swag

Does the top say "Fiat"?

YI 1 to YI 9999 (Apr 1921 - Mar 1927);
So relatively soon after 1921
I bet the car is a Fiat,

Spidra Webster It does indeed say FIAT. That's the only thing we're sure about.

DannyM8 Unfortunately we don't have motor directories for the 1920s, so no way to check the registered owner.

I think it is outside 45 Merrion Square

A swagman (also called a swaggie, sundowner or tussocker) was a transient labourer who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying his belongings in a swag (bedroll). The term originated in Australia in the 19th century and was later used in New Zealand. Swagmen were particularly common in Australia during times of economic uncertainty, such as the 1890s and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Many unemployed men travelled the rural areas of Australia on foot, their few meagre possessions rolled up and carried in their swag. Their swag was frequently referred to as "Matilda", hence Waltzing Matilda refers to walking with their swag. Typically, they would seek work in farms and towns they travelled through, and in many cases the farmers, if no permanent work was available, would provide food and shelter in return for some menial task. The figure of the "jolly swagman", represented most famously in Banjo Paterson's bush poem "Waltzing Matilda", became a folk hero in 19th-century Australia, and is still seen today as a symbol of anti-authoritarian values that Australians considered to be part of the national character. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swagman

It's good to compare this to a photograph of a swagman over at the State Records NSW set here: www.flickr.com/photos/state-records-nsw/2715952698/

See a Tyrrell Today comparison here: www.flickr.com/photos/lifeasdaddy/2740006551/

Hi, this photo has been discussed in one of the threads in the Flickr Commons group, and we'd love to have this added to the group pool!

Here is a good link to a present day swagman...www.electronicswagman.com.au

The same group: