Fences in the rural landscape are prosaic affairs. From stone to post and rail, from the utilitarian to the sculptural, a well-built fence is a thing of beauty and a monument to workmanship. These practical but symbolic structures are part of the story of Australia.
Starting with 7,000-year-old Aboriginal fish traps and ending with a look into the future in a chapter on virtual fencing, Jack Bradshaw (who was inspired by the rabbit-proof fence) traces the history of Australia's fences in words and pictures.
The materials, design and method of construction reveal a great deal about the surrounding landscape, the type of farming enterprise and even the economic conditions of the time.
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| A reconstructed post-&-rail fence of separate panels rather than overlapping rails |
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| A section of the rabbit-proof fence |
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| Dry-stone limestone fences at Kappawanta Station's shearing shed, on the Eyre Peninsula - still in use |
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| A 90 year old split rail/paling fence around an orchard at Deeside near Manjimup, W.A. |
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| Sheep yards built by the Pergandes family in the 1920s using layers of rock from a nearby outcrop, near Bencubbin, W.A. |
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| One of the more bizarre fence materials, around a W.A. wheatbelt homestead |
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