Woollen Wagga

History

This wagga was purchased on eBay in 2017. The seller was not able to provide any provenance however indicated that it had been bought at a church sale in Charlestown in the Lake Macquarie region of NSW. It is very typical of the wagga quilts made during the Depression Era.

"My maternal grandmother also made quilts from tailor's samples during the Depression but sadly none survived. My mother remembered them as being very heavy and of dark, dull colours. Her brothers slept on the back verandah and the heavy quilts would have been appreciated. My mother also remembered a quilt made for her out of bright woollen fabric. Her mother made it for her when she contracted diphtheria and was admitted to Fairfield Infectious Disease Hospital in Fairfield Victoria. Parents were not allowed to visit the children, so Mum had her bright quilt to cheer her up."

[Janette McInnes 18 April, 2018]

Description

The wagga is double sided and has an inner layer. It is in excellent condition. The wagga contains a great variety of woollen fabrics including tweeds, khaki army uniform, herringbone, plaids, stripes and checks. It is machined stitched and has some machine stitching to hold the three layers together. There is no binding, indicating the quilt was layered wrong sides together and turned. It is very heavy and would have provided much needed warmth in the cold old houses of the day however I suspect the quilt was never used. I feel it may have been donated to the church for a relief fund and been placed in a cupboard and forgotten about for many decades.

1650 x 1500 mm