Possum-skin cloak
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[edit] History
Possum-skin cloaks were a form of clothing worn by Australian Aborigines in the south-east of the continent – present-day Victoria and New South Wales.
The cloaks were made from numerous possum pelts sewn together with kangaroo sinew, and often decorated with significant incisions on the inside such as clan insignias. They were rubbed with ochre and fat to both decorate and protect them.
As well as being a significant means of keeping warm in this often chilly part of Australia, there was much importance around the making of the cloaks and their wearing. They were handed down through generations as heirlooms. As with most Australian Aboriginal belongings, there were many uses for the one thing – the cloaks were also used as blankets, mattresses and to wrap babies.
In 1814, Governor Lachlan Macquarie, after inspecting the recently forged road across the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, wrote about meeting some members of the Wiradjuri at the Bathurst camp:
[edit] Possum skin cloaks today
Two possum-skin cloaks are in Museum Victoria's collection. One, which dates from 1853, is made from 83 possum skins. There are also cloaks at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, as well as four in overseas collections.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Margaret Wirrpunda wearing possum-skin cloak
- National Museum of Australia
- National Quilt Register
- National Gallery of Victoria exhibition, including a large painting of Wurundjeri in possum-skin cloaks
- John So, Lord Mayor of Melbourne in a traditional Wurundjeri possum-skin cloak (Jiawei Shen, 2005 Archibald Prize Finalist)
[edit] References
- ^ Elder, Bruce, Blood on the Wattle: Massacres and maltreatment of Aboriginal Australians since 1788, New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd, Frenchs Forest, 1988, ISBN 1864364106 p 51
- ^ http://www.isx.org.au/forums/read.php?17,79,79
- Reynolds, Amanda Jane, Wrapped in a Possum Skin Cloak, National Museum of Australia, 2005, ISBN 1-876944-36-6.
