The wool for this jacket began on the back of two sheep many kilometres apart. The first fleece for the warp was shorn from a single Merino at Currotha in Moree, NSW. The wool was 21-22 micron and the bloodline is a cross between Bundemar, Rossmore and Eural. The second sheep that provided wool for the weft was shorn in Beaufort, Victoria. It was a single Corriedale fleece shorn at Niawanda. The distance between these two towns is approximately 1250kms; a 15-hour car ride between paddocks. The two fleeces were spun and weaved together by the donor’s mother, Marjorie Allnutt. A level of talent is required to spin Merino fleeces. It is easier to spin cross bred wool, such as Corriedale, because it is less dense and much easier to comb, card and then tease out for a spinning wheel. The donor Philip Allnutt had a suit tailored out of the completed fabric at Ravensdale J & Son, 37 Swanson Street, Melbourne. The tailor was then a member of the Master Tailors Federation of Victoria. The business closed around 1986. Adding to the jacket’s story is its relationship to the household board game “Squatter”. Marjorie Allnutt was the sister-in-law of Robert Crofton Lloyd, the inventor of the wool themed boardgame. With more than 500,000 games sold in Australia as of 2007, it is the most successful board game ever produced in the country. The original “Squatter” board game is located within the National Wool Museum’s Collection. Philip Allnutt donated the Jacket to the National Wool Museum Collection in 2021. Cream singled breasted jacket with a narrow overlap and one column of buttons for fastening. The jacket features notched lapels of a medium width and two buttons of a cream & brown marble. The jacket has three visible pockets. A jetted pocket with no flap is on the right breast. A further two jetted no flap pockets finish an inch above the hem, on either side of the opening. Internally, the jacket features a further two pockets and a white silk lining for comfort. At the cuffs, the jacket utilises another 2 buttons of the same cream & brown marble.merino, currotha, moree, nsw, niawanda, corriedale, beaufort, victoria, hand spun, hand weaved

Jackie Kerin's (donor's) story. In 1973, I was in my late teens and while I’d moved to Sydney from Melbourne, to begin my first year of drama studies at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. My parents had moved to Lake Bunga, a few kilometers north of Lakes Entrance (Victoria). On my first holiday visit to Bunga, I called into the Jolly Jumbuck Country Craft Centre in Bairnsdale http://jumbukwool.com.au/history. I was entranced by the place and spent the following weeks learning to spin lumpy wool on an Ashford Wheel. By the end of the holidays, I had my own Ashford and it travelled with me back to Sydney. After graduation, I returned to Melbourne and the hippy “back to nature” movement was in full swing; there were many shops and galleries selling handmade woollen items and pottery etc. So I found an outlet for my pieces. Sometime in 1976-77, I met a spinner and weaver of Swiss origin (I think) – her name was Ingeborg Guber (not sure of the spelling). She had a small gallery/shop at Brighton Beach where she worked, with her pet duck for company. Ingeborg had an upright Philip Elford wheel; an Australian wheel crafted from Acacia melanoxylon (blackwood). I was smitten and ordered one. I have a memory of Philip driving to Hampton from Ballarat to make the delivery. I used this wheel for years but as time and enthusiasm for spinning waned, the wheel became a decorative item in the house. Then in the 90s, and with my drama training, I set myself up travelling to schools and festivals, museums and galleries as a storyteller. The spinning wheel had a new life accompanying me on my adventures. For many children, familiar with references to spinning in fairy tales, seeing the little Philip Elford upright was magical. The wheel was donated to the National Wool Museum in 2021.Vertical tripod leg spinning wheel. 6 spoke wheel with three bobbins. Inscription “Philip Elford Ballart” can be read in gold text stamped to the base of the wheel. Wording, stamped, gold. Philip / Elford / Ballartspinning wheel, textile production, hobby textiles, aciacia melanoxylon (blackwood)