Summary

Alternative Name(s): Note Book, Booklet

Multiple page notebook used by Alexander McKenzie between 1888 and 1901. Some of the notebook records employees, and the dates and amounts they were paid. Alexander McKenzie employed men to trap and poison rabbits. The rabbits were skinned and their skins hung on wire frames to dry before being sent to wool stores for use in felting. Alexander's trappers took rabbits to Woodend railway station each day, bound for sale in Melbourne. In later years Alexander worked with a team of men who conducted rabbit poisoning on properties in northern Victoria - likely during the time he worked for his brother-in-law James Baldwin, a Vermin and Noxious Weeds inspector with the Department of Lands at Baw Baw, Sutton Grange, Seymour, and Lake Boga.

The notebook was also used for other purposes, including children's scribbles, foodstuffs and prices, and recipes. The last dated entry is 21 September 1901.

Physical Description

Multiple page notebook with black cover, printed on each page with blue horizontal lines and red vertical lines as for cash book. Inside cover has calendar for 1888 and 1889. Back cover has 'Henderson's Merchants Ready Reckoner' with columns of figures. User's name, 'A. McKenzie', at top of inside cover. The first page lists 'Rabbitts [sic] to H Dusting', and notes that 'John Boxshall started June 17th 1890'. Subsequent pages further names of employees, and amounts and dates paid to them, as well as rabbit numbers. The back pages of the notebook are used for a variety of other purposes: children's writings, a list of food and prices, recipes cut out for newspapers including gingerbread, 'white mountain cake', chocolate cakes, Madeira cake and green tomato chutney. Hand-written recipes are provided for Swiss roll, shortbread and 'rasberry buns'. The notebook was received with multiple strips of paper with notes, written by a researcher in recent years.

More Information