eHive Object Details

Name/TitlePloughing with oxen, Portland

About this objectGlass slide that depicts a man using six oxen to pull a plough. A second man has a whip in his hand. A dog is resting near to the man ploughing. It is a very green landscape and with cloudy sky.

The ship’s manifest from Edward Henty's diary lists this simple single furrow plough. The plough was used to turn the first sod of soil in Victoria on December 6, 1834 when Henty’s workman Robert Cowley planted a crop of potatoes in the area we now know as “the ploughed field” on the cliff top in Bentinck Street.

The plough consists of a mouldboard and share. The iron work was made by John Wilkie of Uddingston, Scotland, and Henty added the beam of Australian hardwood.

On Edward Henty’s death in 1878, the plough was bequeathed to Hugh Lennon, A renowned plough-maker, in appreciation of the great
improvements made to farm machinery by his plough manufacturing business.
[source : Plough Brochure https://www.glenelg.vic.gov.au/Files/plough_brochure.pdf]

One of many glass slides purchased from retailers or specifically made for illustrated lectures given by Isaac Selby between c. 1930 and c. 1955 to raise money for the Old Pioneers Memorial Fund.

Permission to be obtained for reproduction and publication. For a high resolution copy of this image, contact Royal Historical Society of Victoria

MakerGunn's Slides (Firm)

Maker RoleSlide Maker

Measurements8.1 x 8.2 cm.

Object TypeGlass slide

Subject and Association KeywordsSelby, Isaac, 1859-1956

Subject and Association KeywordsPortland (Vic.)

Subject and Association KeywordsPloughs and ploughing

Subject and Association KeywordsFarmers and farming

Subject and Association KeywordsHenty, Edward, 1810-1878.

Medium and MaterialsGlass slide, col.

Named CollectionImages collection

Object numberGS-EV-42

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved