A mass produced unbranded utilitarian item made for domestic use no history or provenance currently available, design indicates item made before 1950Item at this time cannot be associated with an historical event, person or place, provenance is unknown, item assessed as a collection asset as made prior to 1950.Stoneware mixing bowl round cream with pouring lip and decorative scallop relief around bodyNoneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, bowl, ceramic bowl, pouring bowl, kitchen ware, cooking ware, ironstone bowl, salt glazed, mixing bowl

W Baker and Co-produced many different types of pottery at their Fenton Potteries, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire England. The company was established in 1790 by Ralph Bourne and William Baker the company was working at capacity by the end of the century. By the late 1820's Bourne and Baker, in partnership with John Bourne, had acquired additional works opposite the first in 1833. With the deaths of John Bourne and William Baker, the partnership was dissolved, and then for a short time, the business was carried on by Ralph Bourne and William Baker junior and John Baker. By the early 1840s, William Baker was running it alone and was then using 'machinery for the potteries manufacturing operations in addition to the mill that was producing the raw clay. The business was subsequently carried on by William Baker and Company that were known for the making of printed, sponged, and pearl-white granite ware for export in the early 1880s at the Fenton works between Manor and Fountain Streets. The original works on the south side of City Road were by then an en-caustic tile works, apparently still in the hands of the Baker family. The pottery works flourished under William Baker’s management and by the middle of the nineteenth century with almost 500 employees was the biggest firm in Fenton. An early piece of ironstone Staffordshire pottery now a collector's item showing the types of domestic items that were exported from England to its colonies towards the end of the nineteenth century and into the beginning of the twentieth.Water pitcher ironstone ceramic white with raised embossed Lilly of the valley decoration around handle and lip sections. Marked on bottom, "Royal stone china, Baker and Co, England" with emblem of lion, crown and unicornflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, jug, kitchen utensil, kitchen ware, water pitcher

Sad irons of the 19th century were so named because of the weight 1.8Kg that was needed to press wrinkled clothes and sheets. They were made of solid metal, including the handle. When the iron was heated, this meant that the handle would also heat up. The user would have to use a thick cloth or a mitt of some sort before they could pick up the iron. Even so, burns and blisters, as well as strained, tired arms, were a normal part of the “ironing day.” Mrs Mary Florence Potts of Ottumwa, Iowa, brought a change to the world of ironing. At the age of 19, in 1870, she invented her first sad iron. It had a hollow metal body that could be filled with a non-conducting material such as plaster of Paris. In 1871, Mary invented the removable wood handle, so that it could be changed from the cool iron to one that was hot and ready to use. A final improvement was the shape: Mary made both ends pointed so its user could iron in either direction. All of these inventions were patented under her name, a rarity for the time. Mary, with the help of her husband, tried unsuccessfully to market her invention on her own. It wasn't until she sold the sales rights to the American Manufacturing Company that sales took off. Advertised as "Mrs Potts' sad iron," it became a sensation. The company manufactured the iron from about 1876 to 1951. Mrs Potts' sad iron became a household word and a standard for future inventors to have to surpass. This didn't happen until 1882 when Henry W. Seely patented the first electric iron. The item is significant not only as a usable domestic tool, but it was, at the time of its creation, a revolutionary labour-saving device. Mrs Potts invention remains associated with a housewife's answer to the domestic drudgery of ironing.Iron,"Mrs Potts" pattern iron. Semi-circular or 'D' shaped wood handle and wood knob.Mrs Pottsflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, iron, clothes iron, flat iron, laundry, sad iron, mrs potts

Tin, "Choicest Nectar Tea" is an example of retail packaging, for domestic goods, the tin was made by J Marsh and Sons, Melbourne, for John Connell & Co Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1900-1940Item at this time cannot be associated with an historical event, person or place, provenance is unknown, item assessed as a collection asset.Container; tea caddy for "Nectar Tea" brand, 1 lb. Packed by John Connell and Co Ltd, Melbourne. Blue and white vertical stripe decoration. On label "The Nectar Tea Caddy" and "Nectar, the finest tea the world produces, is a blend of the Choicest Pure Leafed Teas from the Gardens of Ceylon, India, Java"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, tea canister, tea caddy, tea tin, container, kitchen storage, food storage, food, nectar tea, john connell, melbourne, j march & sons, john connell & co ltd

A colander, sieve or cullender is a kitchen utensil used to strain foods such as pasta or to rinse vegetables. The perforated nature of the bowl allows liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside it is sometimes also called a pasta strainer or kitchen sieve. Conventionally, colanders are made of a light metal, such as aluminum or thinly rolled stainless or plated steel, colanders are also made of plastic, silicone, ceramic, and enamelware. The word colander comes from the Latin Colum meaning sieve.Early 20th century kitchen item possibly of French manufacture due to the design and shape of the bowl this design appears to have been favoured by the French around 1910 for smaller Colanders. This item gives a snapshot into domestic life around the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the types of kitchen equipment in use.Strainer or colander, metal, with concave base and wood handle, plated metal construction with welded or folded seams. Handle painted black, perforated base.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, strainer, food strainer, seive, food preparation, kitchen ware

The fruit juice or lemon squeezer is a small kitchen utensil designed to extract juice from lemons or other citrus fruit such as oranges, grapefruit, or lime. It is designed to separate and crush the pulp of the fruit in a way that is easy to operate. Lemon squeezers can be made from any solid, acid-resistant material, such as plastic, glass, metal (usually aluminum) or ceramic. The oldest known lemon squeezers were found in Kütahya, Turkey and date to the first quarter of the 18th century. These ceramic presses are in the traditional style of Turkish pottery of the 18th century and have a superficial resemblance to today's press equipment with cones, though they are designed differently. These examples were individually made, and specially designed for making the then popular citrus drink sorbet. Lemons are not native to northern Turkey, though during the 17th and 18th centuries they were imported in bulk to Constantinople.The fruit juice press is an example of early 20th century kitchen utensils and is not associated with an historical event, person or place, provenance is unable to be determined at this time and the item is believed to have been made around 1900. This item is currently being used in Flagstaffs Hill village display and regarded as significant as it demonstrates domestic kitchen utensils used around the turn of the 19th century and today is a collectable item. Vintage lemon/citrus fruits squeezer cast iron juicer with two sections hinged together strainer on one section has holes for letting liquid escape.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, food press, food preparation, fruit juice press, kitchen utensil

The Hoffman company was established in 1870 to mass-produce bricks using the Hoffman patent kiln and the Bradley and Craven brick press. Once established the company entered a period of expansion aided by Melbourne's building boom from 1870 to 1890. During this time approximately ten brick machines were in operation producing some 18,000 bricks per hour. An extensive pottery works were established initially supplying mainly tiles and drainpipes and later domestic pottery such as the company's Melrose ware. The company even had its locomotive shunt the works siding which connected with the Victorian Railways at South Brunswick. By 1890 Hoffman was the largest brick and pottery works in Victoria, however, the 1890s depression halted company expansion. The company joined the Brick Co-operative when it was formed in 1896. The cooperative regulated prices and output from member brickworks. As the depression ended business picked up and the works were expanded to increase the production of stoneware pottery, especially domestic wares. The brickworks, however, never recovered the momentum of the early period. During the 1920s and 1930s, the works gradually ran down, and following the Second World War, production reached an all-time low. The No.1 works were stripped and sold. (For further information regards Hoffman Kilns see note section of this document.) An item made in Melbourne by at the time the largest pottery works in Australia making industrial and domestic wares for the home and building industries. Stoneware Demijohn jug with cream and brown glaze. Printed around base of jug, MELBOURNE, 1929"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, jug, melbourne, 1929, stoneware jug, hoffman potteries

A butter churn is a device used to convert cream into butter. This is done through a mechanical process, frequently via a pole inserted through the lid of the churn, or via a crank used to turn a rotating device inside the churn. The use of butter is mentioned in biblical works and the earliest butter churn vessels belonging to Beersheba culture in Israel were found in Bir Abu Matar going back to Chalcolithic period between 6500–5500 BC. The butter churn in Europe may have existed as early as the 6th century AD, In the European tradition, the butter churn was primarily a device used by women, and the churning of butter was an essential responsibility along with other household chores. In earlier traditions of butter making, nomadic cultures placed milk in skin bags and produced butter either by shaking the bag manually, or possibly by attaching the bag to a pack animal, and producing butter simply through the movement of the animal. An item used to make butter in a domestic situation by turning a handle until the cream inside has turned to butter.Butter churn, wooden, lid pieces screwed or nailed together. Brass bearing on side with iron turning handle.Handle marked 28204 no other marks to indicate manufacturer or date of productionflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, churn, butter churn, wooden churn, butter making, food, dairy, kitchen utensil

This wire soap holder is purpose-made by hand for holding a bar of soap in a way that allows the soap to air dry. It may have been used in the laundry, bathroom or kitchen, areas used for washing hands or bodies. Wet bars of soap could become very soft and difficult to use. The maker used short lengths of wire to create this soap holder, showing thriftiness and inventiveness.Although the soap holder is currently not associated with a historical event, person or place at this time it is being used to augment Flagstaff's village display as it is typical of items used in the 19th and early 20th centuries.Soap holder; basket shaped frame, handmade from twisted wire strands.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, soap h older, wire soap holder, cleaning, laundry, washing, sanitation

The art of making glass can be traced back to 2600 BC in Mesopotamia. Egyptians practised making glass around 2500 BC. Artificial glass first appeared in the Egyptian or the Mesopotamian civilization, whereas they used tools made out of volcanic glass obsidian in the Stone Age. Ancient China, however, discovered how to make glass a little later. Glass beads are known to be one of the earliest products made out of glass. Their creation is thought to be primarily accidental. In the later Bronze Age, glassmaking came to a halt. Glass was a luxury material back then. Archaeological excavations suggest the use of glass in England during the middle ages. In the 10th century, stained glass found a place in cathedrals and windows of palaces. After the Renaissance, architectural methods changed substantially, leading to a decrease in stained glass as a building material. Domestic use of glass increased following the industrial revolution. Vessels, glass windows, and glass beads gained popularity in Europe during this period. During the 19th century, many people preferred glass windows and doors as a decorative option. In the late 19th century, some designers brought back stained glass in decorative windows. It was during this period that Mr Tiffany discovered several methods to make domed glass handicrafts. People discovered the true versatility of using glass as a building material only in the 20th century. With glassmaking technology receiving an industrial boom, you could produce several different types of glass. Toughened glass, laminated glass, bulletproof glass, and smart glass all boosted the use of glass in buildings. Today, several skyscrapers, small and big homes, and offices use glass in almost all aspects of construction and design. https://www.aisglass.com/glass-made-step-step-process/The invention and development of glass, both as domestic items and in building, has been nothing short of revolutionary. Prior to the use of glass for windows, the interior of buildings were extremely dark, even during sunny days. The use of glass domestic objects, that could be easily washed, led to improved hygiene.Cylindrical drinking glass with stepped relief around lipNoneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, glass

Glass manufacturing has evolved over thousands of years. Glass making has been traced back to 3500 BC in Mesopotamia. The earliest known glass objects were beads, perhaps made by accident while working with metal. In the late Bronze Age, several civilizations discovered how to make vessels and glass bottles by wrapping threads of melted glass around cores of sand or clay. Later, moulds were used to form dishes and table wares. Around the 1st century BC, glassblowing was discovered. This made glass containers less expensive than pottery. Mould-blown glass, the process of blowing a piece of molten glass into a wooden or metal mould, was invented during the 1st century AD. This technique was faster with more consistent results. It paved the way for mass production. It wasn’t until the late 1800s that the production process to become more efficient. In 1887, a company in England created a semi-automatic process that could produce up to 200 bottles an hour. This process has been refined to the point where modern machines can yield more than 600 containers per minute. Blown vs. Manufactured Glass Bottles Nowadays, glass bottles, jars, and cups are usually manufactured on a bigger scale than is found in individual glassblowing studios. If we still depended on hand-blown glass for all of our glass containers, we would see some major differences in the process of creating bottles and jars. First, there's the time. Hand blowing glass takes a significant amount of time, even for one simple container. In contrast, hundreds of jars per minute can be made using modern technology. This leads to the second advantage: price. Because of the automated and streamlined process, the price for manufactured containers is much lower than that of hand-blown glass. Third, manufactured bottles will be much more consistently uniform than bottles blown by hand. Automated glass manufacturing produces nearly identical batches of jars. Glass blowing is awesome for unique, beautiful pieces of art. But for lots of lower priced and uniformly shaped containers, automatic manufacturing is the preferred method to create glass bottles and jars. https://www.containerandpackaging.com/resources/glass-bottles-brief-history The invention and development of glass for domestic items including bottles, has been nothing short of revolutionary. The use of glass bottles, that could be easily washed, led to improved hygiene, and mass manufacturing of drinks of all types, including milk, cordial and alcoholic beverages.Green Glass Bottle Possibly a ginger beer bottle.Concave indentation at the base. Also on base are two raised lumps. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, glass

Enamel cookware became very popular because people wanted a way of coating iron to stop metallic tastes or rust getting into food: something acid-resistant and easy to clean without laborious scouring, something more durable than the tin linings used inside copper. Enamelware dates back to 1760 in Germany.This object is significant as an example of an item in common use in the 19th and early 20th centuries.Oblong shaped enamel dish. The white enamel has been discoloured on the inside and much rust has occurred. The remains of a blue enamel line around rim.Two large rust holes in base, and a small rust hole near rim. None.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, enamel, kitchenware, baking

The iron is an example of laundry equipment from the Victorian era before electricity was commonly available.Charcoal box iron with iron body, wooden handle and metal finger guard. It has been painted black. Inscription on top of iron.On top of iron"8"flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, iron, domestic iron, box iron, laundry equipment, household item, family charcoal iron

Households from the 18th century onwards used a hot iron to removed wrinkles and creases in fabric such as clothing, table and bed linen This simple iron stand provided a rest for a hot iron between use during an ironing session and a place for the iron to cool when the session was completed. This item is associated with domestic life during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Triangular shaped stand made from metal rods welded together at feet. Painted black.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, iron stand, triangular iron stand, ironing, laundry equipment

A funnel such as this is used to assist in pouring liquids into a narrow container such as a bottle or jar. An item like this could be commonly used in households for food preparation, cooking and soap making. It could also be used for pouring fuel, and medicinal purposes. Enamelware dates back to 1760 in Germany.This object is significant as an example of a type of item in common use in the 19th Century and that is still in use today.Funnel, white enamel with dark rusty metal rim. It has a triangular shaped hook on the top lip for hanging. The metal has been joined down one side.None.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, funnel, food preparation, beverage, laundry, fuel, food preservation, medicinal preparation, decanting, pouring

This stove brush is shaped to fit into grooves and crevices on a cast iron stove range and fenders. A brush like this would be used in the 19th and early 290th centuries to apply a blackening agent to the metal to clean and preserve it would be polished to make it look more attractive.This object is significant as an example of an item in common use in the 19th and early 20th centuries.Stove brush, wooden with wooden raised handle and black bristles. The bristles at the ends of the brush are longer than in the centre, and flare outwards. The brush' is rounded at one end and pointed at the other.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, cast iron stove, oven range, stove brush, blackening brush, cooking, kitchen equipment, wood fired stove

This fire poker is a basic design that has been used throughout the centuries to attend to a fire for cooking, heating, firing a boiler and similar domestic activities.This object is significant as an example of an item in common use in the 19th and early 20th centuries and is still in use today.Fire poker; a flat metal bar shaped with ring at one end and a right angle bend at the base. It is painted black.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, poker, fire poker, fire iron, heating, cooking, laundry, tending a fire

Brushes such as this one have been used for scrubbing, cleaning and polishing household equipment, shoes, leather items and various other uses.The scrubbing brush is an example of an early 20th-century domestic object that is still in use today.Scrubbing brush with wooden spine and a raised wooden handle. Bristle length is longer at one end. The opposite end has a pointed shaped on the spine.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, scrubbing brush, brush, cleaning equipment

This enamel jug is a basic design that was common to households in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Enamelware dates back to 1760 in Germany.This object is significant as an example of an item in common use in the 19th and early 20th centuries.White metal enamel jug, white with navy blue handle and rim. Tapered cylindrical shape, with a pouring lip.None.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, jug, enamel jug, kitchen equipment, liquid storage, beverage preparation

From the early days of our race, the knife represented one of the first and most important tools that enabled rise of our technology, military, culture, science and all other things that brought us to this point of modern civilisation. As a vital tool for survival, combat, construction and food preparation, the knife quickly became the most basic tool from which all others were born. In those ancient times, 500,000 years ago, sharpened stones started slowly evolving, becoming more and more like their modern counterpart. Before the time when fire enabled the melting of the various metals, and forging them into modern knives, their stone counterparts received several visual upgrades. Double bladed knives were most popular, and their wooden or stone hilts were decorated with animal skins and feathers. Those knives represented a great deal of pride for the warriors and elders who owned them, and that tradition continued to be practised with the arrival of the Bronze Age. The appearance of metallurgy brought the ability to create knives from softer types of metal. Even though knives from bronze did not provide durability over longer periods of time [easily dulled, and susceptible to corrosion), their sharpness and slim designed proved to be superior to any stone knife tool. As the centuries went on, iron and then steel became commonplace across the entire world. Knives created from those materials were much more durable and easier to maintain their sharpness after prolonged use. During medieval times in Europe, steel metallurgy managed to evolve knives from small single or double-bladed edges to larger sizes - swords, spears and axes. Even with all those advancements, the use of knives as an eating utensil continued to be used in some small circles. Even as early as the 15th century, wealthy circles of people started carrying personal knives, intended for double use - both eating and defending against threats. During those times the host were not obliged to provide their guest with any kind of eating utensil in addition to plates, so wealthy males used their eating knives for cutting their own meals, and the meals of nearby female guests. Slim double-bladed knives were good for cutting and piercing foods. As the use of forks became widespread in the whole of Europe by the late 17th century, most people used this kind of small knife on a regular basis (a combination of two knives, one for stabilising and other for cutting the meal). http://www.eatingutensils.net/history-of-cutlery/knife-history/The knife is one of the most important items that has enabled the development of civilisation over thousands of years.Carving knife with wooden handle and rusted slender metal blade.None.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, knife, kitchen equipment, dining

The colander is an extremely useful tool in the kitchen, as it allows food to be fully drained of liquids such as water or oil. Enamelware dates back to 1760 in Germany.This object is significant as an example of a type of item in common use in the 19th Century and that is still in use today.Mottled blue enamel colander with draining holes in the base and sides. Two thin handles on lip of bowl.None.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, enamel, colander, food preparation

The development of bronze and iron metalworking skills allowed for cookware made from metal to be manufactured, although adoption of the new cookware was slow due to the much higher cost. After the development of metal cookware there was little new development in cookware, with the standard medieval kitchen utilising a cauldron and a shallow earthenware pan for most cooking tasks, with a spit employed for roasting. By the 17th century, it was common for a Western kitchen to contain a number of skillets, baking pans, a kettle and several pots, along with a variety of pot hooks and trivets. Brass or copper vessels were common in Asia and Europe, whilst iron pots were common in the American colonies. Improvements in metallurgy during the 19th and 20th centuries allowed for pots and pans from metals such as steel, stainless steel and aluminium to be economically produced. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookware_and_bakewareThis item is significant as an example of an item in common use in the kitchen in the second half of the 19th Century, and thereafter.Metal oval cake/pie dish. Significant rust all over..None.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, cookware, bakeware, kitchenware

It took 15 years to invent the can. It took 100 more to invent a standard way to open it. In the 19th century, decades after the invention of canning, there were virtually no can openers. Canned food, such as sardines, came with its own "key" to peel back the tin lid. Birth of the can One of the oddest things about the can opener is that the can predates it by almost 150 years. Though common today, cans were once military-grade technology. In 1795, Napoleon, to whom the phrase "an army marches on its stomach" is attributed, offered 12,000 francs to anyone who could find a way to preserve food. Without any knowledge of bacteria or their role in food spoilage, scientists didn't even know where to begin. It took 15 years before a chef named Nicholas Appert claimed the prize after successfully jarring food. Soon after that, his countryman Philippe de Girard came up with a variant on Appert's method—metal tins—and sold the idea to the British. Spoiled food, and the sickness it caused, was a widespread problem. The public would have benefited from canned food, but for decades cans were almost exclusively for the army and the navy. The canning process, with its hours of boiling and steaming, its scrupulous cleanliness, its heated metal, and its need for a great deal of disposable material, made canned food far too expensive for anyone but the military. No can openers were needed or even possible. The metal of early cans was too thick to make openers practical. Soldiers and sailors had plenty of sharp objects on hand and made ample use of them when they wanted to eat. During the 19th century, the process of canning was refined and mechanised, and the metal wall of the average can slimmed down enough that a civilian could get it open—if that civilian had the right tool. No one had that tool yet, so early cans had to open themselves. In other words, they came with built-in openers. The result was a confusing but pleasing free-for-all, in terms of product engineering. Each type of food came with its own kind of can, and each kind of can came with its own kind of opener. Tinned fish and meat were often sold in rectangular cans. These cans were fitted with a "key" that would roll down the top of the can. Coffee, beans, and other types of meat were packaged in cylinders with metal strips that could be peeled back with their own kinds of built-in keys. Cans of milk, which didn't need to be completely opened, came with puncture devices. As tinned food became more common, its containers became more regular. A nice cylindrical can became the norm, and, as these cans filled kitchens, more engineers put their minds to finding a convenient way to open all of them. The first standalone can opener worked on a simple principle: point, stab, and pull. From the mid-19th century to the end of World War I, the typical can opener looked roughly like a wrench, if the lower 'jaw' of the wrench were replaced with a blade. People used the blade to puncture the top of the can near its edge, push the upper jaw against the side of the can, and drag the blade through the metal along the rim. Because meat was the first and most popular canned substance, these can openers were often shaped to look like cows and given the nickname 'bully beef can openers'. The bully beef can opener, popular in the mid-19th century, resulted in many lost fingers. Later, a corkscrew was added that was seated in the handle, and could be pulled out for use. Bully beef can openers were so common, effective, and sturdy that they are still frequently available on collectors' sites. Some are advertised as “still working,” and every last one of them is, without a doubt, soaked in the blood of our ancestors. Dragging a sharp blade along the edge of a can is certain to cause injury sooner or later. So once people got a reliable can shape and a reliable way to get the can open, the search was on for a reliable way to get a can open without the possibility of losing a finger. The answer came in 1925, from the Star Can Opener Company of San Francisco. This is probably the first can opener that resembles the one people have in their kitchens today. Instead of using a blade to pry open a metal can, buyers could clamp the edge of the can between two wheels and twist the handle of one of the wheels to move the blade around the lip. The Star can openers weren't perfect. Compared to the bully beef model, they were flimsy and breakable, but they probably prevented a few injuries. Six short years after the Star model came to market, the first electric can opener was invented. It was patented in 1931 by the Bunker Clancey Company of Kansas City, who had already been sued by the Star Can Opener Company for trying sell a double-wheeled can opener like the Star model (the case was dismissed). The electric can opener must have seemed like the wave of the future and a sure-fire seller, but it proved to be too far ahead of its time. In 1931 not that many households had electricity, and those that did weren't interested in buying can openers. The Bunker Clancey Company was subsequently bought by the Rival Company, which still makes small appliances like can openers today. It took another 25 years for electrically powered can openers to become practical. In the 1950s, Walter Hess Bodle and his daughter, Elizabeth Bodle, developed an electric can opener in the family garage. Walter came up with the opener's blades and motor, and Elizabeth sculpted the outside. Their can opener was a free-standing unit that could sit on the kitchen counter. The Udico brand of the Union Die Casting Company put it on the market in time for Christmas in 1956 and had great success with it. Over the next few years it came out in different styles and colours, and, like the bully beef can opener, has become a collector's item. Also like the bully beef model, Udico can openers often still work. They don't make 'em like they used to. Although there have been some design changes and refinements over the last sixty years, there have yet to be any more leaps forward in can opener technology. If you're resentfully opening a can, you are almost certainly doing it using the Star design, manually forcing the can between two wheels, or the Bodle design, clamping the can into a free-standing electrical opener. Whether or not you enjoy your holiday meals, at least you can be happy that you are not getting poisoned by your own food or cutting open your hand with the blade you use to get at it. That's something, right?The can opener, Bottle opener and the corkscrew are still very important and essential items in most kitchens.Metal can opener, chromed, with bottle opener, and a corkscrew seated in the handle.None.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, canning, can opener, corkscrew, bottle opener, kitchen equipment

It took 15 years to invent the can. It took 100 more to invent a standard way to open it. In the 19th century, decades after the invention of canning, there were virtually no can openers. Canned food, such as sardines, came with its own "key" to peel back the tin lid. Birth of the can One of the oddest things about the can opener is that the can predates it by almost 150 years. Though common today, cans were once military-grade technology. In 1795, Napoleon, to whom the phrase "an army marches on its stomach" is attributed, offered 12,000 francs to anyone who could find a way to preserve food. Without any knowledge of bacteria or their role in food spoilage, scientists didn't even know where to begin. It took 15 years before a chef named Nicholas Appert claimed the prize after successfully jarring food. Soon after that, his countryman Philippe de Girard came up with a variant on Appert's method—metal tins—and sold the idea to the British. Spoiled food, and the sickness it caused, was a widespread problem. The public would have benefited from canned food, but for decades cans were almost exclusively for the army and the navy. The canning process, with its hours of boiling and steaming, its scrupulous cleanliness, its heated metal, and its need for a great deal of disposable material, made canned food far too expensive for anyone but the military. No can openers were needed or even possible. The metal of early cans was too thick to make openers practical. Soldiers and sailors had plenty of sharp objects on hand and made ample use of them when they wanted to eat. During the 19th century, the process of canning was refined and mechanised, and the metal wall of the average can slimmed down enough that a civilian could get it open—if that civilian had the right tool. No one had that tool yet, so early cans had to open themselves. In other words, they came with built-in openers. The result was a confusing but pleasing free-for-all, in terms of product engineering. Each type of food came with its own kind of can, and each kind of can came with its own kind of opener. Tinned fish and meat were often sold in rectangular cans. These cans were fitted with a "key" that would roll down the top of the can. Coffee, beans, and other types of meat were packaged in cylinders with metal strips that could be peeled back with their own kinds of built-in keys. Cans of milk, which didn't need to be completely opened, came with puncture devices. As tinned food became more common, its containers became more regular. A nice cylindrical can became the norm, and, as these cans filled kitchens, more engineers put their minds to finding a convenient way to open all of them. The first standalone can opener worked on a simple principle: point, stab, and pull. From the mid-19th century to the end of World War I, the typical can opener looked roughly like a wrench, if the lower 'jaw' of the wrench were replaced with a blade. People used the blade to puncture the top of the can near its edge, push the upper jaw against the side of the can, and drag the blade through the metal along the rim. Because meat was the first and most popular canned substance, these can openers were often shaped to look like cows and given the nickname 'bully beef can openers'. The bully beef can opener, popular in the mid-19th century, resulted in many lost fingers. Bully beef can openers were so common, effective, and sturdy that they are still frequently available on collectors' sites. Some are advertised as “still working,” and every last one of them is, without a doubt, soaked in the blood of our ancestors. Dragging a sharp blade along the edge of a can is certain to cause injury sooner or later. So once people got a reliable can shape and a reliable way to get the can open, the search was on for a reliable way to get a can open without the possibility of losing a finger. The answer came in 1925, from the Star Can Opener Company of San Francisco. This is probably the first can opener that resembles the one people have in their kitchens today. Instead of using a blade to pry open a metal can, buyers could clamp the edge of the can between two wheels and twist the handle of one of the wheels to move the blade around the lip. The Star can openers weren't perfect. Compared to the bully beef model, they were flimsy and breakable, but they probably prevented a few injuries. Six short years after the Star model came to market, the first electric can opener was invented. It was patented in 1931 by the Bunker Clancey Company of Kansas City, who had already been sued by the Star Can Opener Company for trying sell a double-wheeled can opener like the Star model (the case was dismissed). The electric can opener must have seemed like the wave of the future and a sure-fire seller, but it proved to be too far ahead of its time. In 1931 not that many households had electricity, and those that did weren't interested in buying can openers. The Bunker Clancey Company was subsequently bought by the Rival Company, which still makes small appliances like can openers today. It took another 25 years for electrically powered can openers to become practical. In the 1950s, Walter Hess Bodle and his daughter, Elizabeth Bodle, developed an electric can opener in the family garage. Walter came up with the opener's blades and motor, and Elizabeth sculpted the outside. Their can opener was a free-standing unit that could sit on the kitchen counter. The Udico brand of the Union Die Casting Company put it on the market in time for Christmas in 1956 and had great success with it. Over the next few years it came out in different styles and colours, and, like the bully beef can opener, has become a collector's item. Also like the bully beef model, Udico can openers often still work. They don't make 'em like they used to. Although there have been some design changes and refinements over the last sixty years, there have yet to be any more leaps forward in can opener technology. If you're resentfully opening a can, you are almost certainly doing it using the Star design, manually forcing the can between two wheels, or the Bodle design, clamping the can into a free-standing electrical opener. Whether or not you enjoy your holiday meals, at least you can be happy that you are not getting poisoned by your own food or cutting open your hand with the blade you use to get at it. That's something, right?The can opener is still a very important and essential item in most kitchens.Can opener, right handed, metal, upper blade section serrated, inscription 'Peerless Pat.Feb 11-90'.Peerless Pat.Feb 11-90flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, cannning, can opener, kitchen equipment

The subject item is a good example of a large, hand-operated Bentwood box butter churn used to make up to 14 pounds of butter. It was made in Gisborne, Victoria, by the famous manufacturer, E. Cherry, and is known as an Improved Patent No.2 model probably dating from the late 1800s. The Cherry works specialised in making all types of butter churns and equipment for both domestic use on farms and small butter factories during the late nineteenth and early to mid. twentieth centuries. Milk was "separated" to retrieve the cream which was then beaten to make butter. E Cherry began making various models of Cherry butter churns in 1858, Edward Cherry migrated from Herefordshire England to Australia in 1855 with his wife Ann Appleby, nee Davis, and established a joinery workshop at Gisborne, Victoria. He began by making butter churns in his spare time and his product soon became popular allowing him to establish a viable business. A factory was established in 1875 and he started to make churns of all sizes including up to industrial scale. He exported his products to many countries around the world, Edward Cherry died in 1909 and the business was then run by his son George until he died in 1917. E Cherry's other son Thomas (1861-1945) was also involved in the firm maintaining an interest for several years. He had been born in Gisborne and became a senior house medical surgeon at the Melbourne Hospital in 1890. He continued his studies at Kings College London, eventually becoming a renowned bacteriologist and agricultural scientist. A significant giving an snapshot into how early rural and industrial manufacturing became established in Australia.Rectangular butter churn, a footed wooden box containing an X-shaped wooden interior rack, which is joined to an exterior metal hand crank with turned wood handle, through a hole in the box. Beneath the hand crank is a hole from the interior lined with metal. The lid has a carry handle affixed to the lid on two cross pieces attached to the lid by brass screws.Lettering in black on a transfer "CHERRY & SONS PTY LTD. GISBORNE VICTORIA". Model 00warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, butter churn, gisborne, edward cherry, george cherry, thomas cherry, ann appleby, dairy equipment

The artefact is a damaged brass cow bell recovered from the 1878 shipwreck of the LOCH ARD near Port Campbell. It was raised by Flagstaff Hill divers in 1973 and is in storage at the Maritime Village. The LOCH ARD was constructed on the Clyde in 1873 for the prestigious Loch Line of colonial clipper ships, designed for the Australian run. She sailed from England on 1 March 1878 carrying 37 crew, 17 passengers and a diverse general cargo ranging from luxury items to bulk railway iron. On 1 June 1878, emerging from fog and hearing too late the sound of breakers against the tall limestone cliffs, the vessel struck the southern foot of Mutton Bird Island and sank in 23 metres of water. Of the fifty-four people on board only two survived, one young male crewman and one young female passenger. A century later, despite the pounding seas and the efforts of looters, the wreck site continued to provide ample evidence of the extraordinary range of goods being imported into the Colony of Victoria in the post-Gold Rush era. Flagstaff Hill divers in the 1970s reported finds of “Bottles of champagne, window panes, rolls of zinc, barrels of cement, iron rails, clocks, lead shot, corrugated iron, lead, marble, salad oil bottles, ink bottles, copper wire, gin bottles, rolls of carpet, floor tiles, copper rivets, gas light fittings, pocket knives, toys, crystal chandeliers, beer mugs, cutlery, candles sticks, wick scissors, cow bells, and sauce bottles.” From this array of objects on the ocean floor emerged the humble brass cow bell. Cow bells were common to colonial agriculture and transport, used wherever animals were turned out to graze overnight and had to be rounded up again next morning. Bells were fastened around the necks of household milking cows, domestic goats, bullock teams, horse teams, and camel teams, to help find them in the pre-dawn light. Station shepherds and cattle drovers also used them to warn of any disturbances to their flocks and herds overnight. The bells were a necessary item in a largely unfenced continent. So important, that Anthony Mongon began making his pot-bells at Yackandandah from 1861, August Menneke produced the “Wagga Pot” from 1867, and Samuel Jones started manufacturing his distinctively shaped “Condamine Bell” in 1868. However, these deeply resonant Australian bells were made from iron — Mongon and Jones were blacksmiths who simply beat old pitsaw blades into shape. Few genuinely brass cow bells were made here, the vast majority being imported from Britain where the industry of brass founding was already well established. (Some bells were also imported from the United States, but these too were nearly all of iron).This bell is historically significant as typical of a cow bell used by farmers and herdsmen in Colonial Victoria. It was included in the cargo of the Loch Ard. Its significance is increased by being one of a collection of artefacts recovered by the Flagstaff Hill Divers from the wreck of the Loch Ard in the early 1970s. Items that come from several wrecks along Victoria's coast have also been recovered for Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection under a Government permit, illustrating this item’s level of historical value. The cow bell is also significant for being part of Flagstaff Hill’s collection of artefacts from LOCH ARD, which is significant for being one of the largest collections of artefacts from this shipwreck in Victoria. It is significant for its association with the shipwreck, which is on the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR S417). The collection is significant because of the relationship between the objects, as together they have a high potential to interpret the story of the LOCH ARD. The LOCH ARD collection is archaeologically significant as the remains of a large international passenger and cargo ship. The LOCH ARD collection is historically significant for representing aspects of Victoria’s shipping history and its potential to interpret sub-theme 1.5 of Victoria’s Framework of Historical Themes (living with natural processes). The collection is also historically significant for its association with the LOCH ARD, which was one of the worst and best-known shipwrecks in Victoria’s history.Cow bell; a small brass bell, blunt-wedge shaped. The sides expand outwards from the smaller rectangular roof of the bell to a larger open rectangle or bell mouth. The handle, now missing, was fixed in two places at the top. A neat half-circle piece has been cut from the base on a long edge. Recovered from the wreck of the Loch Ard.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, loch line, loch ard, eva carmichael, mutton bird island, loch ard gorge, brass cow bell, colonial cow bells, 1878 shipwreck, shipwreck artefact, flagstaff hill divers, cow bell

Dressing tables (also known as Vanity Tables in the U.S.A.) have been around since the beginning of the seventeenth century, however it wasn't until the early to mid 20th century that they began to be found in the homes of the middle class and they were often a matching part of a bedroom suite. Dressing tables often featured a variety of objects such as combs, brushes, hand mirrors, perfume bottles, cosmetics, nail buffers, ring holders, jewellery and trinket boxes and trays. The origins of this tray are unknown however its design is reminiscent of trays (and Dressing Table Sets) produced by two English firms in the mid 20th century - "Delina" and "Regent of London". A paper (written by the Warwickshire Industrial Archeology Society) notes that the products items produced by "Regent of London" in the 1940's "satisfied a demand for previously unattainable items, offered to the general public aching for change after wartime privations, post war austerity and years of having to 'make do and mend'." This tray is composed of several decorative elements and materials. The metal border is gilt brass with two filigree bow handles, the main part of the tray is two pieces of circular glass and the encased doily is a mix of embroidered net and petit point. It was suggested in the paper written by the Warwickshire Industrial Archeological Society that the different pieces would have probably been produced elsewhere and brought to the factory to be assembled into the finished product. This vanity or dressing table tray is significant as it is a rare example of an accessory available to and used by women in the mid 20th century. It is also significant as an example of an everyday household item which would have been a valued possession and was made in a style that reflected the importance placed on it to be decorative as well as functional.Round footed dressing table tray with a gilt brass border, filigree bow handles and an embroidered net and petit point doily encased in glass. The gilt border is decorated with a stylized leaf design on the side and a floral design on the top. The petit point embroidery in the center is of five flowers in pink, mauve and yellow surrounded by buds and leaves.vanity tray, dressing table tray, glass tray, gilt brass, petit point, embroidery, net embroidery, doily, filigree, brass tray, flagstaff hill maritime village, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill museum and village, domestic object, dressing table

This apron is one of several linen and clothing items that were made and belonged to Mrs. Eliza Towns and donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village. Eliza was born Eliza Gould in 1857 in South Melbourne (Emerald Hill) and in 1879 married Charles Towns. In the early 1880's they moved to Nhill in western Victoria and remained there for the rest of their married life. Charles was a jeweller and later became an accountant and for many years was involved with the Shire Council, the local show committee (A & P Society), the Hospital Committee and the Board of the local newspaper (the Nhill Free Press). They had three children and lived a life that would be regarded as comfortably "middle class". Eliza probably had a treadle sewing machine and would have made many of her own clothes - adding her own handmade embroidered or crocheted decorative trim. In March 1915 Eliza travelled to San Francisco to visit her son, James. She went by train to Melbourne ("a pleasant journey on the up express') and the next day caught the express train to Sydney. She noted in her letters home that a " number of young men were going to Sydney to enlist but they had to stop in the corridors most of the way as there was no room for them to sit down". She spent the night on the train and arrived in Sydney the next morning and on the following day she boarded the R.M.S. "Moana" (a steamer which took about twenty-four days to reach San Francisco). She returned from Vancouver about five months later on board the "Manuka". It is very likely Eliza took this "Travelling Apron" with her on her travels. Eliza was travelling by herself and had no one to help her with her dress or her hair. "Travelling Aprons" (also known as Toilet Aprons or Tourist Aprons) were designed with different sized pockets for holding a lady's toiletries - hairbrush, hair pins, comb and sometimes even soap and a powder puff. This allowed the owner, when travelling and getting dressed in small places such as an overnight train compartment or a ship's cabin, to have all her requirements at hand without needing to search for them or have them roll onto the floor. Some of the pockets are finished with buttoned flaps to keep the items in place and when not in use, the apron could be hung up or rolled up and put away. Articles about the "Traveller's Apron" appeared in numerous Women's columns in Australian newspapers in the early 20th century - often with instructions and sometimes a pattern. In the "Age" on Sat 5th October 1907 in a column titled "Feminine Facts and Fancies" the author wrote "No man can appreciate the difficulties of dressing in a "wobbly" train or trying to do one's hair while a ship is weathering a storm". A year earlier (Saturday 24th March 1906) in the same column, the author wrote "... you have to spend nights in a train... forever struggling to dress yourself in a wretched little lavatory. You know how your hairpins and combs jump all over the place ... a train is always at its liveliest when you're trying to do your hair. My travelling apron saved me many a rage."This item is an example of the needlework skills of women in the early 20th century - combining machine stitching with hand embroidery to personalise and embellish a practical domestic object. It is also an excellent (and rare) example of an early 20th century innovation that helped solve the difficulties of privacy and convenience that many women experienced at a time when travel was becoming more accessible to them. A half apron, made of ivory linen with two waist ties and seven pockets. Along the top are two smaller pockets with triangular, buttoned flaps labelled "Hairpins" and "Nailbrush" and one larger unlabelled pocket. Underneath are two larger pockets labelled "Brush & Comb" and "Work" and two unlabelled narrow pockets. The seams are machine stitched and the pockets are outlined with hand embroidered feather stitch. The labels on the pockets are embroidered in stem stitch."Hairpins" / "Nailbrush" / "Brush and Comb" / "Work"flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, nhill, eliza towns, apron, travelling apron, tourist apron, textiles, toilet apron, sewing, embroidery, travel, warrnambool, great ocean road, trains, ships, moana, manuka, feather stitch, stem stitch, fashion, handmade, clothing, charles towns, needlework

This bolster sham is one of several linen and clothing items that were made and belonged to Mrs. Eliza Towns and donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village. Eliza was born Eliza Gould in 1857 in South Melbourne (Emerald Hill) and in 1879 married Charles Towns. In the early 1880's they moved to Nhill in western Victoria and remained there for the rest of their married life. Charles was a jeweller and later became an accountant and for many years was involved with the Shire Council, the local show committee (A & P Society), the Hospital Committee and the Board of the local newspaper (the Nhill Free Press). They had three children and lived a life that would be regarded as comfortably "middle class". Eliza probably had a treadle sewing machine and would have made many of her own clothes and household linens - adding her own handmade embroidered or crocheted decorative trim. Most beds during the late 19th and early 20th century had a feather, hair or spring mattress covered by a blanket and topped with an under sheet, an upper sheet, several blankets and a bedspread. A flat bolster could be placed either under the pillows or on top of the pillows with a decorative sham. Washing pillows and quilts by hand would have been a very onerous task (involving heating water and handwashing in a tub or using a copper) and so it became the practise of many housewives to cover the pillows and bolsters with an outer slip (or sham) of washable material which could be easily removed and washed when needed. If the bolster was kept under the pillows it wouldn't need to be very decorative but many shams or slips that were "on show" were often highly decorated with embroidery, pintucks, ribbons or lace. This bolster sham is machine made and quite plain with the exception of some pintucking and eyelet lace on each end which suggests that it would mostly be hidden under the top pillows with just the decorative edges on display.This item is an example of the needlework skills of women in the early 20th century - combining machine stitching with hand embroidery to personalise and embellish a practical domestic object. It is also significant as an example of an early 20th century innovation that helped make the working lives of housewives a little bit easier.A long white cotton rectangular bolster sham, machine sewn, with seven ties and two buttons (plus one missing button) to enable it to be folded over lengthwise and closed. It has two pull string ties near each end to enclose a bolster and is finished with a decorative edge of pintucks and handmade eyelet lace and embroidery.flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, eliza towns, sham, bedding, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, warrnambool, household textiles, sewing, bolster sham, housework, pillow sham, charles towns, nhill, haberdashery, needlework, manchester, handmade, household linen

An item of Local significance for women in use of decorating their Domestic life in the mid 1920's. Usually these items were constructed with the use of their own handicrafts. The 'Sunday Best' status helped to present a civilised look to the one day of No work and Church in a family's weekly life.A lady's linen, hand embroidered full apron. Orange Flowers(Button hole stitch), green leaves (satin stitch) Featherstitch on pockets and edges of the garment.1 Tie is missing meaning that the apron cannot be worn.embroidery, hand, domestic, linen, silk, crafted, apron, sunday best, stranded, ties