Collector says - "Once I had gathered a dozen or so blankets, I started noticing the many different labels; where they were made, by who, the logos and fonts used. Then the labels became a thing, then the blankets had to have a label to join the collection. My favourite labels are by Physician, they had at least 4 different labels over the decades but the best has to be the Lady In Bed logo. Physician, Onkaparinga, Eagley and others matched the colour of the label to the colour of the blanket - a nice touch. Strangely, Castlemaine labels were always sewn on the back of the blanket where all the other mills sewed theirs on the front. To this day I always roll or fold a blanket with its label on display." " 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." Checked blanket, pink, blue and lavenderClan Murray series of Challenge/Lambswool 'Perma-nap' blankets/All pure wool/Super Grade blanket, blanket fever, wool, challenge woollen mills

Part of a collection of three blankets donated by Emily McNeight.Pink, blue and cream chequered blanket with aqua blue edging.label: Challenge / LAMBSWOOL / SUPER GRADE BLANKET / pure new woolwool, blankets, challenge woollen mills

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." Advertisement, Challenge blankets, ElectracolourFirst Time Ever!/Clan Murray Challenge Blankets/Bring You New Colours Glowing like Early Morning Sunlight/Electracolour/from New Swiss Miracle Dyes/Still with the Super Luxury of Kitten-soft Double "Perma-Nap" Finishwool, blanket, blanket fever, challenge, advertisement, australian women's weekly

Letters from the Challenge Woollen Mills, Liverpool, NSW in 1944 and 1949, to W.R. Lang re: treatment of effluent from wool processing operations.textile industry - pollution world war ii, challenge woollen mills, lang, dr w. roy, textile industry - pollution, world war ii

The woollen mill was a vital part of Warrnambool for all but 22 years of the town’s history since it's the establishment in 1847 when the first land sales were held and white settlement began. In 1869 the Warrnambool Meat Preserving Company began operations on the mill site, in 1875, shareholders of the then defunct Warrnambool Meat Preserving Company happily sold the land and buildings on the Merri river to Warrnambool Woollen Mill Company Ltd for £5,000. The site was sold again in 1876 to grazer Robert Hood of Sherwood, who was chairman of directors of the failed company, which couldn’t raise sufficient capital to keep the works operating. The entrepreneurial Hood then used the existing plant to turn his own wool into tweed cloth. But just as the mill was starting to show a profit, a fire destroyed the building and plant on the night of 25 March 1882. So again, the mill was operational for six short years. Insurers only paid a fraction over 10% of the damage, Hood couldn't raise sufficient capital to rebuild on his own, and so the site lay unused until 1910. In 1908 Marcus Saltau and Peter John McGennan convinced the Warrnambool Chamber of Commerce to invest in a secondary industry with local capital. A public meeting in September 1908 agreed to raise £40,000, electing Saltau chairman of directors, a post he held for 34 years. A year later, using mostly local money, the Warrnambool Woollen Mill Company dispatched its first manager, John E. Bennett, to buy a plant and recruit 20 experienced staff from the Yorkshire woollen industry in December 1909. Another year more, the new mill was officially opened on 14 November 1910 by Marcus Saltau as company chairman and town mayor. Eighteen months on, in May 1912, the mill paid its first half-yearly dividend of 2 ½%. It was now working two shifts, with a year's orders to fill. In 1914 the mill ordered its own generator, providing the town with electricity and effectively doubling its plant size by October 1915, six months after Gallipoli. Thereafter, government orders for cloth and military supplies assured the mill’s success right through the First World War and on until 1923. A plant upgrade in 1922 for machinery to make worsted fabric drained profits, which, with a fall in demand, led to a loss in 1925. Profits were restored by the 1930s, despite the Depression, mostly due to tight management and robust marketing. Production boomed again during the Second World War, but soon foreign competition bit into profits, forcing the company to consolidate operations. The ‘50s and ‘60s were golden years for the mill. Security and growth gave the company confidence to trial Australia’s first electric blanket in 1958 and to install Swiss Sulzer looms in 1965. Over time, the building facades took on the modern look that the mill presented until it closed. The Dunlop company bought the mill in 1968, fending off a challenge from Onkaparinga in South Australia, and continued to expand by adding Wendouree Woollen Mill in the same year and Dream-spun Textiles a decade later, in 1979. Soon after that purchase, however, the mill began its slippery slide into decline. Dunlop sold to its former rival bidder Onkaparinga Woollen Co. Ltd in 1982, which in turn was taken over by Macquarie Worsted's only a year later, in 1983. Operations remained stable for a decade until 1994 when the Macquarie Group signaled that its newly rationalised operations left no room for the Warrnambool investment. The final operator of the mill was The Smith Family charity group, which ran the site by agreement with the Warrnambool City Council and a state government grant in that same year, 1994. The mill became more of a fabric recycler than a manufacturer. The site was sold to private operators in February 2003 and rezoned four months later to allow for the mixed housing development. The embossing press is significant for its association with the Warrnambool Woollen Mills 1910-1968, a major employer in the Warrnambool district. The press is also significant as an example of commercial office equipment used in the 19th and 20th century.Press, metal, for Company seal of Warrnambool Woollen Mill, stamping their brand as Western District Worsted Mills Pty Ltd. Metal is black with red and gold floral markings. Inscription of stamp reads "WESTERN DISTRICT WORSTED MILLS PROPRIETRY LIMITED" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, warrnambool woollen mills, western district worsted mills proprietry limited, worsted fabric, printing press, logo printing press, stamp printing press, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village

The Trades Union Directory was for circulation in Ballarat, Ballan, Beaufort, Daylesford, Creswick, Clunes and Bacchus MarshBrown soft covered book of 96 pages. Numerous advertisements and illustrations. It includes a listing of unions affiliated with the Trades and Labour Council, Ballarat and extracts and amendments to the Workers' Compensation Act.The book also includes many advertisements including E. Lucas and Co.; Myer Woollen Mills; Day-tex Fabrics (Daylesford); Ballarat Star Dairies; Rowlands Aerated Waters; Menzies Knitwear; Haymes Paints; Paddle Shoes; and Ronaldson - Tippett. Includes information on Social Services including old-age pensions and invalid pensions; Extracts and Amendments to the Workers' Compensation Act.union, pension, labor council, trade unions, trades and labor council, trades union

Acquired when "Classweave Industries" closed down.Cup, side handles topped with ornamental lion's head. One handle is unfixed. Urn sits on brown plastic circular base.Geelong Girls Interhouse Sports Association/ the Miller Challengecup/ for teams events/ To be won 4 times/ 1939 G J Coles & Co Ltd 1940 RETSOL/ 1941 Federal "A"/ 1942 RS&A "A"/ 1943 Federal "B"/ 1944 Union Cricketers/ 1945 Unity Cricketers/ 1946 Federalia/ 1947 Federal "C"/ 1948 Federal "C"/ 1950 Federalia/ 1951 Church of Christwoollen mills textile mills - sporting teams textile mills - staff sporting teams, classweave industries pty ltd federal woollen mills ltd, sport, woollen mills, textile mills - sporting teams, textile mills - staff, sporting teams, working life

Acquired when "Classweave Industries" closed down.Trophy, shield: Wooden shield with an inscribed EPNS ribbon, a shield-shaped, inscribed, EPNS plaque at centre of shield and around the edges of the plaque are 15 silver medallions, also in the shape of shields. These have been inscribed with the winners of the shield from 1931 to 1945. "Blue Triangle Basketball Association 1931: Collins Bros Challenge Shield B Grade Teams."Wording: BLUE TRIANGLE BASKET BALL ASSOCIATION 1931;Method: inscribed;Location: on ribbon Wording: COLLINS/ BROS/ CHALLENGE SHIELD/ B GRADE TEAMS/ TO BE WON 4 TIMES;Method: inscribed;Location: on shield Wording: 1931/ BRIGHT & HITCHCOCKS;Method: inscribed;Location: on smaller shield Wording: 1932/ VALLEY B;Method: inscribed;Location: on smaller shield Wording: 1933/ FEDERAL B;Method: inscribed;Location: on smaller shield Wording: 1937/ RS & S MILL;Method: inscribed;Location: on smalller shield Wording: 1938/ GEELONG GIRLS UTILITY CLUB;Method: inscribed;Location: on smaller shield Wording: 1941/ WANDERERS;Method: inscribed;Location: on smaller shield Wording: 1942/ DONAGHYS;Method: inscribed;Location: on smaller shield Wording: 1936/ NOBLE ST GIRLS CLUB;Method: inscribed;Location: on smaller shieldtextile mills woollen mills textile mills - staff sporting teams, classweave industries pty ltd federal woollen mills ltd, sport, textile mills, woollen mills, textile mills - staff, sporting teams

Acquired when "Classweave Industries" closed down.Trophy, shield: Wooden shield with an inscribed EPNS ribbon, a shield-shaped, inscribed, EPNS plaque at centre of shield and around the edges of the plaque are 15 silver medallions, also in the shape of shields. These have been inscribed with the winners of the shield from 1931 to 1945. "Blue Triangle Basketball Association 1931: Collins Bros Challenge Shield B Grade Teams."BLUE TRIANGLE BASKET BALL ASSOCIATION 1931 COLLINS/ BROS/ CHALLENGE SHIELD/ B GRADE TEAMS/ TO BE WON 4 TIMES 1931/ BRIGHT & HITCHCOCKS 1932/ VALLEY B 1933/ FEDERAL B 1937/ RS & S MILL 1938/ GEELONG GIRLS UTILITY CLUB 1941/ WANDERERS 1942/ DONAGHYS 1936/ NOBLE ST GIRLS CLUBtextile mills woollen mills textile mills - staff sporting teams, classweave industries pty ltd federal woollen mills ltd, sport, textile mills, woollen mills, textile mills - staff, sporting teams