Australian-made Workshop Fishing Reels, reference, and History information presented to you by Bernard (Bernie) Ladd,   8/3/2016.

Website: ReeLpedia®™ page 64.
This segment covers an interesting era of fishing reels made at government-run and privately operated engineering workshops. The reels below are examples of reels that were made by engineers, toolmakers, and highly skilled fitters and turners who, in some circumstances, were on emergency standby maintenance duties. Some of these skilled employees engaged in hobby craft during their spare time by producing their own beloved models of fishing reels. Crouch-type reels, Blackfish reels, Fly reels, Game reels, Seamartin-style reels, and Fishing lures were often popular items created by these enthusiasts during maintenance and production downtimes. During those downtimes, a floor supervisor would approach an employee and say, "Work on your foreigner." This was done to create an impression in the eyes of senior production managers that workers were busily engaged in company projects. Thus, these workshop-made reels, or any other items made during these "downtimes," were known or referred to as "Foreigners." Australian-made workshop fishing reels, along with other angling items, are highly collectible.
It is also pertinent to state that, especially during the war periods (i.e., WWI and WWII), there were shortages of fishing items on the retail market due to war effort production. Hence, these workshop practices were particularly common during those turbulent times. (Ladd B., 2007).