Name/TitleO’Halloran House & Store (Bootmakers & Saddlery) collection
About this objectFrank (Booty) & Mary O’Halloran’s in-situ home and shop collection represents a period of business in Yeoval’s history from 1941-2004. The house has a weatherboard front and fibro cladding sides and back. The attached Saddlery shop has a front brick façade and fibro cladding sides and back. The buildings and content were purchased by the group after Mary O’Halloran passed away in 2004. The contents of the house contain the content from the life of Frank & Mary from 1941-2004 and other historic Yeoval items. The shop contains saddlery and boot making equipment from Frank and possibly previous bootmakers at the same location.
Saddlery & bootmaking is now becoming a lost trade but it was once an integral component of any rural township. The tools of trade and associated hardware in the shop place you back, in what is today, an unfamiliar business environment. The household contents, especially the pantry and kitchen, tell a story of basic living, repurposing, recycling and making do.
This collection is of historic significance as a lasting example of rural life, home & work, in the Central West of NSW during the 40’s to 60’s. It is rare to have such a well provenanced collection still in its place of use. Even more significant that it has both work and home life represented side by side.
