Dr John Pickard of Macquarie University has made it his life’s work to catalogue and record both the history of fence wire strainers in Australia and the impact of rural fencing on the environment through management of livestock, feral species and cropping.
Travelling extensively through Australia he has unearthed a wealth of knowledge that would have otherwise been lost to history.
John has a large collection of fencing related memorabilia such as wire strainers, post and barbed wire which will eventually be donated to Museum Victoria to accompany the Jack Chisholm fencing collection.