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Museum mystery - identify a pattern or item

October 23rd 2008 05:13

I know this is not a "Can you help?" site for Museum people - but I am really stuck! I took on the job of trying to identify the origin of the item pictured below.

Mystery Item

Our museum people are fairly sure that it is ceremonial - as it has a pattern on all four sides of the blades. We also believe that the head part was not with the handle originally - as the handle is a pipe and it is attached with a fish or snake skin and some leather thonging. Some dictionaries say it is a Halberd and that may be right, except that most of these have an axe on one side and a hook on the other. I was hoping for help in identifying both it and/or the pattern on the blade. Don't be afraid to be "way out" and think "no that can't be right as it wouldn't be in Australia", because it could well have come here as a family heirloom and be stolen or thrown out ages ago.

It was found by school boys stuck in a tree in Kojonup - a country town in WA about 50 years ago. Their teacher took it off them(!) and has only recently returned it to town. The school boys are also still with us and can verify the story. We are mainly interested in why it may be in Kojonup!
Kojonup is one of the first towns in WA and had a military presence here early on. Some of these soldiers and later some Pensioner Guards had been in the British forces in Indian campaigns. Whether a dress uniform from there had a harberd is one idea or whether they had ancestors in Armed forces is another idea. .

We know that the Swiss guard had a harberd. Some of the early Italian migrants came through Switzerland - another idea.
Someone suggesed a Masonic ceremonial item, but our ex-lodge members do not recognise it as such. However, there may be early items not used in later years.
The pattern that appears on all four sides of the blades could help us find an answer, so if you know something about the pattern, that could help.You can click on the image to see the pattern better. Good luck and thanks!

Do you recognise this pattern?

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An investment better than Gold

October 11th 2008 01:49

Time to invest in good health

In these troubled financial times many of us feel that we have failed our families or ourselves in our decision making. Many of these are losses on paper or property value losses and in both these areas time may set things straight – if time can be taken.
So “how we spend time” is the investment on which we all need to concentrate.
Time to take a deep breath and realize not all material investments are lost.
Time to work out what is in our control and to concentrate on those things,
Time to look at our priorities in life,
Time to spend with family - to talk, to hug, to reassure each other of our love,
Time to invest in good health – physical, mental and spiritual,
Time to be thankful for the provisions that continue to come each season and every day- nature’s abundance, friends and family, a smile from a stranger.

The thing about time is - while there is a day on which the account will be close off, until then, every person on earth has an equal allocation every day, and how you choose to invest it is 100% under your control.

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Country dog visits the city

August 5th 2008 06:18

Home again

Sometimes we don’t give our dogs the credit they deserve in the way they can adjust to new situations.
When we travelled recently we had no alternative but to take our old dog that had never lived anywhere else than on the farm to the city, to reside in a small backyard of our boy’s home. The four hour trip was amicable enough - happily sitting in a confined space among holiday cases and boxes.
He found his way around the boy’s yard quickly, understanding where he could sleep on rainy days and soon had the boys around his little finger (paw) as regards to coming into the warm house at night. He commandeered a bean bag – which has come home with him as a bonus and ensured he was fed by being extra pushy when needed.
The boys had to do a little work to make him acceptable as a city dog. I believe this included a warm bath in the bathroom (I dread to think of the mess), and the purchase of a chewy bone and a ball. He was however banned to the shed when one hosted a dinner party! His social graces are not quite up to scratch. (Excuse the pun but "scratch" is the clue!)
Both his temporary masters like to walk – usually fast and long distances. But a walk with the dog was a different affair. Every tree had a message that needed an answer and his age also slowed him down – “downright embarrassing” I believe. But for a dog who has ruled the farm for so long with few other dogs to talk to - this was like Christmas!
Amazingly, for a dog who barks at anything that moves on the farm and runs after cars if given half a chance, city traffic and other noises did not worry him at all. (Mind you he is going deaf, so that probably helped.)
Back home again he is glad of the freedom. The biggest decision he has to make now is does he sneak into the house to be near the fire at night or does he stay out on the verandah on his new bean bag? It’s really touch and go. Sorry – I draw the line at having a massive bean bag cluttering up my lounge room!

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Cyclone Coast

July 22nd 2008 01:59

pylons - Onslow

I gently carry a tiny shell,
leaving it on the shore- unbroken

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Easter Sunrises and God's Sunsets

March 16th 2008 07:37

A cross over a town

I’m not a great fan of sunrises. For a start I would have to get up really early and I prefer to make the most of that extra ten minutes sleep. I will leave them to my husband who tells me he enjoys them.
I do however get up one day in the year, travel to town and celebrate the sunrise with others for our Easter Day Church Service. There is a quietness to the morning in the Rose Maze - a sense of “oneness” with those who attend. I’m never sure if that is because we have all just been through the mill to get there on time and we are all shivering in the heavy dew - or perhaps we can sense a special unity celebrating Christ’s resurrection - people from all the town’s churches in this service together.
However, I have yet to see a decent sunrise. We have had rain one year, and clouds every other year. The sun comes up and all we get is light. OK Thank God for the light, but we don’t even get silver linings on the clouds

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It's for You - Telephonists

March 1st 2008 02:25

Across the miles - communication

When I first went out into the country to work – in the early ‘70’s (OK that gives away my age) the main form of communication was the land line telephone – and, believe it or not, there was still a human (usually female) operator who would make the connections. Coming from the city I was not that familiar with such workings, so I was duly warned by my flatmate to be careful what I said on the phone. While telephonists (the word isn’t even in most dictionaries any more) will swear that they did not listen to people’s conversations, ….. of course they did - be it deliberate or not. Compare it with today - if you are next to someone on the bus who is talking on their mobile, you can’t tell me you don’t half listen!!!! Of course you do! We are all curious human beings after all!
Anyway, back to my story. My flatmate warned me to be careful and told me her story. When she had arrive in the little house we occupied she discovered the previous occupant had been using the bath as a place to store hay – because she had a horse. I won’t try to imagine how that girl kept clean. However…
My friend was discussing the same with a pal in the city on the phone and as a joke said “I’m not sure where I am going to put my horse

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Country Newspapers

February 11th 2008 07:01

Road Closed - read it in the local Newspaper

What is the main source of information in a country town? It is not the town gossip – despite the characterization of such people - it is the town’s local newspaper. These may be part of a wider network of Community Newspapers that are bought from the local newsagency and come on the usual newsprint and newspaper size. Or, as in the case of our town, it is a fortnightly paper run by volunteers with articles written and edited by volunteers, printed in the local telecentre and folded by volunteers. The costs here are met by local businesses that pay for their advertising. It requires a large degree of dedication from a few people and the co-operation of many organizations who contribute articles and information for future events.
There are, of course many regular items: sports results for all levels of every sport in the town – from bowls to bingo and everything in between, Church notices, CWA, Red Cross, Garden Club and other meeting notices. There are also children’s writings- a different class from school contributing stories for each paper. The Shire uses the paper to get out essential information such as which roads will be closed for repairs, when the fire breaks will be inspected or why the rates are going up again. Achievements of individuals and community groups – whether it is winning a state competition, the school productions, quiz kids or work milestones may make it into the paper.
Juicy gossip – births, marriages or who is having a special milestone are celebrated

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New Year Reflection

December 30th 2007 04:40

Alone

Some probably think that those of us who live in a Country town can escape from the hard realities of life and can live blissfully unaware of the suffering of others. Well, like people everywhere, that is possible, and many do, but so do many in the city.But, like the city, there are those in the Country who see the needs of others and work to assist them in whatever way they can.
Perhaps it is harder for those in need in a small community to admit it to those with whom they have contact - down the street, in the sporting club etc etc. While the family tragedy becomes widely known and help usually comes, others are more hidden.
For example, I have only recently discovered, that there are several people in town who went through very traumatic experiences escaping their homelands and as refugees. One was put in front of a firing squad, only to escape when partisans caused a disturbance in another part of his town. Another hid in marshes in the freezing winter of Hungary to escape from Communism. Another family ran from their African village and crossed the mountains with others, many dying on the way. These people are our neighbours and our workmates. They hide their stories until they are ready to tell them - how important it is for us all to be ready to listen

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Farm Stays

November 10th 2007 03:29

Suddenly a log becomes a cubby or a horse to ride

There are thousands of Australians who have little or no contact with the rural life. Up until about fifty years ago, a majority of city folk had a cousin – or some other vague relative that still lived either on a farm or at least in a rural town. Visits to farms were part of the childhood holiday plans and a taste of how the other half lived led to a better understanding. Of course there was the nostalgia of the perfect life “in the bush” where no-one would hassle you about being home on time or cared if you rode around on the back of the ute or did wheelies in the front paddock on the motor bike.
Now, of course there is a sense from some city folk that the outer suburbs are the bush and the closest they will get to farm life are the animal pens at the Royal Show.
Some fortunate children, often with parents who are re-living their own childhood, venture onto farm stay properties for a holiday and these can be a great experience, especially if the occupants have catered well for the visitor and enjoy having the family join in with the activities. But a fortunate few still have those cousins – or uncles that have a real farm, with real jobs

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Market Forces

October 19th 2007 06:56

Fishing in South Australia

Keeping with my "living rural" theme and to further discuss the market forces that affect the economical returns that those involved in rural industries are receiving, I submit the following thoughts.
In view of the prospects of higher prices of grain for the coming year - due to continuing drought and failed crops in many areas of Australia: Australian produced pork, poultry, beef and sheep products will rise. Will you, as a consumer, continue to support Australian products where the strict regulations to ensure that what these animals are fed and the conditions under which they are produced are in place and strictly monitored? Or will you take the action of buying overseas imports where many of these issues are either not monitored or the products' history is unknown?
Do you as a consumer ever look at the labels on everything from bottled water to tinned fruit to ensure you have bought Australian products - grown or collected on Australian farms and tinned or bottled in Australian factories

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A Viable Farm? - part 2

September 27th 2007 09:26

Some time ago I wrote about the question "Is farming Viable?" There has been considerable interest, so I feel it important to write a little more on the subject. At the moment we are holidaying in North Queensland - away from the sheep and farmbooks, seeing new places and hearing new stories. However, when we talk to farmers or ex-farmers we find, that despite the different crops or animals being farmed, the same questions about farm viability remains.
There was the water taxi owner at Dunk Island. He used to own chicken farms until the "big two" (Woolies and Coles) squeezed the price he could get for his eggs to just over one cent an egg. Considering hens only lay one egg a day - at best,and it costs more than that a day to feed them - you can see why he got out.
There was the sugar farmer - a very efficient industry from what we can see, but many of the farmers are beyond the age of retirement- still working because younger men are being paid more away from the industry. Contractors, used for harvesting the sugar need a harvester - worth almost half a million dollars, at least three tractors worth $100,000 each and three bins worth at least $50,000 each. They try to keep prices down so that the farmer can pay them, but how can they replace equipment and cope with petrol prices

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More Blessings to Count

September 8th 2007 02:49

Plenty of Grass

OK. I'm not terribly inspiring at the moment. This flu is still hanging around and I've had my second visit to the doctor. I haven't been able to help my husband who has had a lot of sheep work this week, but at least I've done the books! But when I look out across the paddocks I can only thank God for the way He looks after us. After months of worrying if it would rain, for us, it did, and has continued to do so, so my blessings are scenes similar to those you see on this page. While APEC and other such meetings discuss the wealth of nations and are urged to discuss the sharing of such wealth with those who still suffer from the many devastating aspects of poverty, I too look at my own blessings and think of those within our rural communities that have not had the rains (or have had floods) and find the bottom line getting crimson - not just red.

A full dam

Many patches in WA have had either no rain to put in crops or not enough rain for run off into dams. South Australia is devastated because they had a good start but no follow up, and crops have been burnt off and died. The Murray Darling may be running, but for how long? It will take more than the rains that have fallen so far this year to help it and the industries depending on it - and the nature depending on it, to recover.
So think on these people as you look at these lovely pictures and pray with me that all may be blessed with a green paddock and a smooth road ahead.

A Smooth road

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Counting my blessings

September 1st 2007 07:30

I have the flu. So what’s new about that – I expect all my readers have had it some time this winter. Still, I’ve decided I should use this moment to count my blessings. I got the flu when my beloved youngest son came from the city to help his Dad do some sheep work. The Blessing One is that I have sons that help where they can and Blessing Two – I avoided the flu until he so generously brought it from the city – isolation has its benefits!
We are having a few running repairs done on the house this Saturday morning. A bit of roof work – was going to happen on Wednesday – but it was raining, (Blessing Three) so the workers came back today – officially their day off - not sure if that’s a common occurrence where you come from, so that’s Blessing Four. These boys are farmer’s sons, who can turn their hand to many a different job – including roofing and shed building, working in a tyre shop, seeding, harvesting, truck driving and sheep work. Very Handy handymen in their early twenties.
My husband is replacing a screen door. OK it took weeks to arrive from the manufacturer, but being married to a farmer means that this odd job can be done – provided I am available to assist now and then. Blessing Five is my own personal handyman and is a bit like Four but now I’m talking about my clever husband. Necessity leads to these abilities, for getting professional builders etc are nearly impossible for the little jobs. The only problem is, if you have to wait for him to do anything it can take as long as it would to get a handyman in the city, and it usually requires a slight degree of – dare I say it - persistent reminders – known in some quarters as nagging

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It's a lamb's life

August 26th 2007 07:42

Safe with Mum (New Zealand ewe and lambs in Highlands)

It’s that time of the year when lambs begin to learn what life is all about. Our lamb has spent the first two months of his life enjoying the warmth of his mother’s milk, the protection of her body on a cold windy day and the joy of skipping across the paddocks, having races and jumping off logs with friends.
Then one day a motor bike and a couple of excited dogs disturb the peace and it takes all his strength just to keep up with Mum as she races towards the open gate with all the other Mums. Soon he finds himself confined in a muddy yard where white coats soon become grubby and it is easy to be rolled over in the mud or to lose Mum for some time. Soon the lamb finds that he has been separated from his Mother for the day. It could be that the farmer needs to crutch* her and drench* her. If that is the case it is only a matter of a few hours before mother and child are re-united – and a more pleasant time can be had when it comes to that next feed – without the smelly dags!
However, it is not long in our young lamb’s life that he will be the one getting the attention. Tagging*, tailing*, inoculating* and mulesing* could be a possibility. It is not a pleasant day in our young lamb’s life, and the farmer would give anything not to have to do these things to his young charges. However, just as a human mother knows that immunization is an essential part of ensuring her child will remain healthy, so the farmer knows that these different operations will keep his sheep in good health

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