This stock whip handle is made from Water Gum (Tristania laurina). It is an example of the wood turning skills of John Lane who made objects from local timbers in the Macleay district of New South Wales. Although there is some uncertainty regarding its precise age the Technological Museum acquired the whip in 1918 from Mr. C. A. Watson of Waverley, Sydney as a part of a larger collection of wood turning samples. Early on the museum acknowledged their importance as examples of the craft of wood turning and they were loaned to the Bathurst Museum for their educational display in 1919.

Lane's collection was was one of a number displayed in the 'Technological Museum' which housed the original Power house Museum collections. It is from the early twentieth century and illustrates the educational goals of the museum. In an era when most people had left school by the age of 15 technological museums provided the public with a useful way for learning practical information. The museum also conducted research on native New South Wales timbers for manufacturers like the coach-building industry. This relationship was reciprocated in donations like this one which illustrated different stages of manufacturing using New South Wales native timbers.

References
Davison, G., Webber, K., 'Yesterday's Tomorrows; the Powerhouse Museum and its precursors 1880-2005', Powerhouse Publishing, 2005

Geoff Barker, March, 2007

Timber turning sample, stock whip handle, Tristania laurina, Water Gum, wood, turned by John Lane, Kempsy, New South Wales, made before 1918.

A long turned wooden stock whip handle, with decorative grooves horizontally engraved across the top handle and bottom pointer.

Made: 1918

No marks

D8891-29

35 mm