Historical information

The black imitation leather or leatherette bag or pouch could have been used by a courier to transfer documents, letters or business records between offices or from business to customer. Imitation leather was invented in the late 1800s and improved as time went on. The manufacture of synthetic leather began around the 1930s.

The courier bag may have been used for a s similar purpose as the cash bags in our collection. Those cash bags transported money between the railway stations of Grassdale and Merino in Victoria's western district in the late 19th and early-to-mid 20th centuries. Perhaps the bag was used by the coastal trading vessels that operated in southwest Victoria until around the 1940s.

Significance

This courier bag is an example of the connections made between people in the remote areas of Victoria. It could have been used by the railway system or the coastal trader vessels that shipped people, goods, documents and cash between the districts in western Victoria.

Physical description

Courier bag; black imitation leather pouch, square with wide seams and a flap with sttud closure at the top. Made by British Products Pty Ltd.

Inscriptions & markings

"British Products Pty Ltd"