Quilt No.862AG - Annette Gero

1400 x 1230mm
This domestic Wagga rug was made by Gil Jackson (1906-1995) in the Nowra district NSW c.1926. It is now in the collection of Annette Gero.
"Gil was the second eldest son of a family of four sons from Gloucestershire. He always had a hankering to see more of the World. Read about the 'Dreadnought Scheme' and applied for assisted passage. When first arriving in Australia in 1925, Gil, like every 'boy' who came out from England with the 'Dreadnought Scheme' was sent to Scheyville Farm up the north coast and trained in farming.
After three months at Scheyville, Gil was sent to Nowra, to Murphy's farm, at Lower Nimba. This is where he made the 'Wagga' quilt. He certainly didn't have many possessions at this stage. 'Murphys' was a happy place, a big family of three boys and three girls.
After three years in Nowra, wishing to better himself, he moved to Sydney. He had a rough time getting permanent work, tried all sorts, when things got really tough with the depression, he 'humped his bluey' and took to the road.
During his stay in Sydney he stayed in many cheap boarding houses. He met his first wife during this time. The woollen fabric may have been her shirt and there is also a small child's dress covering the original hessian bags. The wagga must have been special to him as he kept it till his death in 1995." [Annette Gero]
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The work is not padded "The lining at the edge of the quilt (for approx.175mm) is a plain weave fabric of a Chinoiserie design. The centre field of the lining is a rectangular panel of a twill weave brushed cotton fabric with a striped floral design." [NGA] 2215 x 2070mm
2109 X 1727mm
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The centre field is bounded by two strip-pieced borders at top and bottom, and three down each side. These are sewn from rectangles, using light pink/brown tones for the inner border and darker colours for the outer borders. The quilt is padded and backed and the side seams are secured with black herringbone stitch. The three layers are tied together invisibly with lazy daisy stitches in black cotton from the back." [PHM] The padding is a wool blanket and the backing is two pieces of cream twill cotton.
2030 x 1440mm