Horse box for loading and unloading horses
Datebefore 1965
Object number00009615
NameHorse box
MediumWood
DimensionsOverall: 236.5 × 224 × 104 mm, 460 kg
ClassificationsTools and equipment
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Patrick Operations Pty Ltd
DescriptionWooden horse box used for the movement of a single horse from shore onto a ship. HistoryThis horsebox was once common and typical of wharf equipment that has now become obsolete. The wooden box used for loading horses onto ships is a robust object with strong iron fittings and its original hanging system intact. It relied heavily on manual labour to which was typical of the hard work of the stevedores in the pre-mechanised days of the wharf industry.SignificanceThis horse transport represents typical stevedoring gear used on all ports up until the full-scale introduction of mechanised technology in the 1960s. They were the type of gear that could be seen on any waterfront, were used by any stevedore, and typefy the handling of cargoes in Australia and around the world.
