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Carpenter's boxwood and brass folding rule

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CC BY-SA 4.0
Type
Folding rules
Place
England; Adaminaby, New South Wales, Australia; Hay, New South Wales, Australia; Herne Bay, New South Wales, Australia; Griffith, New South Wales, Australia; Jindabyne, New South Wales, Australia; Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia; Redhead, New South Wales, Australia; Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia
Materials
Brass, Wood
Collection
George and Mary Weir collection
Accession number
2002.0017.0006

Description

A carpenter's light-coloured wooden folding rule with brass metal hinges at 12-inch intervals. The ruler folds into four sections. "G.WEIR" is stamped in the centre of the circular metal hinge. Stamped on ruler is the inscription 'BOXWOOD / RABONE / MADE IN ENGLAND / NO 1185'.

About the collection

This collection was owned by George and Mary Weir, who emigrated from Scotland to Australia in 1949 ' for a better life'. The collection comprises: a plane, rule, saw, house plans, two photographs, a blowtorch and glue melting pot. augers, photocopies, and a receipt for rates from the Snowy Mountains Council. George Weir used the carpentry tools in his work in NSW as a carpenter and joiner, first to build his own home at Jindabyne, then for work on facilities for the Snowy Mountains Scheme, and property maintenance in rural NSW. He then built another family home at Heme Bay (Villawood, NSW), again using the tools. This collection illustrates several aspects of life in post-Second World War Australia: the migrant experience of moving to a comparatively remote location to work, and using skills learned elsewhere to build a home; work on facilities for the Snowy Mountains Scheme, which was largely carried out by migrants; and participation in suburban development and building construction in a Sydney suburb . The object s in the collection are also comparatively rare, as full sets of workmen's tools from this period, provenanced to a particular individual, are unusual.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 5:26:30 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-23. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.