Bootmaking is a complex process requiring a variety of tools. The leather is cut to shape, glazed & burnished (polished) with heated irons. The pieces are stretched onto, & nailed to, a wooden last to form the boot. Once attached to the insole, the boot is finished on a metal last. Uppers are stitched with waxed thread through holes made with an awl. Heels comprise pieces nailed together & neatened with a heel shave. Metal plates, short nails or hob nails driven into the sole & heel, often in a pattern, improved durability.Cast Iron ball and ring bunion stretcher.boot stretchers

Cast Iron Shoe or Boot Stretcher patented 19th December 1882. Inscription on object. " patented 19th December 1882.”flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, shoe stretcher, boot stretcher, shoe maker

Used by donor's father approx. 80 years ago i.e.c1972Wooden foot form - used for stretching boots or shoes. Punched with holes to accept pressure point plugs. The form is hinged at the instep to enable forms to be pushed into the shoe.The Horbrocostume accessories, footwear accessories

Ford Spinner ambulances were loaded with their stretcher bound patient by opening the boot and pushing the stretcher through to the back seat. Source Chas Martin AHSV curatorBlack and white photograph. Two ambulance officers standing in front of ambulance station. Three ambulances present.Wangaratta District Ambulance Service VW-342wangaratta district ambulance service, wangaratta, ford

Officer's dress boot worn by Brigadier Geoffrey Austin Street MC who served in WWI at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. Following the war he was placed on the Reserve of Officers. He returned to military service in 1931 as Squadron Commander in the 4th Light Horse. He was promoted to the command of the regiment after l8 months' service, and finally to the command of the Third Cavalry Brigade which included the 8th Light Horse Regiment. Brigadier Street had entered Federal Parliament in 1934 and in November 1938 was seconded from military duties to serve as Minister for Defence in the Lyons Government . He was serving in this capacity in the Menzies government when he was killed in an air crash near Canberra on 13 August 1940.Representarive example of officer's dress boots from the 'between the wars' period. Well preserved example of the boot makers art, complete and in good condition. Owned by well known Australian soldier and politician tragically killed at commencement of Second World War.Brown leather officer's dress boots with strap-on spurs and leather instep patch and under sole chain. Matching left and right wooden stretchers with metal handle on spreader wedge. boot, street, spur, stetchers