A musical instrument? Some sort of animal horn? Not quite! You might be surprised to learn that this is actually a historical hearing aid. Known as an ‘ear trumpet,’ these devices were used to help people hear better. By holding the narrow end close to the ear, the wider end would collect and funnel sound […]
With the smell of buttery popcorn in the air and cold Passiona fizzing in eager hands, everyone got settled into their seats. Rows of sturdy, wooden folding chairs filled the Iluka Memorial Hall as Iluka’s own picture show man, Frank Clancy, prepared to project the latest film on the big screen. Born in 1905, Frank […]
By the 1890s, Iluka had already earned a strong reputation for its oysters, fished from the Clarence River and shipped to Sydney. Soon, prawns and fish like flathead, snapper, and bream followed, expanding Iluka’s fishing industry, and drawing in more fishermen to the region. As Iluka grew, so did the challenge of keeping catches fresh […]
When Dancing Lady screened in Australian cinemas in 1934, promotional fans were distributed featuring a portrait of the lead actress, Joan Crawford. Serving a similar purpose to the imagery on popcorn buckets today, these fans were intended to generate excitement for new releases. This particular fan was produced and distributed by T. J. Dorgan’s North […]
When Hebe Prindable took this large oval-shaped basket down from the wall of his shed, to hand to the Iluka Museum, he knew it was worth more than the weight of the fish it once carried. Hebe himslelf used this very basket, along with other members of his family – the Prindables. The basket was […]
Mary Brown first laid eyes on Iluka in the early 1970s alongside her husband, Barry, and soon settled into the calm rhythm of the coastal village, on Yaegl Country in northern New South Wales. They moved into a weatherboard house at 9 Charles Street where they began a new chapter of their life together. Barry […]
Prickly pear (Opuntia stricta) was first planted in Australia in 1788 at the instruction of Governor Phillip as a food source for the insect used to produce red dye for the uniforms of British soldiers. However, by the mid-1920s, the invasive weed had spread far beyond its original industrial use to 24 million hectares – […]
Known as the ‘miner’s mate,’ windlasses started to spring up on the morrillas (limestone ridges) of the Yuwaalaraay lands known as Wallangulla in 1900. Fast forward nine years, and the skyline of what had become known as ‘Lunatic Hill’ was littered with them. Used to winch up dirt-encrusted opals in ox-hide buckets to be picked […]
Victorian goldminer Charles Waterhouse Nettleton (1862-1946) arrived on Mt Browne’s Albert gold fields west of Milparinka in New South Wales sometime before it closed down in 1893. He was a solitary man, a prospector, so wandered southeast to White Cliffs, the home of milky opal, and his new interest. But gold was in his blood […]
Owned and operated by ‘Bill’ Hickey (William 1886–1973) from the 1910s to 1955, the timber launch known as Beryl was used to transfer people, goods, and the mail, across the Clarence River from Yamba to Iluka. She ran this route in tandem with her sister motor-launch the Phfrane (pronounced Fray-nee), also owned by Bill. Europeam […]
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