After initially taking time to breed sheep suited to the climate, the colony’s graziers had, by the 1840s, successfully crossbred merinos that met the British Empire’s relentless demand for high-quality wool. By the late 1800s, flock sizes had increased dramatically, and shearing sheds were hives of activity. Graziers introduced mechanised shearing to enhance productivity and […]
Leather worn through at the toes, broken laces, and soles coming apart. These boots were worn to the bitter end and seemed to serve their wearer well. But were they fit for purpose? Worn by a miner at the Stockton Borehole Colliery, at Teralba, Lake Macquarie, where coal was mined from 1901, boots like these […]
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