About this object‘Healing’ pushbike owned and used by Mervin Crow from his teens, 1920’s, till about 1950’s when he was in his 40’s. Merv was a ‘Rabbiter’ (amongst other trades) and used the bike to check and set his traps each sunrise on farms around Mackey’s Creek, Long Gully and Eulamore areas, near Eugowra.
Merv hated horses and often said they should be declared a pest so he would head out each day on his bike, rain, hail, shine or Sunday and check the traps. A few extra traps over his shoulder, his hurricane lamp (left before dawn) and most times a waterbag. Also some chopped up newspaper, this was used to cover the plate before dirt was sprinkled over the top to disguise the trap.
Rabbits were mostly caught for skins, which were stretched on rabbit bows (half loop of thick wire) dried in an old breezy shed and send by train in Canowindra to the fur and wool buyers. Sold skins to Schute Bell Badgery Lumby Ltd. of Sydney and Merv’s daughter, Elaine, recalls Albert Menkins was the skin buyer and came on the train for visits.
“Rabbiters” were the blokes who trapped or poisoned the rabbits for their fur. “Rabbitoh’s” sold the rabbits for meat – use to call out “rabbitoh rabbitoh”.
The Rabbiters bike is of historical significance with good recorded provenance from the daughter of the owner. The bike is rare in that there are no other know rabbiters bikes in collections. While it is in poor condition it is a good example of this type of workers bike. The wear on the pedals, changed seat and wrapped handle bars should the signs of hard work and period alterations. It is unrestored.
It has a great interpretive value for an industry which was commonplace and now nearly gone entirely. With links to early pioneering families and skin brokers in the Eugowra area.
Prepared by Hayley Lavers, 2020, for Eugowra Bushranger Centre and Museum
