POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Stanhope gig

Object No. D7849

This gig was probably built in England as early as 1820 and is one of the oldest and most original horsedrawn carriages in Australia. It carried mail between Sydney, Windsor, Parramatta and Dural (originally known as Dooral). The term "gig" refers to a wide range of two-wheeled vehicles that carried only two people and were drawn by a single horse harnessed between two shafts. Their design evolved from another earlier generic form of vehicle, the chaise, which in 18th and 19th century England described all two-wheeled vehicles pulled by one horse. Two-wheeled carriages imported from England were commonly used in Sydney in the early decades of the 19th century. Most of them were gigs of various designs, while other types included dog carts (a later derivation of the gig designed to carry sporting dogs under the seat), buggies (a hooded form of the gig), curricles and chaises. The gig originated in about 1790 and the first recorded use of the term "gig" was by Felton's Treatise on Carriages in which he describes gigs as "one horse chaises…that hang by braces from the springs". This means that the rear of the body of the first gigs was suspended by leather straps (braces) from whip springs. In his Treatise on Carriages (1796) William Felton used the companion term "curricle" to describe all two-wheeled carriages drawn by two horses, harnessed on either side of a central pole. The curricle was probably of Italian origin. It was derived from the chaise but was of more elegant and heavier construction. The first Stanhope gig was built in 1815 by the London coach builder John Tilbury for the Hon. Fitzroy Stanhope, a noted English sportsman. Its design became the most popular in England and Australia. Inexpensive and reasonably comfortable, gigs were also easy to handle and therefore suited to poor colonial roads. The first design for the Stanhope gig featured a spindle-backed seat mounted on an angular boot which carried luggage, a design known as the Tilbury seat because it was common to several vehicles built by Tilbury. There were very few vehicles manufactured in the colony at this time and imported vehicles were prized for their up-to-date styles, quality and associations with the "Mother country". Advertisements in the Sydney Gazette in about 1810 commonly refer to two wheeled vehicles including gigs, chaises and buggies. Peter Cunningham, the Surgeon-Superintendent of New South Wales, observed of Sydney in 1827 that "…few individuals of any respectability are without their gigs or riding horses…" In its native England, the gig was extremely popular as a means of travelling between the city and suburbs. A "gig house" was a miniature form of coach house that was an adjunct to a middle class suburban home in which a gig was kept when not in use. The introduction of horsedrawn omnibuses and tramcars in the second half of the 19th century gradually led to the passing of the era of the gig. It is likely that this was reflected in Australian colonial cities too, where the popularity of gigs and other two wheeled carriages of English origin waned more quickly due to the introduction of light and resilient American carriages and carriage building technology, both of which were more suited to local conditions and circumstances.