14/11/2018
There was a time when almost every family in Australia had Onkaparinga blankets on the bed or a picnic rug in the car. That was when the label "Made in Australia" was a lot more commonplace than it is today.
The Onkaparinga Woollen Mill opened in 1872 in Lobethal in South Australia and closed down in 1993 after years of fires, floods and tariff problems. It had kept many generations employed, sometimes an entire family would work there.
There is now an Onkaparinga Woollen Mill Museum which is housed in a refurbished blanket storage shed. and details the history of one of the last blanket manufacturers in the country.
Did your family have one of these distinctive blankets or picnic rugs? Advert from Aust Womens Weekly
