Hand Barrow
Battle Harbour National Historic Site
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| Object Name: | Hand Barrow |
| Object Type: | Barrow |
| Classification: | Man-made Artefact |
| Category: | Distribution & Transportation Artefact |
| Sub-category: | Land Transportation " Human Powered |
| Discipline: | Industrial History Material Culture |
| Material: | Wood Paint |
| Technique: | Cut' Handcrafted Painted |
| Accession Number: | 677 |
| Origin-Province: | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Origin-Country: | Canada |
| Origin-Continent: | North America |
| Use-Province: | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Use-Country: | Canada |
| Culture: | Canadian |
| Geo Cultural Area: | North America |
| Cultural Context: | Fish Processing |
| Earliest Production Date: | 1930 |
| Latest Production Date: | 1960 |
| Period: | Mid 20th Century |
| Description: | This artefact is a wooden hand barrow. Constructed out of a soft wood, the hand barrow is designed to be used by two people. It has two long rails that form the outside edge of the barrow and the handles for which to carry it. The space between the handles is slightly wider than an individual's body, thus allowing users to stand between the handles while moving with the barrow. The handles have also been rounded and shaped at each end to ensure the barrow can easily be lifted from the ground and carried comfortably. The load deck has been constructed out of six planks. Three equally spaced boards span the distance between the handles, the ends of which have been mortised through the center of the long handles. Nailed on top of and perpendicular to these boards are three others that have been rounded at each end. Two boards have been nailed to the underside of the barrow. The hand barrow shows signs of being painted two separate colours. The under coat, visible through chips in the top coat, is of a brick red. The second and dominant coat is of a gloss finished forest green. |
| Narrative: | The hand barrow or draft bar, was a common sight on the merchant premises. Men often loaded the barrow with 224 pounds, 2 quintals, which they referred to as a 'draft of fish.' The fish would be brought to a designated company employee who would record the weight of the salt cod as it was being brought to them. For ease of operation the fish was often not taken off the barrow when weighed. This practice meant that barrows all had to weight the same, thus it was common to see a barrow with weight in the form or boards or lead sheeting attached to the bottom. These weights were known as 'make weights.' Due to their employ outside, the barrows were often painted to protect the wood from the elements. It was also common to paint a number on the barrow for ease of recording by the company man. |
| History of Use: | The hand barrow was used for moving and weighing of salt cod around the merchant's premises. It was operated by two men, one at either end. The merchant would have a number of these hand barrows on their property. |
| Height: | 9 |
| Length: | 189 |
| Width: | 70 |
| Unit-Linear: | cm |
| Quantity: | 1 |
| Number of Components: | 2 |
| Component Part Names: | Handles Deck |
| Institution: |
Battle Harbour National Historic Site
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| Institution City: | Battle Harbour |
| Institution Province: | Newfoundland and Labrador |
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