Historical information
Canvas stretchers were portable and easily carried by pack horses. They were more luxurious than a hard wooden bed or the ground. Canvas was the best material to use at the time.
Significance
This canvas stretcher may have been used on camping trips or by the cattlemen when visiting their huts on the Bogong High Plains.
Physical description
Used as a stretcher or camp bed and is very heavy. It is made of wood and 4 pieces of canvas sewn together.
It has sides of elongated cubed wood with 4 handle extensions which are also cubed wood partly carved out near their ends for a more comfortable grip. The top has canvas attached to the wooden sides. The bottom has wood attached including the handles and a piece in the middle. Also attached are 4 steel rollers. A nail sticks out and stops the handles from going any further than the rollers. 4 metal strips are also attached for guidance of the sliding handles. 2 metal flat rods are attached to the sides at each end and joined in the middle by hinged nail enabling movement creating a metal strip at right angles to the length of the stretcher. The metal handles are attached here too.
