We put all the materials together and stirred the pulp with our feet and our hands. When we pulled up the mould and deckle with the first sheet of paper on it we weren't happy because it was patchy and uneven. Our second attempt was fantastic - the pulp was even and it was just the thickness we wanted. We drained all the water off, had lots of photos taken, took the deckle off and then left the mould with the wet paper on it leaning up against the Milton mural on the Chemist's wall to dry in the sun. Two Shoalhaven councillors, Pam Arnold and Pat Mason witnessed and authenticated the attempt and the photos on this web site and in the local newspaper add to the validity of the world's largest sheet of handmade paper.
Paper is a mass of millions and millions of fibres.
When beaten with water they mesh together to make what we call paper. Just as a tree or plant can support itself and is strong, so too paper, made from the fibres of trees and plants are strong just by themselves. Paper is considered to be the seventh Wonder of the World. Paper was also made in Egypt using the plant papyrus. Until less than 200 years ago all paper was made by hand using easily-cropped plants like bamboo, Nepalese daphne, water hyacinth, hibiscus etc.