Summary

Part of a sailmaker's tool kit.

A pocket knife made by Christopher Johnson & Co, and branded with 'Havelock Tobacco'. The Havelock Tobacco company was already established in Melbourne by the early 1900s and they contributed prize money for the competition for the design of the new Australian flag in 1901. Johnson & Co were already using the flag symbol as their trade mark so it is possible that this knife may have been produced as a promotional tool for the new tobacco company.

Physical Description

Rusted steel blade with metal patterned handle.

Significance

This object is part of a collection of hand tools and materials, related to the trades of shipwrighting and sailmaking. Shipwrights and sailmakers were a very important trade for the construction and maintenance of water transport, such as paddlesteamers and sailing ships. The early colony of Victoria relied on the skills of these trades for construction of new vessels as well as their ongoing maintenance.

There are close to 7000 objects, documents and images related to the Trades Collection, which is primarily a collection of the tools associated with various trades, such as baking, blacksmithing, bookbinding, boot & shoe making, bricklaying, broom making, butchering, carpentry & woodworking, coachbuilding & wheelwrighting, coopering, coppersmithing, drafting, founding & moulding, gardening, glazing, hairdressing, hat making & millinery, jewellery making, knife & blade sharpening, leatherworking, metal working, organ building, painting & decorating, patternmaking, plumbing, printing, saddlery, shipwrighting, stonemasonery, tailoring & dressmaking, tiling, tinsmithing, tool making, undertaking, upholstering, wig making, and woodturning.

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