Advance Australia - The Rabbit Pest in Australia, The Position in the Spring 1908

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Type: Advertising posters
Date: 1908
Place: Cobar, New South Wales, Australia
Materials: Ink, Paper
Collection: Andrew Reeves collection no. 4
Accession number: 2002.0052.0001

Description

Poster designed by William Rodier which promotes an alternative method of eradicating rabbits. A title at the foot of the poster reads "The Rabbit Pest in Australia / The Position in the Spring 1908". Text at the top of the poster reads "ADVANCE AUSTRALIA / 1908". The poster shows several scenes, one of which is a healthy herd of cattle which bear the text "RODIER METHOD". An illustration contrary to this scene is labelled "RABBIT PEST", and shows a struggling team of horses bearing the labels "BAD HABIT / SPRING TRAP / POISON CART...". Concluding text reads "PLEASE POST UP IN A CONSPICUOUS PLACE AND OBLIGE W. RODIER".

About the collection

The W. Rodier collection consists of a poster advertising the Rodier method of pest control. Mr William Rodier was a Cobar grazier/inventor in the late 19th and early 20th century who designed a rabbit control system. For decades Rodier lobbied for the adoption of his method of trapping and removal of does from rabbit communities to upset reproduction processes. The poster is record of just one of the many types of rabbit eradication methods that were suggested in the long running problem of rabbit infestation during the 19th and early to mid 20th century. Rodier's poster is also significant as it demonstrates Rodier's intense personal zeal in the promotion of his pest control system, which was ultimately found to be flawed.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:14:00 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-19. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.