---
node: garment_possum_skin_cloak
type: garment
slug: possum_skin_cloak
title: "Possum skin cloak"
lead: "The possum skin cloak is the traditional garment of Aboriginal peoples of south-eastern Australia, sewn from many possum pelts and worn fur-inward for warmth. Incised with clan designs on the skin side, it was clothing, blanket, and a record of a person's country and identity."
published: 2026-08-10
updated: 2026-08-10
image_file: possum_skin_cloak.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Barak_-_Figures_in_possum_skin_cloaks_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg"
image_author: "William Barak"
image_license: "Public domain"
---

## Overview

A possum skin cloak is made of dozens of brushtail possum skins scraped, stretched, and sewn together with sinew into a large rectangle, the fur turned inward against the body. The hide side is scored and rubbed with ochre in patterns that tell of the wearer's clan, country, and story.

## How it is worn

It is worn draped over the shoulders and wrapped around the body, fur inside for warmth, and served also as a blanket, a baby-wrap, and a burial shroud. A cloak grew with its owner from childhood, skins and designs added over a lifetime, and was buried with them at death.

## History

Possum skin cloaks were widespread in Victoria, New South Wales, and beyond before colonisation disrupted the tradition, and only a few old cloaks survive in museums. Since the 1990s Aboriginal communities have revived cloak-making as a powerful act of cultural continuity and identity.