Class photograph from Briar Hill Primary School, 1937, Grades 1-4. Student names are not identified.Digital copy of black and white group photograph.School and class identified on board in photograph.briar hill primary school, briar hill state school

Class photograph from Briar Hill Primary School, 1942 Grades 5-8 . Student names are not identified.Digital copy of black and white group photograph.School and class identified on board in photograph.briar hill primary school, briar hill state school

The story of 90 years of wool classing between father & son begins in 1936, when a young boy by the name of Stanley James Hucker walked through the doors of the Gordon Technical School in Geelong. Born in 1921, Stanley was 15 years of age when he began his 3-year course in Wool Classing. 30 years later, Stanley’s second son Denis completed the same 3-year wool classing course. Beginning in 1966, Denis attended the same Gordon Technical School and walked the same halls as his father before him. Stanley finished his course in 1938. He went back to the family farm in Lake Bolac for a brief period before enrolling in the Second World War. At the completion of the war, Stanley returned home and married before gaining a soldier settler allotment, north of Willaura. This enabled Stan to use his wool classing knowledge. He ran between 1,500 and 2,000 sheep for many years, while his wool classer stencil also allowed him to go out and class at various sheds around the area. He held his stencil from 1938 until he retired at the age of 60 in 1981. On retirement, his second son Denis was working in the district, managing a local property while also leasing land himself. Upon his father’s retirement, Denis had the opportunity to lease his father’s farm, an opportunity he could not refuse. Denis had finished his wool classing course at the Gordon Technical School in 1968, graduating dux of his class. He began working with a local contractor and started classing wool in his team. Denis gained a great deal of experience working as part of this team in big sheds of up to 8 stands servicing between 10 & 20,000 sheep. It was not all smooth sailing for Denis however, and he soon learnt an important lesson. Class wool the way you’re taught, don’t listen to the owner standing over your shoulder. At a clip of Corriedales near Casterton, Denis was pushing too many fleeces into the line of fine wool. This resulted in a notice from the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) “mixing counts too much, submit three clips for inspection”. Denis was able to submit 3 clips with no further complaints, however, this proved a valuable lesson he would never forget over his long career classing wool. In the early 1980s, when Denis was leasing two properties including his father’s, things were going well until drought struck. February 1983 was the date of the Ash Wednesday bushfires, and saw Melbourne have three days over 40 °C for only the second time on record. This period saw Denis give away farming, turning towards contracting work instead. After the difficult times of the early 1980s, the next two decades were a good time for the sheep industry. 15 micron wool was selling for prices between 4 to 5,000 cents per kilo, double what you’d expect for the same wool in 2022. In 1995 a single bale of wool sold for a million dollars. This was a good time for Denis too. His contracting work saw him employing local shearers and shed staff. His team was involved with the shearing and classing of more than 130,000 sheep. After 20 years of contracting, it was time for Denis to transition into the next phase of his life. He gave up independent contracting, preferring instead to return to being a member of someone else’s team. In 2018, having completed 50 years of wool classing, it was time to call it a day and retire completely. At the annual Gordon Wool School Old Students Association dinner held in 2018, Denis was presented with his 50 years as a registered wool classer stencil awarded by the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX). This is a rare honour achieved by few. As of February 2020, a total of 430 wool classers had achieved this 50-year milestone. For Denis however, his proudest achievement is achieving 90 years of wool classing with his father. The National Wool Museum is proud to share the collection of objects gained from 90 years in the wool classing industry by Stanley and Denis. This ranges from Stanley’s first stencil and Wool Sample book, started when he first attended the Gordon in 1936. The collection concludes 90 years later with Denis’ 50 years of wool classing Stencil. The collection contains many more objects, all telling the story of these 90 years, and the hard work invested by this dedicated father and son duo. This is the first in a series of 5 wool classing exercise books. They were written by Stanley Hucker in his time at the Gordon Technical College from 1936-1938. This book begins in a cover of black vinyl with a strip of red tape on the spine to give added support. Some of the vinyl has been removed on the cover, revealing blue card beneath. A sticker label is also found on the front cover. It has been damaged. Part of the sticker has been removed, while blue ink can also be found obscuring the text below. Internally, the book is handwritten on yellowed pages with blue lines for the assistance in clarity of handwriting. The pages are also surrounded by a margin of red pen. The exercise book’s content is about veterinary studies relating to the diseases, injuries, and treatment of sheep. It is handwritten and accompanied by an occasional hand drawn diagram. A selection of pages have been photographed to give an impression of the information taught in classes, 90 years ago. This includes information about a sheep’s heart, hind limbs, and reproduction system in ewes. Front Cover. Wording, printed and handwritten “SERVICE / EXERCISE BOOK / NAME Stanley Hucker / GRADE wool classing / SCHOOL Gordon Technical / SUBJECT Veterinary”gordon institute geelong, wool classing, 1930s sheep farming, 90 years wool classing between father & son

1936 photograph of an unidentified class at Bundoora School [Bu1915]Black & white class photograph in cellophane fronted envelope Classic School Photography. "The Annual School Photograph". Attached note: "1st left back row Doug McFarlane; 2nd left middle row Norm McFarlane"bundoora primary school, bundoora state school

Dalgety Farmers Wool Advice Notes and Classer's SpecificationDalgety Farmers Wool Advice Notes and Classer's Specification.woolclassing, dalgety farmers limited

Blackburn East State School pupils in an art class. Blackburn East primary school . Pupils in art class.state school, blackburn east primary school no 4800

Heatherdale Primary School Class of Prep B in 1971Heatherdale Primary School Prep Class B in 1971.heatherdale primary school, 1971, prep b

Class photograph from Prep and Grade 1J, 1993 Greensborough Primary School No.2062. Student names are printed on photograph.Digital copy of colour class photograph.greensborough primary school, greensborough state school

Class photograph from Prep and Grade 1J, 1994 Greensborough Primary School No.2062. Student names are printed on photograph.Digital copy of colour class photograph.greensborough primary school, greensborough state school

Class photograph from Grade 3-4H 1997 Greensborough Primary School No.2062. Student names are printed on photograph.Digital copy of colour class photograph.greensborough primary school, greensborough state school

Class photograph from Grade 5-6P 1998 Greensborough Primary School No.2062. Student names are printed on photograph.Digital copy of colour class photograph.greensborough primary school, greensborough state school

Class photograph from Grade 5-6K 1999 Greensborough Primary School No.2062. Student names are printed on photograph.Digital copy of colour class photograph.greensborough primary school, greensborough state school

Class photograph from Greensborough State School, 1959 Grade 4. One copy has student names in caption.Black and white photograph of school classcaption on second imagegreensborough state school, greensborough primary school

Class photograph from Watsonia Technical School 1965 Form 2B. Students are not named.Digital copy of a black and white class photowatsonia technical school

Class photograph from Watsonia Technical School 1966 Form 3C. Students are not named.Digital copy of a black and white class photowatsonia technical school

Class photograph from Watsonia Technical School 1967 Form 4C. Students are not named.Digital copy of a black and white class photowatsonia technical school

Heatherdale Pre School class of 1969.Heatherdale Pre School Black and white class photo in 1969.heatherdale pre school, 1969

Two L class trams, originally ordered by the Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust in 1919 running a special tram tour, possibly in St Kilda Road or Royal Parade Date and photographer unknown.Shows a MMTB L class tramBlack and White photograph of L class tram No. 104 and another L class while on a special tram tour.trams, tramways, l class, tram 104

Class photograph from Watsonia Technical School 1968 Form 5B. Students are named on reverse of photo.Digital copy of a black and white class photowatsonia technical school

Class photograph from Grade 6 1963 at Lower Plenty Primary School No.1295. Student names are not identified.Digital copy of black and white class photograph.lower plenty primary school, lower plenty state school

Black and white class photograph of grade 4C in 1961Blackburn State School no. 2923 Class of 1961 Grade 4Cblackburn state school no.2923, class 4c, 1961

Class photograph from Grades 3 and 4 1961 at Lower Plenty Primary School No.1295. Student names are not identified.Digital copy of black and white class photograph.lower plenty primary school, lower plenty state school

Black and white class photograph of Heatherdale Pre School in 1967.Black and white class photograph of Heatherdale Pre School in 1967.heatherdale pre school, class of 1967

Class photograph from Briar Hill Primary School, 1939, Grades 1-4.. Student names are not identified. Briar Hill State School was established in 1927.Digital copy of black and white group photograph.School and class identified on board in photograph.briar hill primary school, briar hill state school

Class photograph from Grade 4, 1961 Greensborough Primary School No.2062. Student names are not identified. Teacher Mr Haynes.Digital copy of black and white class photograph.greensborough primary school, greensborough state school

This colour photograph, with 15 others are enlargements gifted to the Society by Mel Lawrence in 2016. They were taken at a commemorative event from the Kew Tram Depot. Laminated colour enlargement of an A Class 231 in Doncaster Road, North Balwyn Village during a re-enactment from the Kew Depot in 1990.Annotation reverse: "Kew Depot 1990. A Class 231 in Doncaster Road, North Balwyn Village."kew tram depot, a class trams, trams -- melbourne

Don Murray who was a member of this class has supplied us with this photo naming almost all the pupils. Please refer to Surrey Hills State School vertical file for list of names.A black and white photograph of a Grade 4 class from Surrey Hills State 2778 taken in 1938. The are 56 children in the class.mr keith rimmer, mr john allen, mr cliff hoath, mr ken newell, mr alan aird, miss joy moodie, miss barbara hoskin, miss helen james, miss valerie muir, miss merle christine, mr don cam, mr don hutchinson, mr maurice millet, miss - canty, miss jean mollison, miss margaret peacock, miss shirley cockerill, miss carmen hutchinson, miss betty carter, miss melba moore, miss vivian turner, mr john flower, miss audrey broomhead, miss gwen skinner, miss dorothy stout, miss irene dunn, miss irene jones, miss isobel browne, miss lucy deucher, miss merle yeomans, miss elaine burgess, miss betty tuck, miss joyce phillips, miss joan fletcher, mr len yeomans, mr frank fletcher, mr bobby edgelow, mr brian griffin, mr claude colbert, mr ken carrington, mr barry dimelow, mr don murray, mr david mccracken, mr ken wheat, miss fay mcbain, miss thelma mcconville, miss valda mcconville, miss betty o'brien, miss barbara mclachlan, mr ray mcdonald, mr ian mckenzie

B&W photograph by N.J.Caire, on a postcard, of the Boys' Gymnastic Class at the VDDI On Front of postcard: "VICTORIAN DEAF & DUMB INSTITUTION, ST. KILDA RD., MELBOURNE./Boys' Gymnastic Class/N.J.CAIRE, Photo, 4 Darling Street, South Yarra, Victoria." deaf children australia, dca, victorian deaf & dumb institution, vddi, education, pupils, boys, gymnastic class, n. j. caire, sport