This report was broadcast on ABC Radio National’s Rural Reporter on November 14, 2009
Many people like to collect things, like porcelain, stamps or art. Ear tags from dead animals spring to mind less readily.
But that is exactly what Paul Armstrong in the remote town of Broken Hill in Australia’s Outback has been collecting for 50 years.
The walls of his office are lined with a piece of the country’s pastoral history.
Rows upon rows of sheep ear tags have been carefully framed and color coded, with one ear tag even originating from the property of former Australian prime minster Malcolm Fraser.