Tool
Shears

Maker & role
Unknown, Maker
 Production date
circa 1950
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Object detail

Production place
Sheffield/Yorkshire/England
Collection
Hyde Park Barracks
Measurements
0 - Whole, L: 28 x W: 8cm (L: 280 x W: 80mm)
Signature & marks
'Sheffield/England'
Credit line
Gift, Max Fry, 2007
Hyde Park Barracks Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Large silver paperhanging shears, used by Max Fry during refurbishments of the Hyde Park Barracks, circa 1950
Description
In 1952, during the refurbishment of a room on the second floor of Hyde Park Barracks, Max Fry, paperhanger, traced the outline of his paperhanging shears and wrote his name on the wall behind office furniture. In 1990, when airconditioning ducts were removed, his shears were again revealed.Max Fry arrived in Australia from the UK aboard the 'SS Moreton Bay' on 15 May 1949. It was during his early training in England that Max learned the tradition of tracing around his paperhanging shears and adding his name and date within the blade's outline.As one of about 150 painters and decorators with the Public Works Department, Max worked mainly around the Macquarie Street area and the Phillip Street Courts. In 1959 Max left the Public Works Department and the trade to pursue a career and apply his practical expertise in the protective coating industry with 'Balm Paints', later known as 'Dulux'.Like numerous other workers' marks, diagrams and signings hidden behind furniture and on the backs of skirting, Max's signature opens a unique window on the history of work at the barracks.This three foot rule was used by Mr Fry for paperhanging measurement while working at Hyde Park Barracks. This paperhanging tool is material culture associated with the courts and legal offices phase of occupation of the barracks (1887-1979).
Accession number
HPB2007/1-6

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