National Wool Museum
Functional object - Floorboards, 1994
Two short sections of flooring cut for distribution during Deakin Universities ‘Open Day’ in December 1994. This was during the conversion of Dalgety Wool Store to Deakin University’s Woolstore Campus.
These small pieces of timber are part of Geelong’s history and were salvaged from the Dalgety Woolstores during the renovations.
Hundred of meters of ironbark, red gum, pine and other timbers, some more than a century old, were reclaimed from the site and have been recycled as furniture and featured building materials for the woolstore campus.
The old brick stores, located on a formerly neglected section of the Corio Bay shoreline, now house the administration and chancellery, architecture and building schools, information technology services, the student union, a cafeteria and, as the focal facility, a Great Hall seating 1500 people and acoustically tuned for symphony orchestras. The refit was developed from the existing grid of substantial timber columns and beams extending over 52,000 square metres. This framework was filled with lightweight panels to enclose workplaces and removed in some parts to establish courtyards, atriums and streets. The brick facades were redefined with new doors and double-glazed windows in proportion to original fenestration. Bright colours and industrial finishes identify the new insertions.Square sections of redgum lumber cut into floorboards. The sides of the lumber have a grove cut on one side and a matching section to fit within this groove on the other side. This has been done to ensure the floorboards have a tight and consistent fit with one another. The bottom of the lumber also has an additional grove running through the middle of the redgum. On top, one of the sections of lumber has three nail holes, which travel all the way through to the bottom of the wood.deakin university, dalgety wool store, red gum