Collection: Skins & Fur Products

Artwork: William Barak (Wurundjeri), Figures in possum skin cloaks, 1898. National Gallery of Victoria. Public domain reproduction.

Across Australia, Aboriginal peoples have long worked animal skins in ways shaped by Country, climate, available species and local cultural authority. There is no single national tradition. The meaning of a skin, its preparation, markings and use belongs with the relevant Community.

Possum-skin cloaks are strongly documented across south-eastern Australia, not only in Victoria. Depending on Country and Community, possum skins were used for warmth, carrying babies, sleeping coverings, ceremony, burial, drums, bags and other practical purposes. Incised designs could carry family, clan, Country and personal stories.

Kangaroo skins were used in different regions for cloaks, coverings and other cultural and practical objects. On Noongar Country in south-west Western Australia, a kangaroo-skin cloak is known as a booka. Kangaroo sinew was also used to stitch possum-skin cloaks.

These are living practices. Contemporary cloak-making and skin work support cultural continuity, healing, teaching and identity.

Cultural practices are specific to Country and Community. People planning cultural work should follow the guidance of the relevant local Elders, cultural authorities and rights holders rather than treating one region's practice as universal.

AIATSIS: Possum skin cloak · National Museum of Australia: Booka · State Library of NSW: Sewing across cultures

Brushtail possums were introduced from Australia to Aotearoa New Zealand during the nineteenth century. With few natural predators, they spread across the country and now place serious pressure on native forests, birds and other wildlife.

Our New Zealand possum products come to Australia through a Tūhoe-owned supplier, connecting a Māori-owned supply chain with our First Nations-owned Australian business.

Every purchase of a New Zealand possum product supports this First Nations and Māori supply relationship, gives purpose to a material created through possum management, and contributes to healthier whenua and native ecosystems in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Brushtail possums are native to Australia and protected here. They were deliberately introduced to Aotearoa New Zealand to establish a fur trade, with the first successful population established in 1858. They are now widespread across most of the country.

Possums browse native trees and consume buds, flowers, fruit and nectar. They also prey on native birds and their eggs, land snails and insects. New Zealand's Department of Conservation describes them as one of the greatest threats to the country's natural environment.

Rather than allowing recovered skins to become waste, the supply chain turns them into durable natural materials. Our supplier is Tūhoe-owned and works with independent hunters and specialist processors in Aotearoa New Zealand. This creates a meaningful Māori and First Nations trading relationship while supporting skilled regional work and more complete use of recovered materials.

We recognise that customers may have questions about fur and animal welfare. We believe the responsible approach is transparency: these are wild New Zealand possums removed as part of managing an introduced species, not farmed Australian possums. We will continue to seek clear information from our suppliers and share it openly.

New Zealand Department of Conservation · New Zealand animal-welfare guidance

Photo: Phill Brown, Punakaiki Bush