Article from Vol 48 no 1, February 2026
Woollies – maritime folk art, Nicola Kissane
Abstract:
Nicola Kissane presents some maritime folk art in the form of ‘woollies’, images of ships made of coloured woollen yarn, each with an Australian connection. The maker, date, origin, subject and other data relating to folk art is often difficult to pin down. As records are generally lacking, these objects often don’t tell much of a story. Two of these woollies discussed here depict vessels with imaginary names but, by using her extraordinary determination and sleuthing ability, Yvonne Barber linked the vessel names to an English family which emigrated from Yorkshire to Melbourne, mostly settling in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley just before World War I.
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