New South WalesWylie's Buildings 1977peter johnson a.d. 1877 general storekeeper, peter johnson, draper, iron monger, timber merchant, general produce, jas reed, druggist, butcher, r procter & son