This fibre school case was made in Sydney and used in the early 1970s by a school girl living and attending a NSW state primary school in the harbour-side suburb of Mosman.
Throughout most of the twentieth century generations of Australian school children carried fibre school bags to school. The most famous case was the "Globite" made in Sydney by Ford Sherington & Co. of Waterloo in Sydney. These were certainly very sturdy, being made of vulcanised rather than composite fibre, and much more expensive than most other school bags such this "Status Fibre School Case", made by Consolidated Plastic Industries Pty Ltd of Sydney.
This school case is significant because the donor has provided first hand memories of using the bag and it remained in her possession from 1973, continuing to store her Barbie dolls and clothes, until 2008. To add to this, copies of photographs of the donor going to and from school with the case and at school provide a valuable pictorial record. The memories, photographs and the school case itself with its smiley face and Norco milk stickers, Dymo name tape label, water and wear marks, and childish handwriting on the inside name label provide a snapshot of attending primary school in Sydney in the 1970s.
With concerns from health professionals that heavy school cases were causing back strain and curvature of the spine from being only carried in one hand, many schools in New South Wales had changed over to the backpack style by the mid. 1980s.
Margaret Simpson
Curator, Transport & Toys
January 2011