Australiana, Vol 38 no 4, November 2016

How things are designed and made should interest all those with a passion for the creative arts. One of our members, Christine Erratt, was involved in the process of designing a new mace for the Australian Catholic University because of the important articles she wrote for Australiana, and another member, W.J. Sanders Pty Ltd, was commissioned to make it. Like many pieces of historic Australian art, the design of the mace combines a number of motifs, several representing Australian natural history subjects, to symbolise the University’s origins and campuses.

By examining the innovations in the various editions of the London and Edinburgh cabinet-makers’ books of prices, as well as identifying the decorative details favoured by Irish cabinet-makers, John Hawkins suggests that it is possible to develop a chronology for the important group of early Sydney furniture attributed to the Irish convict cabinet-maker Lawrence Butler.

The English sculptor Thomas Woolner sailed out to Victoria in 1852 to search for gold. Like many others who failed to strike it rich, he returned to his earlier profession. Woolner created a series of portraits of prominent colonials in Melbourne and Sydney before returning to England in 1854; most are well known, but some are yet to be identified.

How do three spoons, two by Sydney silversmith Alexander Dick and a later spoon made in London, come to bear the same crest and initials? Lesley Garrett explores the possibilities.

Many fields of collecting remain undocumented in Australiana, despite nearly 40 years of publication. Australian toys are just one area that has been neglected and under-researched. Children grow up and usually grow out of their children’s toys. Their toys – especially soft toys and books – often get dog-eared and battered from use, and may be handed down or discarded. Many are damaged, and some show signs of repair. John Wade explores toys based on the hopping motion of our favourite Australian animal, the kangaroo.