The unforgettable sentinel: the Australian cream-box as folk memory

Along the fertile river valleys of coastal Australia dairying was for many years the pre-eminent primary industry. The cream box is one surviving artefact of that era, distributed across the landscape, and which is variously preserved, restored or re-made in other locations. This material practice is linked to the language used today to refer to these objects. While images of national identity do not include the dairying industry, the practice suggests that within the region the memory of the industry, both public and private, continues to create a regional identity.