Showing 354 items
matching sheep shearers
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Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Photograph - HARRY BIGGS COLLECTION: SHEARING SHED
B&W Photograph of a shearing shed, with a wooden extension, there are sheep yards off to the side of the extension. There is a weather vane attached to the gable, there are trees in the background. Another shed with a weather vane can be seen behind the trees. A ramp extends upwards from a door in the end of the shed. The words 'East Loddon Shire' are written at the bottom of the Photoplace, building, shearing shed, east loddon shire, shearing shed -
Benalla Art Gallery
Painting, J. H. SCHELTEMA, Full swing on the board, 1904
... Interior Shed Shearing Sheep Figures Animals Wool Farm Recto ...Born: The Hague, Netherlands 1861; Arrived: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 1888; Died: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 1941RealismGift of Mr Gordon S. Ross, 1978Interior of shearing shed with figures, shears, animals and wool. Copper coloured gesso frame.Recto: Signed "J. H. Scheltema" in brown oil in l.l.c of composition; Not dated; Not titledpainting, interior, shed, shearing, sheep, figures, animals, wool, farm -
Clunes Museum
Tool - SHEARING HAND PIECE
... COMB VERSION REPLACED HAND SHEARS THAT WERE FIRST USED TO SHEAR ...NARROW COMB VERSION REPLACED HAND SHEARS THAT WERE FIRST USED TO SHEAR SHEEP. THE NARROW COMB WAS LATER SUPERCEEDED BY "WIDE COMB" IN THE LATE 1970'SSUNBEAM EB SPECIAL SHEARING HAND PIECE NARROW COMBshearing hand piece, narrow comb -
Clunes Museum
Book, GARRY FENTON, BUSHY'S CUT OUT, 1/11/2018
VERY SOON AFTER TONY WAS DIAGNOSED WITH MND THE TOWN SWUNG INTO ACTION TO HELP ONE OF THEIR OWN...PAPERBACK, COVER OF BOOK IS BROWN WITH PHOTOS OF BUSHY ON FRONT, IN THE BACKGROUND A FLOCK OF SHEEP. 28 PAGESnon-fictionVERY SOON AFTER TONY WAS DIAGNOSED WITH MND THE TOWN SWUNG INTO ACTION TO HELP ONE OF THEIR OWN...shearer, bushy hill, clunes f&n club -
Stawell Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Sheep Shearing at Farrer’s at Deep Lead 1939
... Lead Sheep Shearing at Farrer’s at Deep Lead 1939 Photograph ...Deep Lead Scene Shearing at Farrer’s 1939stawell deep lead -
National Wool Museum
Tally Books, Dalgety Farmers Tally book
... -and-the-bellarine-peninsula dalgety farmers sheep shearing tally book ...Cream booklet with blue letteringDalgety Farmers. Dalgety Farmers Limited incorporated in Victoria. Tally Book.dalgety farmers, sheep, shearing, tally book -
National Wool Museum
Textile - Tapestry, Weighing The Fleece, 2001
Hand-stitched tapestry by M. Baker in 2001. Tapestry represents part of the family history of working in the wool industry as owners of a sheep property for five generations. The family has run Corriedale sheep in Lismore, Victoria.Brown timber framed woollen tapestry with cream mounting board. Tapestry is handstitched and features various colours. Scene depicts four men and a woman in a shearing shed. Two of the men are handling sheep, one man is weighing a fleece while the last man and woman look on. Back of frame has a horizontal hanging wire, a framers stamp at the bottom centre and a handwritten creators name and date at the top right corner.lismore, sheep breeding, tapestry -
National Wool Museum
Folder, Wool trade products
... " Woolclassing Sheep breeding Farming Shearing Wool Marketing Wool ...Part of Ken Galloways research material associated with his career as a woolclasser. "Wool trade products"Wool trade products 13woolclassing sheep breeding farming shearing wool marketing wool industry, wesfarmers dalgety limited, geelong, galloway, mr ken, woolclassing, sheep breeding, farming, shearing, wool marketing, wool industry -
National Wool Museum
Folder, Australian Farm Journal - wool
... - wool" Woolclassing Sheep breeding Farming Shearing Wool ...Part of Ken Galloways research material associated with his career as a woolclasser. "Australian Farm Journal - wool"Australian Farm Journal - wool 14woolclassing sheep breeding farming shearing wool marketing wool industry, wesfarmers dalgety limited, geelong, galloway, mr ken, woolclassing, sheep breeding, farming, shearing, wool marketing, wool industry -
National Wool Museum
Folder, National Wool Museum
... " Woolclassing Sheep breeding Farming Shearing Wool Marketing Wool ...Part of Ken Galloways research material associated with his career as a woolclasser. "National Wool Museum"National Wool Museum 15woolclassing sheep breeding farming shearing wool marketing wool industry, national wool museum wesfarmers dalgety limited, geelong, galloway, mr ken, woolclassing, sheep breeding, farming, shearing, wool marketing, wool industry -
National Wool Museum
Book, Wool and the nation 3rd ed
... an overview of all facets of the "Wool" industry. Shearing Sheep ..."Wool and the nation 3rd ed, 1960" , gives an overview of all facets of the "Wool" industry.shearing sheep breeding - history merino sheep - history wool - history wool sales wool processing textile industry - history, goldsbrough, mort and company limited, shearing, sheep breeding - history, merino sheep - history, wool - history, wool sales, wool processing, textile industry - history -
National Wool Museum
Photograph, Puckapunyal - 75,172 Sheep for Shearing, 1988
... to muster and hold for a similar photo. Shearing Merino sheep ...Banjo Paterson once wrote, ‘The musterers are fetching them a hundred thousand strong’. Well, not quite 100,000 strong, but there are 75,172 mixed age Riverina-bred merino wethers in this mob mustered for shearing on January 22, 1988. The sheep were owned by the Mountjoy family from Geelong Victoria and were running on Puckapunyal Army Base near Seymour in Central Victoria on which the family held the grazing lease. Contractor for the shearing, Jim Walker, Avenel, Victoria, former Australian shearing team captain in 1974-75 and 1978-79, recalls there were up to 21 shearers in his team waiting for the red eyes to arrive despite the mid-summer heat of up to 38°C and the blinding dust on windy days. Jim Walker thinks there may also have been some sheep in the mob from Portland Downs and Isis Downs near Isisford in Central Queensland. The biggest shearing he did at ‘Pucka’ was 87,087 shorn in 1988. The ‘Pucka’ base was established during WW1. During the Second World War the Second Australian Imperial Force trained there as well as the US Army 41st Infantry Division. It was also home to the 1st Armoured Regiment from 1949 until 1995. During the 1950s up to 4000 national servicemen at any given time were training there. In the 1980s the Army undertook a major 60,000-acre land rehabilitation programme as decades of heavy use had led to serious degradation. By 1988 when the photo was taken, further land acquisition had increased the area to just under 100,000 acres, 43,000 of which is still bush country. There are no sheep there now, and the old shed was bulldozed and burnt. There are thousands of kangaroos which of course don’t need to be shorn and would be hard to muster and hold for a similar photo. Colour photograph, 75,172 merino wethers, mustered for shearing at Puckapunyal in 1988.shearing merino sheep, mountjoy, mr dale - worungalla pastoral co., shearing, merino sheep -
National Wool Museum
Agreement
... March 1974. Sheep stations Shearing Paulke Mr Kenneth C. Sheep ...Cook's Agreement between Kenneth C. Paulke and A Harboard to work as Cook at the Yallangpoora Station, beginning 18 March 1974.Cook's Agreement.sheep stations shearing, paulke, mr kenneth c., sheep stations, shearing -
National Wool Museum
Booklet, Shed Overseers Manual
... -operative Limited. Sheep stations - management Shearing sheds ...Shed Overseers Manual produced by Grazcos Co-operative Limited.Shed Overseers Manualsheep stations - management shearing sheds, grazcos co-operative limited, sheep stations - management, shearing sheds -
National Wool Museum
Photocopy
... shearers to shear Messrs Patterson Bros Sheep.... shearers to shear Messrs Patterson Bros Sheep...., agreements from shearers to shear Messrs Patterson Bros Sheep ...Photocopied letters from 1868 to 1870, agreements from shearers to shear Messrs Patterson Bros Sheep.Photocopied letters from 1868 to 1870, agreements from shearers to shear Messrs Patterson Bros Sheep.shearing -
National Wool Museum
Drench Gun
The Kettle Drum Drenching Gun was invented and predominately used in the 1940s and 1950s. This Drench Gun was constructed by Moffat-Virtue Ltd, an Australian company formed by John Moffat and William Wright Virtue. Moffat-Virtue Ltd were a Sydney company whose products, including windmills and shearing machinery, were well known in rural NSW throughout the mid twentieth century. The company was taken over by Fire Fighting Enterprises Ltd in June 1966 (Rudder, G 2020). The Drench Gun was likely used to drench sheep with carbon tetrachloride for internal parasite control. These guns were widely used in Australia. There were problems with the product, however, which contributed to its demise. On hot days and if the sheep struggled while being drenched, some fluid would go into the wind-pipe and into the lungs of the sheep, sometimes with fatal results. At times nearly one-third of a flock could be found dead. Inexperienced operators, overdose and weather were often blamed for the deaths (Davidson, K 2012). A brass drenching kettle consisting of a brass bowl and a detachable plunger mechanism. The plunger is alloy and the handle has a hinge to create suction to spray liquid out the brass nozzle.Moffatt-Virtue Limited 3841 C V ROBERTS/ PATENTEE Pest Arrestorsheep - diseases sheep - parasites -
National Wool Museum
Photograph, Cooper Race Type Sheep Shower First Marketed 1946
Photographs of sheep showers in situ, at different angles.Photographs of sheep showers in situ. Photographs of sheep showers in situ. Photographs of sheep showers in situ. Photographs of sheep showers in situ.Cooper Race Type Sheep Shower First Marketed 1946 Photography by Wofgang Sievers in association with Norman Ikin9 Collins Street, Melbourne, C.I.When ordering please quote No. .......shearing machinery, cooper engineering company pty ltd wolfgang sievers photography -
National Wool Museum
Booklet, Feeding Sheep
Book about feeding sheep issued by the Graziers' Co-operative Shearing Co. Ltd. in conjunctin with the Graziers' Association of New South Wales and written by members of the Department of Animal Health (Grazcos).Book about feeding sheep.animal health, graziers' association of nsw graziers' co-operative shearing co. ltd grazcos co-operative limited, woods, mr george -
National Wool Museum
Ledger, Grazcos Co-operative Limited- Shed Ledger
... at "Fairfield", Mortlake, Vic, 1978. Shearing Sheep stations ...Ledger, gives particulars of a shearing job at "Fairfield", Mortlake, Vic, 1978.Ledger, gives particulars of a shearing job at "Fairfield", Mortlake, Vic, 1978.FAIRFIELD....shearing sheep stations - management sheep stations - management, grazcos co-operative limited, shearing, sheep stations - management -
National Wool Museum
Booklet, A Guide to High Quality Shearing for Merino Sheep
... A Guide to High Quality Shearing for Merino Sheep, pruduced..."A Guide to High Quality Shearing for Merino Sheep"... Sheep, pruduced by the Australian Wool Corporation. Shearing ...A Guide to High Quality Shearing for Merino Sheep, pruduced by the Australian Wool Corporation."A Guide to High Quality Shearing for Merino Sheep"shearing, australian wool corporation shearer training service -
National Wool Museum
Booklet, Wolseley
... . Shearing Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Co. Ltd Specification ...Specification manual outlining all parts for a complete Wolseley set of shearing machinery, in text and images.Specification manual outlining all parts for a complete Wolseley set of shearing machinery.shearing, wolseley sheep shearing machine co. ltd -
National Wool Museum
Booklet, The Wolseley
... of Wolseley shearing equipment. Shearing machinery Wolseley Sheep ...Booklet with drawings and specifications of Wolseley shearing equipment.Booklet with drawings and specifications of Wolseley shearing equipment.shearing machinery, wolseley sheep shearing machine co. ltd -
National Wool Museum
Grinder
... -and-the-bellarine-peninsula Cast iron sheep shears grinder. Shearing Sutton ...Cast iron sheep shears grinder.Cast iron sheep shears grinder.shearing, sutton, mrs sutton, mr st john -
Stawell Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Carrs Plains Wettenhall CD, 2006
5563-2a Sheep Carrs Plains 5563-2a1 Carrs Plains on bank of Richardson River 5563-2a2 Carrs Plains Molly with Calf 5563-2b Richardson River in Flood 5563-2b1 Carrs Plains 5563-2b2 Arthur Whettenhall at front door 5563-2c Slush boxes Carrs Plains 5563-2c1 Carrs Plains 5563-2c2 Wettenhall Family1890 Viola on Holford's lap 5563-2d Seven Bros 5563-2d1 Carrs Plains 5563-2d2 Snow at Carrs Plains about 1896 5563-2e Carrs Plains 5563-2e1 Carrs Plains 5563-2e2 Carrs Plains Quarters 5563-2f Sheep 5563-2f1 Carrs Plains 5563-2f2 Sheep & Fleece 5563-2g Sheep 5563-2g1 Carrs Plains 5563-2g2 Carrs Plains Staff 5563-2h Alan Wettenhall 5563-2h1 Carrs Plains 5563-2h2 Portrait of 5563-2i Carrs Plains Grp 5563-2i1 Mr Tom Thumb the pony at Carrs Plains 5563-2i2 CP Top Sheep 5563-2j Roland Viola Alexander 5563-2j1 H H Wettenhall 5563-2j2 Carrs Plains Riding 5563-2k Sheep 5563-2k1 H H Wettenhall 5563-2k2 Carrs Plains sheep 5563-2l Carrs Plains front door on R 5563-2l1 H H Wettenhall false left arm 5563-2l2 Carrs Plains slush box 5563-2m Carrs Plains Rams 5563-2m1 H H Wettenhall 5563-2m2 Carrs Plains wool away 5563-2n Carrs Plains 5563-2n1 Carrs Plains 5563-2n2 Snow at Carrs Plains 5563-2o Carrs Plains Shearing 5563-2o1 Shoot 5563-2p Carrs Plains Shearing 5563-2p1 Party At Dam possibly Lake Lonsdale 5563-2q Carrs Plains Sheep 5563-2q1 Carrs PLains 5563-2r Carrs Plains Sheep 5563-2r1 Carrs Plains 5563-2s Carrs Plains Flood 5563-2s1 Carrs Plains 5563-2t Carrs Plains Flood 5563-2t1 Carrs Plains Duck 5563-2u Carrs Plains Flood 5563-2u1 Carrs Plains Sheep 5563-2v Veranda Carrs Plains 5563-2v1 Mrs Tom Thumbs Foal Tempus 5563-2w Carrs Plains Flood 5563-2w1 Molly and her Kemp family ,her mother Euphemia and Gd Mother Kemp 5563-2x Carrs Plains Flood 5563-2x1 Jean Kemp Molly's oldest sister 1909 5563-2y Carrs Plains Barns 5563-2y1 G G Mother Kemp 94yrs Herbert on R 5563-2z Carrs Plains Playing 5563-2z1 Carrs Plains Buggy Photographs of Carrs Plain on CDstawell -
Stawell Historical Society Inc
Slide, Ian McCann, Shearing s Sheep
... . Sat The Stawell Show Shearing s Sheep Slide Ian McCann ...One male sheering a sheep, other shhep behind. Sat The Stawell Showstawell show -
National Wool Museum
Print, Chris McClelland, Shearing the Rams – Tuppal Station, 210
Chris was invited to be artist in resident for the historic re-enactment of “Shearing the Rams” at the North Tuppal Station woolshed held on the 4th and 5th June 2010. The celebration attracted record crowds to witness the shearing of the station rams by 72 blade shearers. Over a single weekend in 2010, thousands of people queued for hours to see a piece of Australian history recreated at North Tuppal Station near Tocumwal, NSW. In 1900, Francis Faulkner invested a staggering £4000 to extend his shearing shed on Tuppal Station, making it the biggest in the country. Over the next decade more than three million sheep trod its pine boards and were shorn in its 72 stands. After years of drought and the Great Depression, the property fell into disrepair and the station was split up. When North Tuppal Station was sold to the Atkinson family in 1928, just five of the 72 stands were in operation. In 2010, Sport Shear Australia approached the Atkinson family about holding an event in the historic shearing shed to raise money for a team of Australian shearers to go to the world shearing title in Wales. An army of volunteers restored the T-shaped shed and yards and organised a weekend of events. Over two days, 6,000 sheep were shorn and all 72 stands of the restored North Tuppal shed were brought back to life. A total of 117 shearers shared the boards with 90 wool handlers who skirted 19 fleeces every minute. For a period on each day of this historic weekend, the machines were then silenced, and 72 shearers picked up their old blade shears to recreate past shearing methods. “When they fired up and got the blades out there was deathly silence on the board - you could hear a pin drop because normal shearing you have all the machines and it is quite noisy. Here you could just hear the click, like in the song Click Go the Shears Boys. People had tears in their eyes. It was quite an emotional thing to see that and very proud to be here.” George Falkiner, grandson of Francis FalkinerColoured framed print of shearing scene in the Tuppal station, Ferrrier’s wool press on the left-hand side and station on the top. Print in framed in a light-coloured wooden frame with white coloured matte.Under artwork - In 1891 Tuppal Station, a sum of 176,000 acres threshold, was bought by Mr Fiane Sadlies Falkines, Under the management of his eldest son F.B.S. Falkines, the 72 stand woolshed was build in 1900 and powered by a 16 horsepower steam engine. Sheep were pure Boonoke blood and the average numbers of sheep shorn over nineteen years to 1909 was 152,780. Around 7200 sheep could be shorn daily. The largest clip totalled 3326 baled of greasy and scoured wool and was sold in London. Bottom right corner - Chris McClelland 181/720 Shearing The Rams – Tuppal Station -
National Wool Museum
Photograph, Andrew Chapman, Shearing time at Cooninbil Station, 2006
Shearing time at Cooninbil Station, NSW, 2006. The Ferrier Wool Press sits among penned sheep in an old woolshed. Invented and made in Geelong, the Ferrier wool press could be found in woolsheds all over Australia and around the world.A Green large wool press reaches towards the ceiling in the centre of the image. Rays of bright orange sunlight extend around the green wool press. Surrounding the wool press are numerous sheep. The sheep are penned within a large multileveled wooden woolshed.shearing, ferrier wool press, cooninbil station -
National Wool Museum
Book - Wool Classing Note Books, John Griffin, 1941-1943
John Griffin’s wool classing exercise books from 1941-1943 when he was a student at the Gordon Institute in Geelong. John and his father John Henry Griffin owned a farm in Dunkeld and bred fine merino wool. One year they topped the wool sales figures for the area, in the late 1940s. There are four books in total. One book is on the topic of Veterinary Science and is from 1941. It contains information on topics such as birth and early lamb life, bone structure and other internal organisms of a sheep, such as the heart. Another book is on Wool Classing with topics such as wool scouring, dipping, shearing and micron counts. The third book is on general shearing shed knowledge. This includes a diagram for rolling a fleece, correct method for stamping a wool bale and branding abbreviations. The final book is on the History the Merino Sheep. It is a long form essay answer booklet. The Gordon institute and wool are synonymous with one another, the first class in wool sorting was offered at the Gordon in 1891. With much of the wool clip sent directly to England at this time, The Gordon's focus soon shifted to wool classing and marketing. By the 1930s, The Gordon's wool school was renowned as the state's wool industry training centre. Early specialist short courses were offered around Victoria to assist wool growers in preparing their clip for market, with modules on sheep breeding and pasture development included in the programs. Anne Griffin’s, John’s daughter, donated the exercise books to the National Wool Museum in 2021. Book 1 is predominately blue circular cover with cream background. Middle of book has pink highlighter mark. Reverse of book has an Arithmetical Table and a Multiplication Table in a blue ink on cream paper. It also has four black ink markings Book 2 is predominately blue circular cover with cream background. Book has red tape across the spine. Reverse of book has an Arithmetical Table and a Multiplication Table in a blue ink on cream paper. Book 3 is predominately blue plaid cover with cream background. Middle of book has pink highlighter handwriting which has been crossed with the same colour, leaving the text unreadable. Reverse of book has an Arithmetical Table and a Multiplication Table in a blue ink on cream paper. Book 4 is predominately blue diagonal striped book with cream background. Middle of book has small picture of Australia. Reverse of book has an Arithmetical Table and a Multiplication Table in a blue ink on cream paper. Book 1. Front cover: “All Schools” / EXERCISE BOOK / NAME Jack Griffin Grade Gordon Institute School of Technology(?) / Approved by the / Education Department Back cover. Reverse. ARTHMETICAL TABLES / (Numerous, see media) Book 2. Front cover: 2nd & 3rd / “All Schools” / EXERCISE BOOK / Name Jack Griffin / Grade 2 / School the Gordon / Approved by the / Education Department Back cover. Reverse. ARTHMETICAL TABLES / (Numerous, see media) Book 3. Front cover: Embassy / EXERCUSE BOOK / Name John Griffin / Grade 1 / School (?) / APPROVED BY THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / Back cover. Reverse. ARTHMETICAL TABLES / (Numerous, see media) Book 4. Front cover: EXERCISE / APPROVED BY EDUCATION DEPT. / BOOK / NAME Jack Griffin / GRADE 3 / SCHOOL Gordon Back cover. Reverse. ARTHMETICAL TABLES / (Numerous, see media) gordon institute geelong, wool classing, 1940s sheep farming, note book, study, student -
National Wool Museum
Painting, The White Farm, 2020/21
The farm buildings that Linda Gallus has studied and painted are on the farmland adjoining the Leura Park properties in Curlewis, on the Bellarine Peninsula. The current owner of the property told Linda that he bought the farm in 1994. He has used it for both sheep and cattle grazing since purchasing the property. When the farmer bought the land all the buildings on the property were painted white for sale, despite the fact they were very old. The shearing shed was in use up until the time of sale but was in a bad state of disrepair. The roof, stumps and floor required replacing. The building was no longer in use after the sale, so the shearing shed gradually fell into further disrepair. The previous owner had also used the property for growing potatoes, crops and livestock, mainly sheep. Linda’s fascination with the property came when she caught a glimpse of the white chimney over the hill driving towards Point Lonsdale, which still stands proud today on the roof of the old shearing shed. The owner kindly allowed her to visit the property over the past few years to capture the buildings using photography and painting. During this time many of the buildings have fallen. Linda calls it The White Farm as there are remnants of that original white paint on the outside of most of the buildings giving it a strange and rather beautiful patina. The structures are wonderful remnants of the history of the Bellarine. Linda first spotted the old shearing shed when she was driving home to Clifton Springs from Geelong. It was the white chimney on the shearing shed that stood out behind the rolling grassy hills. It was intriguing – bright white and still in good condition, unlike the rest of the building. After further investigation Linda got to know the owner of the property and visited it frequently to draw, take photos and paint. There is a variety of lovely old buildings on the property, but it was the shearing shed that held extra fascination for Linda. The most intriguing thing for Linda was that the buildings were all painted white at some stage and now the patina of peeling paint and bleached timber brought a wonderful mood and feeling to the farm. This is what she has tried to capture in this series of 11 paintings. Most of the buildings are falling, so Linda felt an urgency to capture them using acrylic paint on canvas in order to commemorate them forever.Acrylic Paint on Canvas. The images both feature a falling down shearing shed as the central focus. The wood of the shearing shed is a central theme of importance. The old buildings were painted white for sale despite being in a state of structural instability. After time this same painted wood has been left with an interesting complex patina like film on the surface which the artist has taken great care to capture. Image 1 is titled ‘Another gust of Wind’. It shows the exterior of the shearing shed which is in the process of collapsing from the forces of mother nature. In the background of this painting another of the buildings in the ‘White Farm’ complex is visible, in addition to blue skies and overgrown green grasses. Image 2 is titled ‘Green Trough’. It features the interior of the same collapsing shearing shed. The image is painted as though the viewer is peering through a crack of the external wall. Internally a green trough is seen hanging on an internal fence. Unlike everything else in the shearing shed, the trough appears new and in good condition. It provides a strong juxtaposition to the rest of the shearing shed, and the larger surrounding ‘White Farm’ complexbellarine peninsula, the white farm, shearing shed -
National Wool Museum
Textile - Travel Rug, Albany Woollen Mills, c1960s
... , the sheep, the shearers, the hands, the mills, the weavers ...Collector says - "I can still recall one of my earliest childhood memories, of my nana's bright aqua shoes against the checks of our family travel rug on summer picnics. Maybe that's when this collection planted its seed in me - 40 years later I start my first blanket collection after stumbling across old Onkaparinga travel rugs. I would go to a vintage market in Collingwood every month and almost always found a good one, amassing enough for the entire household. Everyone had their favourite, even the cat had his own – a small red tartan one just for him." 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. " Tan and brown plaid fringed travel rug. Albany Woollen Mill/Travel Rug/All Pure Wool/Emblem: A, Albany blanket, blanket fever, wool, rug, albany, albany woollen mills