This fly fishing rod, with it's original storage case, belonged to Thomas Lloyd Forster Rutledge, who was a keen fisherman. During the 1930s, he and some friends spent some time camping and indulging his passion for fly fishing for trout near the Crackenback river in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales.

A three-piece fly fishing rod with canvas bag and bamboo case. The brown, cane, cork and metal three-piece cane fly fishing rod has metal line guides evenly spaced along the each shaft. The wooden sections of the rod are hexagonal shaped and the individual pieces join together to form a complete rod. There is a brown, wooden and cork acorn shaped stopper at the joining end of the handle and centre sections of the rod. Almost half the handle piece is made from cork and there is a leather pommel at the end of the handle. The metal components have engraved text that partially reads '... PATENT STEEL CENTRE / HARDY & BROS LTD / ALNWICK, / ENGLAND.' The hand painted text on the cane section reads 'Palakona Regt / No. 246936'. The khaki green canvas fishing rod cover has four channels and a fold over flap at one end. Evenly spaced along the length of the cover are three sets of olive green cotton tape ties with an additional set to secure the flap. A black fabric label is attached to the outside of the flap. In gold coloured thread the embroidered trademark is at the top of the label with text that partially reads 'TO THE KING / HARDY BROS LTD / ALNWICK. ENG.' sewn below. The brown, cylindrical shaped bamboo fishing rod case has a brown leather flip top cap and a beige paper tag tied with twine near the top. The rod case displays four growth knots along the length and the base has a wooden base screwed that has been attached to the base with screws. The lid is secured with a leather strap and white metal single prong buckle. The tag has the text 'Estate / Col. Rutledge' written in a faded black ink.

This collection comprises over two hundred objects belonging to the Rutledge family of 'Gidleigh', a pastoralist property first established near Bungendore, NSW, in 1855. The collection includes tools used for agricultural practices, animal and household management, and equipment used for fly-fishing and horse-riding. Collectively, these objects illustrate aspects of rural life and domestic activities undertaken most notably by Jane (Jean) Ruth Morphy Forster Rutledge (1853-1932) and her son Thomas Lloyd Forster Rutledge (1889-1958) during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

This collection is illustrative of broad areas of Australian social history including pastoralism, medicine and veterinary science, and domestic and recreational lives. The land at 'Gidleigh' was first granted to Admiral Philip Parker King (1791-1856) in 1834, and was subsequently purchased in 1855 by Irish settler Thomas Rutledge (1817-1904) to run sheep and cattle. The family owned and managed the property for 150 years until 2005. This collection offers significant research potential into both rural self-sufficiency, and agricultural and veterinary technologies.