FURPHY MUSEUM

Celebrating a Shepparton icon

IT’S NO FURPHY, THE FURPHY MUSEUM IS AT MOVE.

Just over two years after the Shepparton Motor Museum opened in 2011, a collection of Furphy artefacts was added to the attractions at Emerald Bank.

Historical photos, displays of agricultural machinery, a recreated foundry and, of course, a display of the best-known Furphy product—the water cart—were added to the rear of the motor museum building. From the beginning, the Furphy Museum has been a natural addition to the motor museum—adding a real piece of local and national engineering history to the facility. The collection is a combination of items already held by the two companies— J. Furphy and Sons and Furphy Foundry—as well as items that have been donated or loaned from members of the public. Significant pieces are continually being sourced and added.

Now, with the opening of MOVE, the presentation of the Furphy collection has been completely renewed and expanded to include many of the original patterns used in the foundry. Fifth generation Furphys, Adam and Sam, are great-grand nephews of Australian literary giant Joseph Furphy. The cousins still run the Shepparton-based family business and are proud supporters of MOVE and its Furphy Museum. “With the fantastic new developments there we have taken the opportunity to update and refresh our exhibit and we love how it has come up,” Adam said. Adam said Furphy collector Josh Powles had overseen the revised layout and additions to the collection, while Tony Badrock had once again worked his magic with the timberwork entrance and façade. “We have loved working with these guys and the crew at MOVE to be part of this fantastic development for Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley and congratulate the whole team for their vision and execution,” Sam said. MOVE’s Furphy collection covers a period from 1864, when the legendary Australian pioneer engineer John Furphy first started his apprenticeship as a blacksmith in Kyneton, to the present. The museum houses an almost complete collection of water cart ends spanning a production period of more than 130 years. The collection also includes many other items made by Furphy’s foundry over the years as well as items relating to the Furphy family itself. Of special note are a set of harrows made by John Furphy in Kyneton, dated 1869. The MOVE grounds will also be home to ‘The BIG Furphy’—a giant iconic water cart—which greets visitors at the front car park. From the iconic Furphy water cart where Australian soldiers would spin their tall tales in World War I, through the development of post-war agricultural machinery and on to the manufacture of presentday cutting-edge engineering products—the display tells the story of Australia’s oldest and most iconic family business, still based in Shepparton.

1921 | HARLEY-DAVIDSON

From the Garth Wallace Collection. This model J is a pre-electric light type with a 1000cc Flathead V-Twin. The bike is in original condition.

Gift of precious history

VALUABLE COLLECTION IS IN SAFE HANDS.

As the collections manager for the Loel Thomson Clothing Collection, Stacy Short has been doing a deep dive into fashion history. After spending a decade studying from home while juggling parenting, Stacy is finally exploring her passion for history—spending the last few months going over the 10,000 items in the collection. “I did an undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Arts majoring in history, and then a master’s degree in cultural heritage, which is essentially museum studies,” she said. “I did all that at home online while parenting my kids. Ancient history was my primary interest, but when you’re trying to get work in the museums field it’s pretty limited, you just take what you can get, and this was the offer I got and it seemed pretty exciting.” Stacy admits clothing has been a steep learning curve, but her role is to understand and curate the exhibitions and the possibilities are limitless, with thousands of items to choose from to create themed displays that continually change. “Yes, it’s been a big learning curve but it’s fascinating. I’m actually a little bit surprised at myself at how much I am enjoying it and how interesting it is,” Stacy said. “Obviously, my passion is ancient history, but this is more than 200 years of Australian history told through the clothes we wore every day.” Loel Thomson has helped to relocate the collection, including having the first display ready “From now on, it’s really just a matter of getting in there amongst the clothes, looking at it, feeling it and seeing it for myself, and getting that real familiarity with the whole collection,” Stacy said. “Loel had 40 years to get to know the collection; you can go for a deep dive in the storage area and never want to come out.”

The displays will change regularly, reflecting different eras, designers, social norms and shifts in technology. “There is an element beyond the visual or the texture and feel, there’s a lot of technical elements as well,” Stacy said. “The physical construction of items, how things are actually made and the development of technologies or techniques is also part of the history covered in the collection.”

The collection also has its own library, an important resource for research—which is already helping to build links with academic institutions. Stacy Short is exploring her passion for history.

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