While seated at this harmonium on the cold, wintery day of 15 June 1910, Vera Tollis may have rubbed her hands together, then pulled out all the instruments’ stops (knobs) to make the grandest sound possible. She was waiting for the bride to appear at the door of St Egwin’s Church, Tenambit. Then, breaking the […]
In the age of steam shipping, time was of the essence. Imagine then, the importance of this clock, to John Eales, Director, and his staff of the Hunter River Steam Navigation Company (HRSN Co.). They probably eagerly watched its dial on countless occasions, while awaiting the arrival of their steamships at the company’s wharf on […]
A dinner set has long been one of the most useful wedding gifts a couple can receive. Historically, porcelain and bone china tablewares were both highly valuable and fragile, so many recipients only dined on them on special occasions. But this cream earthenware set, probably given to Lurlie (Lurline) (née Bailey) and Arthur Jakins, as […]
A grand house deserves fancy furniture. Perhaps that’s why James Martin Hillhouse Taylor (c1814-1875) purchased this elaborate dining chair and ‘grandmother’ chair in about 1849 – to furnish his new residence in Morpeth. As a shipping agent for the Hunter Valley Steam Navigation Company, with a profitable side business selling spirits and other goods, Taylor […]
Many objects from previous generations tightly conceal the identities and lives of the people who made and used them, but occasionally, they give away a few clues. We may never know who made or first wore this beautifully printed nineteenth century day dress from Newcastle. But a close look at its construction tells us the […]
It was a solemn occasion in October 1916, when Morpeth farmer Alfred Peacock and his wife Charlotte stood in front of their fellow members of the Berry Park Progress Association, Morpeth. As a gesture of respect and affection, the committee presented them with this photographic portrait of their son Norman Peacock (1896-1916), expressing their regret […]
It had been a long day on the road in central France for Lieutenant Herbert Harold Maynard, when he habitually took out his pencil and scribbled an entry in this diary; ‘Left Berles au Bois 26th for Senlis’. It was 26 March 1918, and the young man from Swan Street, Morpeth had carried this diary […]
Amy Hill’s memory of being photographed is dulled by a haze of teenage angst. During the school holidays she had dyed her ginger hair to purple then back to what felt like a decidedly unnatural, rule-abiding maroon. During the term Amy’s art teacher approached the class to ask if they would be interested in being […]
The Ulladulla Refrigerating Butter Company of Milton, established in 1896, was famous for churning the choicest butter. It was smooth, firm textured, even grained and was just the right shade of straw yellow. In 1926, the company also began making aged cheddar cheese, packing the rounds into timber crates like this, separated by fine timber […]
The sound echoed around the forest as Ernie Drury’s axe struck the timber to chop a notch in the trunk of a giant Eucalypt at Shallow Crossing, on the Clyde River, near Nelligen. It was the 1930s, so without an electric chainsaw, he needed this light timber springboard to reach higher above the flared roots […]
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