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Reintroducing the traditional art of possum skin cloak making by Stephen Hagan 3 February 2014
L
oretta Parsley and her daughter Vikki from Bateman Bay on the South Coast of New South Wales have taken
to the art of possum skin cloak making with resolute vigor and a genuine passion to impart this ancient traditional knowledge to their mob and others with authentic interest. “What started off as a workshop
for about a dozen Elders in 2012 run by (Kirrae Wurrong/ Gunditjmara woman) Vicki Couzens on the South Coast on traditional cloak making using possum skins has turned into a passion for my daughter Vikki and
Vikki Parsley’s daughter’s Bimi and Nyarru modelling her possum skin cloaks. Image supplied.
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Loretta Parsley
Vikki Parsley
me that has led us to where we are today,” said Loretta, a proud Walbanga woman. “Being taught how to cut the possum skin, grade it by colour and then how to stitch it with horse sinus or dental floss and use ochre on the skins has been quite a revelation … especially when we see the end result in all its glory.” Ordinarily, for a product that comes from a protected animal in Australia, gaining genuine possum skin would prove a problematic task, but not so for this enterprising mother and daughter team. “We get our possum skins from our Maori friends in Pukeatua in New Zealand’s North Island where they’re feral and are viewed as vermin,” Vikki said. “I plan to visit there later this year to forge a partnership with our Maori friends so the continuity in the flow of possum skins is maintained and our shared traditional knowledge is enhanced.” When asked if the spectacular possum skins would develop into a commercial going concern and seen as a luxury product in stores or souvenir outlets in the near future, Vikki responded with an emphatic no. “We really only want to share this unique skill with our Elders and have it spread around the nation so they too can make significant cultural items for use in Welcome to Country ceremonies, funerals, weddings, cultural camps and any other event of cultural importance.”
Loretta, who lectures at the University of Wollongong Batemans Bay campus, with decades of teaching in public schools under her belt, said her biggest thrill is seeing the smiles on the faces of local Elders, as well as young children, at these cultural events as they rub their fingers through the possum skins. “The Elders in particular say the experience (of rubbing the possum skin) is akin to a deep spiritual feeling that one would get if they touch a very old cultural object,” Loretta said. Vikki has learnt much of the role possum skins played in the lives of her people from the area at the time of white contact. “From the research I did on possum skins used by our people in the old days shows that those who lived in the snow country of Mount Kosciuszko and who wore the cloaks were healthy and strong. “But images also from that area after a period of time after white contact, and of those who had abandoned possum skin cloaks in favour of the white man’s clothes were in declining health … the result of snow and rain soaking through their clothes and causing ill health.” Anyone wishing to learn more about possum skin cloak making can contact Loretta through her business Doolagarl Dreaming.
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