A LIVING HISTORY BLOG.

18TH CENTURY LIVING HISTORY IN AUSTRALIA.

Thursday, 12 August 2010

Flatboats.

Flatboats were used right through the 18th century by settlers as transport to new lands, and to transport farm produce. Many flatboats were attacked by Indians, but it was still seen as the safest form of transport by many. Once at the end of the journey the flatboat would be sold for the timber, or used by the owner for construction. This is a mid 20th century living history film about 19th century flatboatmen.

5 comments:

David R. Reid said...

That was excellent Le Loup,
I thought the frontier workmanship and lifestyle amazing. I also found the footage of a hemp crop very interesting. Dave

DianeLynn said...

Though I did not make a flatboat, this video reminded me the times I used to haul stuff in my version of a flat boat or should I say "float", from the dike to the houseboat. The sounds I heard was chainsaws and axes, the smell of cut fir and smoke of the wood burning stoves.
Thanks for the video!

Keith said...

Hi Dave, glad you liked it, I lucked upon this one. Amazing what some of this stuff is found under in the search engine.

Hi Diane. Glad you enjoyed it also, and brought back good memories. A hard lifestyle, but I think a very rewarding one in ways that people do not experience these days.

murphyfish said...

Hey Keith,
An enjoyable piece my good man, reminds me of values that seem to be dwindling to naught these days.
Regards,
John

Keith said...

Glad you liked it John, a different lifestyle for sure. Hopefully there will always be someone to keep these pioneer skills alive and remind us of a bygone lifestyle.
Regards.