This essay was published to mark the opening of the National Wool Museums major exhibition Necessity: waggas and the art of making do from 7 August 2021 to 13 February 2022.

The Wagga Project

The National Wool Museum holds one of Australias largest and most significant public collections of quilts and waggas. The collection comprises:

• 42 quilts
• 25 waggas
• 9 Expressions: The Wool Quilt Prize winners
• 2 rugs
• 2 tapestries
• 65 blankets

The Wagga Project is an ongoing passion for us. We are always on the lookout for more examples and stories to share. It might be time to look through your closets and trunks for heritage quilts and waggas. Whether treasured family heirlooms passed from generation to generation or new creations crafted from upcycled treasures of today - we want to know about them!

There are three ways to be part of The Wagga Project:

1. Share your quilt or wagga story on social media by using the hashtag #nationalwoolmuseum
2. Add your quilt or wagga story to the Nation Quilt Register
3. Preserve your quilt or wagga by adding it to the nationally significant Nation Wool Museum Quilt and Wagga Collection. Reach out out to us at nwmcollection@geelongcity.vic.gov.au.

What is a wagga?

Born out of necessity the wagga is a particular kind of utilitarian quilt made in Australia. Traditionally consisting of multiple layers of jute (burlap) bags sewn together they may also include calico sacks recycled clothes fabric scraps and old blankets.

Waggas were made from recycled materials that were available to people at the time - for travellers on the land it might have been flour or wheat bags; for a family it might have been old clothing stitched together.

Why these quilts are called waggas is not fully understood. It is believed that they take their name from Wagga Lily flour sacks made by the Murrumbidgee Co-operative Flour Mill. The mill began operation in 1890 and the name wagga rug can be traced back to the same period (waggas are also sometimes called Murrumbidgee blankets). Within a decade the mill could store more than 75 000 bags of wheat. It is presumed that the disused wheat and flour bags were often left out for people to use.

The earliest known waggas were made in the 1890s and they continued to be made into the 1950s. Over time the wagga tradition changed and developed but always embraced the make do philosophy.

Evolution of the wagga

There are six distinct types of wagga quilts that evolved in three stages:

Stage One

The traditional bushmans wagga late 18th and early 20th century

1. The most basic wagga is made of corn and wheat sacks sewn together in layers.
2. The corn and wheat sacks or sometimes wool bales have been unstitched and opened with a cloth or calico bag backing perhaps a blanket filling and cloth top.

Stage Two

The Domestic Wagga depression and war era

3. The covering or top layer is made of tailors samples cloth swatches and suit scraps with soft flour bags as the backing and clothing or jute in the middle layer.
4. The covering or top layer is made from re-purposed dress fabric and recycled clothing often with great care taken to develop a kind of pattern informed by the clothing.

Stage Three

Contemporary Wagga

5. Today eco c