Image 'Splitters', 1865

TLF ID R3381

This is a coloured print, measuring 19.4 cm x 25.2 cm, by the famous colonial artist Samuel Thomas Gill (1818-80), published in 'The Australian Sketchbook' in 1865. It shows two splitters cutting slabs from the felled trunk of a tree using wedges and mallets. A bullock dray stands nearby, stacked high with slabs, and the driver, with his stockwhip in his hand, is in conversation with the splitters. A long two-man saw and an axe can be seen beside the campfire. The artist's initials, 'STG', are inscribed in the bottom left-hand corner, and the title (not shown) appears below the print.





Educational details

Educational value
  • This asset illustrates timber being logged, probably in Victoria or New South Wales - Gill travelled from South Australia to the Victorian gold fields in 1851 and from there to Sydney in 1856; he probably saw many examples of land-clearing during his travels.
  • It depicts timber felling with a two-man saw and an axe - the splitter chose a tall, straight tree and cut out a section to determine the grain; the tree was then ringbarked and cut on the leaning side; once the saw was jammed, an axe was used to cut a wedge from the underside of the cut; the wedge was inserted back into the cut to prevent the saw jamming further, and then the other side of the trunk was cut.
  • It demonstrates how timber was split with a wedge and a mallet - iron wedges were hammered into the logs with heavy mallets and bound with metal strapping to prevent the heads splitting.
  • It illustrates finished timber, used for slab houses, fences and roof shingles - timber used for hut cladding was often left in the rough split state, while posts and structural timbers were usually dressed using axes or adzes.
  • It includes a bullock dray piled high with slabs - the two- or four-wheeled drays could carry heavy loads and were the 19th-century equivalent of today's semitrailer.
  • It reveals aspects of the splitter lifestyle - splitters remained in the forest until their dray was filled; they slept rough and were sustained only by dry biscuits, salt beef, damper and black tea.
  • It shows splitters' work clothing - the blue Crimean shirt (which was a garment without buttons and with a wide V-neck and collar, long sleeves and slits at each side) was worn either loose or with a sash or belt, usually outside the pants, and was often completed with a knotted scarf and a cabbage tree hat.
  • It is an example of the work of S T Gill that depicts colonial life in the mid-19th century - after becoming bankrupt in South Australia, Gill tried prospecting in Victoria but found he could make a better living working at his art; for 15 years he recorded the lives and occupations of people on the gold fields before spending eight years in Sydney; his many artworks provide an insight into the lives of the pioneers.
Year level

5; 6; 7; 8; 9

Learning area
  • History

Other details

Contributors
  • Author
  • Name: Hamel and Ferguson
  • Organization: Hamel and Ferguson
  • Description: Author
  • Person: Samuel Thomas Gill
  • Description: Author
  • Contributor
  • Name: National Library of Australia
  • Organization: National Library of Australia
  • Description: Content provider
  • URL: http://www.nla.gov.au
  • Name: Hamel and Ferguson
  • Organization: Hamel and Ferguson
  • Description: Author
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Person: Samuel Thomas Gill
  • Description: Author
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: National Library of Australia
  • Organization: National Library of Australia
  • Publisher
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organization: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Device independence
  • Hearing independence
Learning Resource Type
  • Image
Rights
  • © Education Services Australia Ltd and National Library of Australia, 2013, except where indicated under Acknowledgements