Historical information

This item looks to be of an industrial type rather than a domestic one and as such is quite likely to be a relic from the Warrnambool Woollen Mill. In 1869, the Warrnambool Meat Preserving Company commenced their business on the site, where it operated until 1875 when it was sold to the directors of the Warrnambool Woolen Mill Company. After being destroyed by fire in 1882 it wasn’t until 1910 that the Warrnambool Chamber of Commerce was approached by Marcus Saltau and Peter McGennan to invest in a new mill. The original directors were James Dickson, P J McGennan, Robert Swinton, M Saltau, and J W Younger. In 1955 the Warrnambool Woollen Mill formed a partnership with the Wangaratta Woollen Mills. Dunlop bought the mill in 1968. From that time until its closure in 2000 it had a number of different owners, the last being the Smith Family Industries.

Significance

While there is no known provenace of this item , it is likely to to be a relic of the Warrnambool Woollen Mill and at the least is representative of items which would have been in use in the weaving process there.

Physical description

This is a large wooden straight edged bobbin with a quantity of dark blue spun fibre, possibly wool. The inner core of the bobbin is metal with four holes and four screwsin the top edge. the bottom edge is plain wood. The hole at the top is larger than that in the base.