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." Wood and metal stampBlanketsblankets, blanket fever, stamp

Metal tie pincostume accessories, male

Metal crochet hook.00 + 12handcrafts, equipment

Metal Safety RazorAuto Strop Safety Razor Co P/L London England Pat Nov 18 1920 No 184908personal effects-toilet requisites, shaving

Galvanised Metal 'Willow'dipper.Willowdomestic items, laundering

wwii helmetMetal helmet with no insertsWhite 'W' painted on helmet

Purchased with the assistance of the Gippsland Art Gallery Society, 2003Metal, Aluminium, Enamelgippsland, artwork, permanent collection

Purchased, 1996Paint, Metal, Steelgippsland, artwork, permanent collection

Chris WHITE Chris White is a sculptor and installation artist This item is part of the Federation University Art Collection. The Art Collection features over 2000 works and was listed as a 'Ballarat Treasure' in 2007.Welded metal sculture.art, artwork, sculpture

Ben COX (1980- ) Born Colac, Victoria Ben Cox was a student at the University of Ballarat (later Federation University). He won the 2003 Ballarat Arts Foundation Award. This item is part of the Federation University Art Collection. The Art Collection features over 2000 works and was listed as a 'Ballarat Treasure' in 2007.Painting on glavanised metalart, artwork, ben cox, alumni, school of business collection, available, abstract

Metal Lock and KeyBritish Made 2 Lever Inscription CE Atlas 2Lever IB22padlock, security

Danish brothers, Moritz, Julius and Jacob Cohn arrived in Bendigo in 1853 and by 1856 started making cider and soft drinks, building a brewery 1880 to further extend their commercial enterprises and stock their hotels with their own brand of beer. Having sent Moritz's son, (also Julius) to Germany to learn to brew, the Cohn Brothers began to produce Excelsior Lager in 1882, which was traditionally served cold, the first time this had been done in Australia. Overtime the Cohn brothers expanded their operations adding cordials and in 1916 produced a non-alcoholic beer to satisfy the temperance activists. Originally named Tonic Ale but re-named 6 o’clock Lager after the temperance advocates succeeded in having pubs close at six o’clock. This badge is just one example of branded items which would have been used to further promote the company. Cohn Brothers built an empire of breweries, cordial factories, hotels and liquor stores and ice works. In 1925 they sold the hotels and breweries to Carlton & United but continued to make their other products until the 1970s when the company became part of the Coca Cola Amatil Group. Jacob Isaac Cohn was born in 1830 (died 1911) in Horsens Denmark and entered the Sandhurst Borough Council in 1863 where he served as a member for three years, returning again in 1887 to serve as Mayor of the City of Bendigo from 1888-1889. Jacob Cohn was a great supporter of the Mechanics Institute, the Hospital and the Benevolent Asylum. It is believed that through his connection with the Mechanics Institute he exhibited some loaned engravings from the Dresden Art Gallery which were then donated to the City of Bendigo, forming the nuclei of the Art Gallery's collection. Jacob Cohn held the position of President of the Art Gallery for 18 years.Large metal badge Call for / Cohn / Cohnstantlymayor jacob cohn, making a nation, city of bendigo commerce, cohn brothers, cohns

The seal of the first Catholic Bishop of Ballarat and the first Victorian Catholic regional bishop installed in 1874.circular metal seal.

f. Metal lid

Used for fruit packing labelling.4 Metal Stencils.1. W. Henderson Seville 2. Chapman Silvan 3. A J C H.B. 4. VPC MAC stencils

2 metal secateurs1. "Germany"secateurs

Won by Moonee Ponds Area 58ASilver Metal trophyECMA Drum and Bugle Band Contest 1919 Moonee Ponds Area 58Aregimental property, 58th battalion, essendon rifles, trophy, wark vc club

Silver metal trophy1953 LT A.R. Honey 1954 LT K.W. McLaren 1955 SGT D.W. Aumont58/32 battalion, victorian infantry, trophy, wark vc club

Presented by Brig. R.J.Risson CBE DSO ED for Inter- Battalion Competition.Silver metal trophyPresented by Brig. R.J.Risson CBE DSO ED for Inter- Battalion Competition.infantry, 58th battalion, wark vc club, trophy, regimental property

Essendon Citizens Military Association Signalling Competition ( Militia Regimental Signallers) Presented by J.W. EllisSilver Metal TrophyEssendon Citizens Military Association Signalling Competition ( Militia Regimental Signallers) Presented by J.W. Elliscmf, infantry, victoria, rvr, wark vc club, regimental property

Metal Brodie hamlet

Metal oil canoil cans, cans

metal cartridge souvenir