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Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Domestic object - Wash trough, Melvin Newton Lovell, Mangle was Patented June 10, 1898 by Lovell Trough is possibly of later manufacture by a local unknown cabinet maker between 1900-1920
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Melvin Newton Lovell was born in Allegheny, Venango county, Pennsylvania, on 31 August 1844, to Darius T. Lovell (1815-1855) and Susan B. (Conover) Lovell (1827-1883). When Melvin Lovell was a boy, the family removed to Kerrtown, a village located in the vicinity of Titusville, PA. There Melvin served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, and his natural mechanical talent enabled him to become a skilled workman. He followed his trade during the major portion of his term of residence in Kerrtown. In 1861, at seventeen years of age, Melvin Lovell left his home and, without parental authority, and entered the Union army soon after the outbreak of the Civil war. In August 1862, he was enlisted as a private in the 127th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and saw active service until receiving his discharge at the end of May 1863. In 1865 he took up his residence in Erie, where he worked at the carpenter's trade for several years thereafter. In 1869 Melvin Lovell invented and patented several useful articles for household use, and in that year he began the manufacturing of certain of these inventions, in partnership with Franklin Farrar Adams, another inventor. Among the principal products of the original factory were washing machines and step-ladders. In 1881 Lovell individually began manufacturing other of his patents, including spring beds, and from modest inception, his Lovell Manufacturing Company grew to be one of the largest industrial concerns of its kind in the country and was recognized as being the most extensive manufacture of clothes-wringers in the entire world. In connection with his manufacture of domestic items, Lovell established sales agencies for his products in all parts of the country, and these branches were known as the Lovell stores. These goods were sold on the instalment plan and after his business had already been established becoming a substantial concern Lovell invented and patented the famous wringer which bears his name under the “Anchor” brand, and in later years he confined his operations largely to the manufacture of this very superior household invention. Lovell was also one of the organizers and stockholders of the Combination Roll & Rubber Manufacturing Co, of New York, which was formed to manufacture his patents, with headquarters in New York and a factory at Bloomfield, New Jersey.A significant household item used in the process of washing clothes by a man who had started in 1869, as a young carpenter and later he became a successful businessman and manufacturer of household items. Lovell was granted numerous patents for various devices during his career including several patents for adding machines (cash registers). This item is now sought by collectors and is even rarer due to it's combination with a Lovell clothes wringer. Wooden wash trough with 2 troughs & attached a Lovell wringer (or mangle Anchor Brand) Hard to make out as worn off with useflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, wash trough, wringer, mangle, laundry, cleaning, washing, housework, domestic, melvin newton lovell, wooden was trough -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Instrument - Watch Glasses, early to mid 20th century
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Watches and wristwatches have a glass over the watch face to protect the internal parts, the face and the moving hands from damage. The watch glasses are made in a range of diameters and heights according to the individual watch. A jeweler usually keeps a wide range of glass sizes and sometimes different materials depending on the purpose of the watch e.g. as a fashion accessory or a robust timekeeping piece. The glasses in these boxes have tissue paper between them and most have a label identifying their sizes.These watch glasses are an example of the stock items a watchmaker or jeweler would need to have on hand to service his customer's timepieces. Today's jewelers follow this example to be able to quickly attend to their customer's needs.Three boxes of watch glasses. The collection of circular, slightly domed, clear thin glasses includes different sizes to suit different watches and wristwatches. Many of the glasses have a protective paper on them that also has a printed size. (.1) small glasses in a "Country Life" cigarette tin (.2) medium glasses in a "Jewelex" cardboard box and (.3) large glasses in an open faded blue cardboard box.Protective papers with various sizes and codesflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, jewelex, watch face, watch glasses, wristwatch glasses, clear watch glasses, jewellery, accessory, timepiece, timekeeping, early to mid 20th century -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Try Square
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Try square metal and wood. Has a W stamped on handle. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Calipers, Moore & Wright, 1925-1935
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Established in 1906, Frank Moore soon became well known amongst discerning tradespeople for the quality & accuracy of his tools. The Company was acquired by John Shaw & Son in 1945 & James Neill & Co in 1970. Currently part of the Bower Meteorology UK Group, they still produce superb tools & measuring instruments in Sheffield. The subject item is made from high-grade carbon silver tool steel with the patented 'Firm Lock' joint, that identifies the maker as Moore & Wright.A tool used for external measurement of items made by a maker who patented the "firm lock" jointing system now used on many different types of tools in many different industries. These items are now collectible and quite rare as a result are sought by tool collectors in the USA and UK.‘Firm Joint’ external measuring calipers believed made by Moore & Wright. Impressed into the metal "L A J S" (Probably the owner and company that used the item nothing to do with manufacturing) flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, calipers, callipers, external calipers, outer caliper, pottery tools, masonry tools, glass making tools, external measurement -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Tin, J Millhoff, 1925-1940
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Édouard de Reszke was born into a well-to-do and cultured Polish family in Warsaw, where he first learned to sing. He spent four years in Italy, studying singing first with Stella and Alba in Milan and later the retired baritone Filippo Coletti. He later went to Paris to study with Giovanni Sbriglia, who was also his brother's teacher. Initially, he did not want to become an operatic performer but at the urging of his younger sister, Josephine (Józefina), he accepted an engagement with the Paris Opera. He was chosen by the composer Giuseppe Verdi to make his debut in the first Paris performance of Aida on April the 22nd 1876, appearing under the composer's baton as the King of Egypt. De Reszke's older brother was the renowned lyric dramatic tenor Jean de Reszke (1850–1925), with whom he would sing often in Paris, London and New York City during the next two decades. In 1887, for example, the brothers performed together in the 500th performance of Gounod's Faust at the Paris Opera. Josephine, Eduardo and Jean's sister, also embarked on a career as an opera singer in Paris but she retired early from the stage after marrying an aristocrat while at the height of her powers. Between the start of 1880 and the end of 1900, Édouard de Reszke appeared on more than 300 occasions at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, performing a wide range of roles in French, German and Italian operas, including works by Wagner, Verdi, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Ponchielli, Verdi, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Mozart. He was a huge favourite, too, with audiences at New York's Metropolitan Opera during the same era. He also sang in Chicago in 1891 and, in 1879–1881, at La Scala, Milan. In 1903, he retired from the stage after his once superlative voice developed technical difficulties and went into a swift decline. De Reszke taught singing for a while in London before returning to his estate in Poland, where he was adversely affected by the outbreak of World War I in 1914. He was cut off from his brother by the fighting, and died on 25 May 1917 at a house in Garnek, near Częstochowa, Poland. Édouard de Reszke, was a Polish bass singer from Warsaw, born with an impressive natural voice and equipped with compelling histrionic skills, he became one of the most illustrious opera singers active in Europe and America during the late-Victorian era. De Reszke cigarettes are named after Édouard de Reszke and were advertised as ‘the Aristocrat of Cigarettes’. They were produced by J Millhoff, a Russian cigarette maker living in London. He created a special blend of tobacco that it was believed would not damage the famous singer's voice. In gratitude, Millhoff was allowed to sell the blend as 'De Reszke' cigarettes. Cigarette tin, small square, pale aqua color.Marked on lid with two coats of arms in gold, and text in dark blue underneath. 'De Reszke Virginia ‘The Aristocrat of Cigarettes'.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, aristocrat of cigarettes, j millhoff, opera singer -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Domestic object - Clock case, Late 19th to early 20th centuries
... Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...This vintage-era clock case has a curved top and two doors, one at the side, and the other at the top. It could have had another frame for the front with a window or fitted space for the clock mechanism. The doors may have given access for winding the clock with a key and to set the time or perhaps an alarm or chime. It is possible that the arched shape was the bottom of the clock case and not the top, in which case, there would be more space for a pendulum to swing. The wooden case would amplify the sound of the tick of the clock.The wooden clock case is connected to domestic life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when households could afford at least one clock for their furnishings.Wooden clock case with open front and arched top, which may be the bottom of the case. It has a hinged door on the side and another door on the top with a small brass knob. This case is ready to be fitted with a clock mechanism.warrnambool, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime village, clock case, clock case with two doors, pendulum clock case, vintage, horology, time keeping, clock maker, domestic clock, furnishing -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Tin
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Tin metal with label 3 Kings Pocket Package/Plain Tree Tobacco Company. 130mmL x 90mmW x 65mmHflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Lap Skiver, J Dixon, 1900s
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Walsall in England was regarded as the world`s greatest centre of the saddlery trade. The town's craftsmen began to specialise in making bits, stirrups and spurs in the Middle Ages, developing into fully-fledged makers of saddlery and harness, by the end of the nineteenth century. As a result, over a hundred firms were exporting their products throughout the British Empire and beyond. The Walsall firms flourished as horses were so vital to everyday life in Victorian Britain and the colonies. The Walsall area emerged as a major supplier of military saddlery and harnesses, with one company supplying an astonishing 100,000 saddles for the British army in the First World War. The twentieth century saw the rise of light leather goods, such as handbags, cases and gloves. With the coming of the motor car, these products became the mainstay of the Walsall leather industry. Many companies supplied this trade and Dixon tools was one, as a commercial and industrial equipment supplier to the trade. The company started in 1843 and has continued to produce tools for the leather industries up and till August 2017 when the company was dissolved.A vintage item used in the leather working industries see additional notes at end of document for clarity on how the item was used and it's importance in making leather goods.Lap Skiver has a roller missing. Painted reddish brown J Dixonflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, lap skiver, leather industries, leather making tools, tools, j dixon -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Machine - Treadle Lathe, 1920-1923
... flagstaff hill maritime village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...The lathe-making business incorporated in 1902 as Drummond Bros Ltd originated in the fertile mind of Mr Arthur Drummond, said to have been living at that time at Pinks Hill, on the southern edge of Broad Street Common, west of Guildford. Mr Drummond, whose accomplishments included several pictures hung in the Royal Academy, was unable to find a lathe suitable for use in model engineering. In 1896 he designed for himself a ‘small centre lathe … which had a compound slide rest with feed-screws and adjustable slides’. He also designed and built ‘lathes of 4.5 inch and 5 inch centre height, which had beds of a special form whereby the use of a gap piece was eliminated but the advantages of a gap-bed lathe were retained’. Assisted by his brother, Mr Frank Drummond, who had served an apprenticeship to an engineering firm at Tunbridge Wells, the first lathes were made in a workshop adjoining Arthur Drummond’s house. The demand that speedily built up led to the decision to form a company and manufacture the lathes for sale commercially. Land was acquired nearby, at Rydes Hill, and the first factory built. The enterprise was a success, and the company quickly established ‘a high reputation in this country and abroad for multi-tool and copying lathes, and gear-cutting machines’. Other lathes were added to the range, including the first of the ’round bed’ machines for which the firm became widely known. A Drummond 3.5 inch lathe was among the equipment of Captain Scott’s 1912 expedition to the South Pole, and large numbers of 3.5 inch and 4 inch designs were exported to Australia, Canada and India. By the outbreak of war in 1914, 5 inch, 6 inch and 7 inch screw cutting lathes, arranged for power drive, were on sale. Large orders were received from the government for 3.5 inch lathes, for use in destroyers and submarines, and 5 inch lathes for the mechanised section of the Army Service Corps. The latter were used in mobile workshops. The factory worked night and day to supply the forces’ needs, until production was disrupted by a fire which destroyed a large part of the works in May 1915. As soon as rebuilding was complete work restarted. At the end of the war the entire production was being taken by the Government departments, a special feature being a precision screw lathe, bought by the Ministry of Munitions in 1918. Between the wars Drummond Bros Ltd introduced new machines for the motor vehicle, and later the aircraft industry, and the works were extended on many occasions to fulfill the increasing orders. The Maxicut multi-tool lathe (1925), designed for high-production turning operations, was one of the first machines of this type to be built in England. It was followed (1928) by an hydraulic version for turning gear blanks, and similar work. Further developments provided machines which, during the Second World War, turned all the crankshafts and propeller shafts for Bristol engines. Others, ordered by the Ministry of Supply were employed in turning shells, and many other specific needs of vehicle and aircraft manufacture were catered for by new types of Drummond lathes. Production of the small centre lathes ceased during the war when the company needed to concentrate on building multi-tool lathes and gear shapers. After the war a completely new Maxicut range was introduced, replacing the older versions, and fully automatic. The types were continually developed, and new versions manufactured until the end of the company’s life in 1980. The disappearance from the scene of Mr Arthur Drummond in 1946, and the end of the company’s autonomous existence in 1953 when the company was acquired by William Asquith Ltd, which was in turn bought by Staveley in 1966, meant that the factory at Rydes Hill became one – albeit very effective – part of a large national engineering company. Achievements at the Guildford works during its last years included the development of automated Maxicut gear-shapers in what was ‘probably the most fully automated gear shop in the country’, while a machine from Guildford was sent to the Osaka Fair in 1962. In 1963 an agreement was signed with Hindustan Machine Tools for the manufacture of Maxicut gear-shapers in state owned factories in Bangalore and Chandigarh. During 1963 the two largest multi-tool lathes ever made in the UK were installed in Ambrose Shardlow’s works in Sheffield for handling cranks up to 14 foot long. In 1976 Drummond lathes were included in Staveley’s £14,000,000 installation in Moscow of an automated production line for Zil motor cars. Up to the end invention continued at Guildford: a new Drummond Multi-turn memory-controlled machine was shown at the International Machine Tool Exhibition in 1977. This could not save the works from the pressures of the late 1970s, and Staveley Industries closed its Guildford site in 1980.An early example of a lathe that was designed primarily for the hobbyist model maker. It is in good condition and sought today by collectors as many of it's attributes were innovative at the time and lead to further development and incorporation of some of its features into more industrial models of production machinery. Lathe, round bed, treadle powered lathe, Drummond Type A, Serial number and maker's inscription. 1920-1923, Made by Drummond Brothers in Guildford, Surrey, England. Lathe is complete with Chuck, Tool post and Tail Stock in situ (30 extra parts)"MADE BY DRUMMOND BROTHERS LIMITED - PATENT TEES - RYDE'S HILL n GUILDFORD SURREY", "Serial Number 01470," "L44" or "L45 " flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, lathe 1920-1923, round bed lathe, treadle lathe, drummond type a, guildford surrey, drummond brothers guildford surrey england, tread'e -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Instrument - Foghorn, Late 19th century
... flagstaff hill maritime village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...A foghorn is a device that uses sound to warn of navigational hazards like rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used with marine transport. When visual navigation aids such as lighthouses are obscured, foghorns provide an audible warning of rocky outcrops, shoals, headlands, or other dangers to shipping. An early form of fog signal was to use a bell, gong, explosive signal or firing a cannon to alert shipping. From the early 20th century an improved device called the diaphone was used in place of these other devices, The diaphone horn was based directly on the organ stop of the same name invented by Robert Hope-Jones, creator of the Wurlitzer organ. Hope-Jones' design was based on a piston that was closed only at its bottom end and had slots, perpendicular to its axis, cut through its sides, the slotted piston moved within a similarly slotted cylinder. Outside of the cylinder was a reservoir of high-pressure air. Initially, this air would be admitted behind the piston, pushing it forward. When the slots of the piston aligned with those of the cylinder, air passed into the piston, making a sound and pushing the piston back to its starting position, whence the cycle would be repeated. This method of producing a low audible sound was further developed as a fog signal by John Northey of Toronto and these diaphones were powered by compressed air produced by an electric motor or other mechanical means that admitted extremely powerful low-frequency notes. The example in the Flagstaff collection is an early cased and portable diaphone used on pleasure or sailing craft. By manually turning the crank handle air is produced and fed into valves that direct air across vibrating metal reeds to produce the required sound. in foggy weather, fog horns are used to pinpoint a vessels position and to indicate how the vessel is sailing in foggy conditions. One blast, when sailing on starboard tack and two blasts, when sailing on a port tack and three dots, when with wind is behind the vessel. Since the automation of lighthouses became common in the 1960s and 1970s, most older foghorn marine installations have been removed to avoid the need to run the complex machinery associated with them, and have been replaced with an electrically powered diaphragm or compressed air horns. The example in the collection is significant as it was used in the early 19th century for sailing vessels was important but these portable crank fog horns have also been superseded by modern electric varieties. Therefore the item has a historical connection with sailing and maritime pursuits from our past.English Rotary Norwegian Pattern nautical foghorn within a boxed pine varnished case with exposed corner dovetailing, original leather carrying strap, brass side crank, and original copper trumped horn. Card accessory with Directions for Use in both English and French.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, foghorn, maritime technology, maritime communication, marine warning signal, portable foghorn, bellows foghorn, crank handle, robert hope-jones, john northey -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Instrument - Ship Log, Early 20th Century
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...In times past the only way to measure a ship’s speed was to throw a wood log into the water and observe how fast it moved away from the ship. In the 16th century, the log was fastened to a rope knotted at set intervals. The log was thrown over the stern (back) of the vessel and a crew member counted the number of knots that were paid out in a set time. From this, they could estimate the vessel's speed through the water. This was known as streaming the log and is also the derivation of the knot as a measurement of nautical speed. Various manufacturers of nautical equipment had sought over the years to perfect the operation of determining a ship's speed and it wasn't until Thomas Walker and his son Ferdinand developed a mechanical system that eventually made this task became easy for marine navigators. Thomas Walker & Son were internationally renowned in the manufacturing of ship logs the founding father, Thomas Walker (1805–1871), an engineer in Birmingham, patented his mechanical log in 1878 which was a recording instrument that attached to a rail at the stern of a vessel connected by a long cord with a rotor which was towed behind the ship. The instrument dial then recorded the distance travelled. Thomas Walker first went into business to manufacture stoves at 58 Oxford Street Birmingham. Walker’s self-feeding stove was widely lauded at the Paris Exhibition of 1855, winning a prize medal and kickstarting the first of many notable innovations for the Walker family's manufacturing business. However, it wasn’t until working on an earlier ship’s log model invented by his Uncle that Thomas Walker became interested in the further development of this device, used to ascertain a ship’s speed. Walker continued to improve on the common log for the company of Massey & Sons and these improvements were deemed revolutionary. This log became a firm favourite of the West India Association (a British-based organisation promoting ties and trade with the British Caribbean), being the most common log in use for two generations. It took until 1861 for Thomas Walker and his son, Thomas Ferdinand Walker (1831-1921) to patent the first Walker log of many. Together, with the introduction of the A1 Harpoon Log two years later, they established the Walker Log Business as a force to be reckoned with. By his passing in 1871, Thomas Walker Snr had not only founded a family business with considerable staying power but also instilled a tradition of public service. Having sat as a representative on the Birmingham Town Council for 15 years and played an active role in public works, he was soon given the nickname of ‘Blue Brick Walker’. Much like his father, Thomas Ferdinand Walker changed the face of the maritime industry. His patent of 1897, the ‘Cherub’ log, was a notable departure from the past providing a far more accurate reading and replacing the majority of logs of the age. They were the first to produce an electric log (Trident) and the Walker factory was one of the first to introduce the 48-hour work week for employees.The ship log was invented and made by a significant marine instrument maker and innovator of machinery. It demonstrates the huge leap taken to improve navigational accuracy at sea with an instrument that was in use for decades.Ships Log, Walker Trident electric motor, in wooden box with instructions inside box. The motor dial with electric cord is still inside box.Inscription "Admiralty patent number 3332" and "Walker Trident Electric Ship Log (Mark III), 15-25 volt". On top of lid, hand written, is "G TAYLOR"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, ships log, thomas walker & son, electric ships log, marine navigation, thomas ferdinand walker, ship log -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Photograph - Captain F Chapman SS Dawn
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...The Dawn steamship was a 522-ton coastal trader built in 1876 and it’s original captain Jones operated the vessel around the Victorian west coast from 1877 until 1898 for the Portland & Belfast Steam Navigation Co, the vessel was then owned in October 1885 by the renamed company, Belfast & Koroit Steam Navigation Co., until March 1896 when it’s ownership moved to W Howard Smith & Sons Ltd., This Melbourne company used the ship to service most ports around Australia. Captain F Chapman took over from captain Jones and served on the SS Dawn from 1898 until 1900 when he took command of the SS Casino operated by the Belfast & Koroit Shipping Company at Port Fairy and became the captain from 1900 until 1922 when he retired after twenty-two years becoming the ships longest-serving captain. Captain Roberts took over command until 1924 followed by captain Middleton until 1932 when the Casino was sunk off Apollo Bay and captain Middleton collapsed and died in the surf. Picture of a long serving sea captain connected with a significant ship that was involved in a significant historical incident prior to his taking command of the vessel also his long time association with Port Fairy's Belfast Steam Navigation Company until 1922.Photograph of Captain Chapman framedCaptain F Chapman SS Dawnflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, photograph, captain chapman, ss dawn -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Wash stand
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...The subject item is essentially a 19th century development of the 18th century basin stand, the washstand had assumed a regular table form by about the 1830s, usually with a marble top and pot board beneath. The earlier timber top washstands had a timber splash back, while the marble top washstands usually had a matching marble splash back often with a small semicircular shelf for the soap dish, or a tiled splash back. Many washstands had a hole cut into the top to contain the china wash basin. Washstands were generally supported on pedestal, scrolled or cabriole legs, in keeping with the dressing table with which they were often made en suite. Edwardian washstands like most furniture of the period were much more rectangular in outline, with squared corners and (Lassetter) fairly plainly turned legs. They sometimes had a cupboard below the marble top. The back was usually tiled, often featuring the Art Nouveau motifs washstands were used until the 1920s. Wash stand wooden opening in top for basin, 3 raised sides, 4 turned legs, Lower shelf broken at front, has remnant black stain. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, wash stand -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Instrument - Scale, F Quiney & Son, 1890-1910
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Fredk Quiney & Sons established their company in 1890, council records show that Quiney began working at 4 Ranelagh Place in Leytonstone and from 1908 to 1926 he was at 268 High Road, Leytonstone. The name occurs on brass weights and balance scales dating from the early twentieth 20th century. The company was still producing grocers scales during the 1960s.A balance scale vintage giving a snapshot into mercantile life during the late 19th and early 20th centuries Scale with metal tray.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, scale, weighing equipment -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Print - Lithograph Picture, Madagascar Indiaman, Unknown
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Madagascar was a large British merchant ship built for the trade to India and China in 1837 that disappeared on a voyage from Melbourne to London in 1853. The disappearance of Madagascar was one of the great maritime mysteries of the 19th century and has probably been the subject of more speculation than any other 19th-century maritime puzzle, except for the Mary Celeste. Madagascar, the second Blackwall Frigate, was built for George and Henry Green at the Blackwall Yard, London, a shipyard that they co-owned with the Wigram family. A one-eighth share in the vessel was held throughout her 16-year career by her first master Captain William Harrison Walker Walker. Madagascar carried freight, passengers, and troops between England and India until the end of 1852. In addition to her normal crew, she also carried many boys being trained as officers for the merchant marine. Known as midshipmen from naval practice, their parents or guardians paid for their training, and they only received a nominal wage of usually a shilling a month. Due to the Victorian Gold Rush, Madagascar, under the command of Captain Fortescue William Harris, was sent to Melbourne with emigrants. She left Plymouth on 11 March 1853 and, after an uneventful passage of 87 days, reached Melbourne on 10 June. Fourteen of her 60 crew jumped ship for the diggings, and it is believed only about three replacements were signed on. She then loaded a cargo that included wool, rice, and about two tonnes of gold valued at £240,000, and took on board about 110 passengers for London. On Wednesday 10 August, just as she was preparing to sail, police went on board and arrested a bushranger John Francis, who was later found to have been one of those responsible for robbing on 20th July the Melbourne Private Escort between the McIvor goldfield at Heathcote, Victoria and Kyneton. On the following day, the police arrested two others, one on board the ship and the other as he was preparing to board. As a result of these arrests, Madagascar did not leave Melbourne until Friday 12 August 1853. After she left Port Phillip Heads Madagascar was never seen again. When the ship became overdue many theories were floated, including spontaneous combustion of the wool cargo, hitting an iceberg and, most controversially, being seized by criminal elements of the passengers and/or crew and scuttled, with the gold being stolen and the remaining passengers and crew murdered. There have been many rumors as to what happened to Madagascar over the years but what really happened is still a mystery. The lithograph was made around 1950 from an original painting of Madagascar a Vessel with a notorious past and is interesting and a significant item for the ships part in early Victorian history. The picture is it’s self not valuable or can be associated with a significant person in history. The interest lies in the events that are linked to the ship in the mid 19th century.Lithograph of the ship Madagascar, in a wooden frameThe Madagascar East Indiaman 1000 tonsflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, lithograph, the madagascar, east indiaman -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Standard avoirdupois weights, Avery Ltd, 1950s
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...A weight made in England by W&T Avery a British manufacturer of weights and weighing machines. The company was founded in the early 18th century and took the name W & T Avery in 1818. The undocumented origin of the company goes back to 1730 when James Ford established the business in the town of Digbeth. On Joseph Balden, the then company’s owner’s death in 1813 William and Thomas Avery took over his scale making business and in 1818 renamed it W & T Avery. The business rapidly expanded and in 1885 they owned three factories: the Atlas Works in West Bromwich, the Mill Lane Works in Birmingham and the Moat Lane Works in Digbeth. In 1891 the business became a limited company with a board of directors and in 1894 the shares were quoted on the London Stock Exchange. In 1895 the company bought the legendary Soho Foundry in Smethwick, a former steam engine factory owned by James Watt & Co. In 1897 the move was complete and the steam engine business was gradually converted to pure manufacture of weighing machines. The turn of the century was marked by managing director William Hipkins who was determined to broadening the renown of the Avery brand and transforming the business into specialist manufacture of weighing machines. By 1914 the company occupied an area of 32,000m² and had some 3000 employees. In the inter-war period, the growth continued with the addition of specialized shops for cast parts, enamel paints and weighbridge assembly and the product range diversified into counting machines, testing machines, automatic packing machines and petrol pumps. During the second world war, the company also produced various types of heavy guns. At that time the site underwent severe damage from parachute mines and incendiary bombs. Then from 1931 to 1973, the company occupied the 18th-century Middlesex Sessions House in Clerkenwell as its headquarters. Changes in weighing machine technology after World War II led to the closure of the foundry, the introduction of electronic weighing with the simultaneous gradual disappearance of purely mechanical devices. The continued expansion was partly achieved through a series of acquisitions of other companies. After almost a century of national and international expansion, the company was taken over by GEC in 1979. Keith Hodgkinson, managing director at the time, completed the turn-around from mechanical to electronic weighing with a complete overhaul of the product range of retail sales of industrial platform scales. In 1993 GEC took over the Dutch-based company Berkel and the Avery-Berkel name was introduced. In 2000 the business was in turn acquired by the US-American company Weigh-Tronix, who already owned Salter, and is today operating as Avery Weigh-Tronix. An item used used by grocers and merchants to weigh store bought goods around the 1950s. This item gives an insight into social history of the time.Weights, metal, silver electroplated, 1 x 2lb, 2 x 4lb, 1 x 7lb. (4) all government stamped, made by Avery Ltd.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, weight, imperial weight, imperial standard weights and measures, imperial standard weight -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Weight Avoirdupois, Avery Ltd, 1940-1950s
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...A weight made in England by W&T Avery a British manufacturer of weights and weighing machines. The company was founded in the early 18th century and took the name W & T Avery in 1818. The undocumented origin of the company goes back to 1730 when James Ford established the business in the town of Digbeth. On Joseph Balden, the then company’s owner’s death in 1813 William and Thomas Avery took over his scale making business and in 1818 renamed it W & T Avery. The business rapidly expanded and in 1885 they owned three factories: the Atlas Works in West Bromwich, the Mill Lane Works in Birmingham and the Moat Lane Works in Digbeth. In 1891 the business became a limited company with a board of directors and in 1894 the shares were quoted on the London Stock Exchange. In 1895 the company bought the legendary Soho Foundry in Smethwick, a former steam engine factory owned by James Watt & Co. In 1897 the move was complete and the steam engine business was gradually converted to pure manufacture of weighing machines. The turn of the century was marked by managing director William Hipkins who was determined to broadening the renown of the Avery brand and transforming the business into specialist manufacture of weighing machines. By 1914 the company occupied an area of 32,000m² and had some 3000 employees. In the inter-war period, the growth continued with the addition of specialized shops for cast parts, enamel paints and weighbridge assembly and the product range diversified into counting machines, testing machines, automatic packing machines and petrol pumps. During the second world war, the company also produced various types of heavy guns. At that time the site underwent severe damage from parachute mines and incendiary bombs. Then from 1931 to 1973, the company occupied the 18th-century Middlesex Sessions House in Clerkenwell as its headquarters. Changes in weighing machine technology after World War II led to the closure of the foundry, the introduction of electronic weighing with the simultaneous gradual disappearance of purely mechanical devices. The continued expansion was partly achieved through a series of acquisitions of other companies. After almost a century of national and international expansion, the company was taken over by GEC in 1979. Keith Hodgkinson, managing director at the time, completed the turn-around from mechanical to electronic weighing with a complete overhaul of the product range of retail sales of industrial platform scales. In 1993 GEC took over the Dutch-based company Berkel and the Avery-Berkel name was introduced. In 2000 the business was in turn acquired by the US-American company Weigh-Tronix, who already owned Salter, and is today operating as Avery Weigh-Tronix. An item used used by grocers and merchants to weigh store bought goods around the 1950s. This item gives an insight into social history of the time.Weight, brass, Stamped F27, 2lb.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, weight, brass weight -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Press
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Press metal for Company seal Wendouree Woollen Mills shiny black colourflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, press, company seal press, wendouree woollen mills -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Company seal embosser, Unknown
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...The former Albion (West) Woollen and Worsted Mills is a functional structure which has been built in stages, possibly dating from the 1880s, with the earliest sections near to the Barwon River.The Worsted mill operated for about 50 years and at its peak employed around 500 people. In 1973 the mill merged with the British John Foster and Sons Company under some controversial stock and shareholding issues. The mill continued for a short period before closing at a time when much of the Australian textile industry was finding it difficult to compete with overseas operations. In the 30 plus years after the closure, the site was used for several ventures, including the Mill Vintage Markets and a vehicle trim manufacturing operation. In 2011 the site was purchased by Little Creatures of Western Australia to become their main brewery for the eastern states of Australia. Now owned by the Lion Group, Little Creatures started their 60 million dollar transformation of the old mill in 2012. Finally, in 2013 these former walls of industry were soon rattling away to the sounds of a different type of industry, as the first bottles of beer made their way out of the Geelong Little Creatures Brewery. The remaining building of the former Albion Woollen and Worsted Mills has historical significance as one of Geelong's major woollen mills. The venture has operated on the same site for more than a century. The Albion Woollen Mill was one of the four key sites along with Victoria, Barwon and Union Mills that was established in the late 1860s to mid-1870s. These mills were in constant operation on the west side of the Barwon Bridge over the last century and led to Geelong's fame as milling and scouring locality. The Albion Mill was probably the most successful survivor of the early private company operations. It was regarded as a model mill in the late 1880s and was, from all accounts, well-planned and organised with machinery on a par with the great mills of England. It produced high-quality tweeds. Together with the (now demolished) Union Mill it was regarded as the borough's principal industry over the 1870-1900 period and was one of Australia's most significant producers of tweed by 1900. These two mills were more successful, competitive and long-lived than the Barwon and Victoria Mills. The remaining building form is an important reminder of the private ventures of both the Albion and Union Mills and represents a key site of spinning, carding and finishing as well as scouring and dying that occurred in the lower section near to the river. The loss of the adjacent former Union Mill is unfortunate because the complex, together with the former Collins Union Mill office building, was an important reminder of the success of these industries and the reputation they earned for the Geelong region as a centre for quality textile products. Company seal embosser hand operated matte black & brass colour Western District Worsted Mills emblem on frontflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Hand operated embossing document press, 1910
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...The woollen mill was a vital part of Warrnambool for all but 22 years of the town’s history since it's the establishment in 1847 when the first land sales were held and white settlement began. In 1869 the Warrnambool Meat Preserving Company began operations on the mill site, in 1875, shareholders of the then defunct Warrnambool Meat Preserving Company happily sold the land and buildings on the Merri river to Warrnambool Woollen Mill Company Ltd for £5,000. The site was sold again in 1876 to grazer Robert Hood of Sherwood, who was chairman of directors of the failed company, which couldn’t raise sufficient capital to keep the works operating. The entrepreneurial Hood then used the existing plant to turn his own wool into tweed cloth. But just as the mill was starting to show a profit, a fire destroyed the building and plant on the night of 25 March 1882. So again, the mill was operational for six short years. Insurers only paid a fraction over 10% of the damage, Hood couldn't raise sufficient capital to rebuild on his own, and so the site lay unused until 1910. In 1908 Marcus Saltau and Peter John McGennan convinced the Warrnambool Chamber of Commerce to invest in a secondary industry with local capital. A public meeting in September 1908 agreed to raise £40,000, electing Saltau chairman of directors, a post he held for 34 years. A year later, using mostly local money, the Warrnambool Woollen Mill Company dispatched its first manager, John E. Bennett, to buy a plant and recruit 20 experienced staff from the Yorkshire woollen industry in December 1909. Another year more, the new mill was officially opened on 14 November 1910 by Marcus Saltau as company chairman and town mayor. Eighteen months on, in May 1912, the mill paid its first half-yearly dividend of 2 ½%. It was now working two shifts, with a year's orders to fill. In 1914 the mill ordered its own generator, providing the town with electricity and effectively doubling its plant size by October 1915, six months after Gallipoli. Thereafter, government orders for cloth and military supplies assured the mill’s success right through the First World War and on until 1923. A plant upgrade in 1922 for machinery to make worsted fabric drained profits, which, with a fall in demand, led to a loss in 1925. Profits were restored by the 1930s, despite the Depression, mostly due to tight management and robust marketing. Production boomed again during the Second World War, but soon foreign competition bit into profits, forcing the company to consolidate operations. The ‘50s and ‘60s were golden years for the mill. Security and growth gave the company confidence to trial Australia’s first electric blanket in 1958 and to install Swiss Sulzer looms in 1965. Over time, the building facades took on the modern look that the mill presented until it closed. The Dunlop company bought the mill in 1968, fending off a challenge from Onkaparinga in South Australia, and continued to expand by adding Wendouree Woollen Mill in the same year and Dream-spun Textiles a decade later, in 1979. Soon after that purchase, however, the mill began its slippery slide into decline. Dunlop sold to its former rival bidder Onkaparinga Woollen Co. Ltd in 1982, which in turn was taken over by Macquarie Worsted's only a year later, in 1983. Operations remained stable for a decade until 1994 when the Macquarie Group signaled that its newly rationalised operations left no room for the Warrnambool investment. The final operator of the mill was The Smith Family charity group, which ran the site by agreement with the Warrnambool City Council and a state government grant in that same year, 1994. The mill became more of a fabric recycler than a manufacturer. The site was sold to private operators in February 2003 and rezoned four months later to allow for the mixed housing development. The embossing press is significant for its association with the Warrnambool Woollen Mills 1910-1968, a major employer in the Warrnambool district. The press is also significant as an example of commercial office equipment used in the 19th and 20th century.Press, metal, for Company seal of Warrnambool Woollen Mill, stamping their brand as Western District Worsted Mills Pty Ltd. Metal is black with red and gold floral markings. Inscription of stamp reads "WESTERN DISTRICT WORSTED MILLS PROPRIETRY LIMITED" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, warrnambool woollen mills, western district worsted mills proprietry limited, worsted fabric, printing press, logo printing press, stamp printing press, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Domestic object - Hat box, Unknown
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...NoneMetal hat or wig box probably used to store a ceremonial hat of some kind or legal wig significance unknown at this time.Metal round hat or wig box with hinged lid. Small handle on top & painted black.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Suitcase, 1930-1945
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...The suitcase didn't catch on until the end of the 19th century, it was quite literally as a case for suits. A typical suitcase came equipped with an inner sleeve for storing shirts, and sometimes a little hat box on the side. But even in the early 20th century, the "dress-suit case" was only one of countless styles of container travellers could buy, from steamer trunks to club bags. By the late 19th century a significant point was reached in the history of transportation, it was the beginning of mass tourism, rather than travel for travels sake made use of by the wealthy in society. Travel wasn't just for the wealthy any more but everyone. Suitcases began as an afterthought in the luggage and leather goods business, but they soon became the very symbol of travel. An 1897 wholesale price list included the words "suitcase" only twice in a 20-page list of luggage types. In America a 1907 T. Eaton & Co. Catalogue, trunks took up a full page while suitcases share a page with club bags and valises. In a 1911 a United Company catalogue, now displayed around 40 per cent of the advertisements were for suitcases. Early suitcases were lighter and more portable than trunks, but they were still bulky by today's standards. Leather, canvas, wicker or thick rubbery cloth was stretched over a rigid wood or steel frame. Corners were rounded out using brass or leather caps and some had wooden rails running around the case. Until steamship travel declined during the mid-20th century, many of these types of the case were advertised as waterproof with some lightweight models marketed specifically to women. The item gives us a snap-shot as to how people undertook travelling during a time when undertaking a journey for pleasure at the end of the 19th century was mainly only for the wealthy. This time saw the beginnings of change from the wealthy in society being able to travel, to the onset of mass tourism. Along with this change in societal norms saw many innervations to the design of luggage as it became a fashionable item.Suitcase, brown canvas with three wooden reinforcing lateral rails running around the case, leather handle each end (one broken), two locks.. Maker Pettigrew & Stephens Ltd Glasgow. "A.T.Cox 354/3 Riversdale Rd Campberwell, Vic Australia" and "W.ON" painted over on each endflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, suitcase, -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Standard measure, Mid to late 19th Century
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...The beginning of standardised weights and measures began In Victoria when the Melbourne Observatory received sets of standard weights and measures, which had been tested in Britain against the then British Imperial standards. These included the primary standard yard and pound for the Colony of Victoria. Other standards of weights and measure held by shires and the administrative body's within the colony could then be compared to these primary standards. A Weights and Measures Act was passed in Victoria in 1862, establishing local inspectors throughout the colony. By the 1870s each local council and shire in Victoria held a set of standards that were used to test scales, weights and dry measures used by wholesalers, factories and shops. Every ten years the councils’ standards would themselves need to be rechecked against the Victorian Standards. The checking was done by the Victorian Customs Department in the 19th century, but with the transfer of responsibility for customs to the Federal Government in 1901, weights and measures function was retained by the Victorian Government and was shifted to the Melbourne Observatory. In 1904, a new building was erected at the south end of the Great Melbourne Telescope House, where the standard weights and measures and testing equipment was installed. This room had a large whirling apparatus for testing air meters and became known as the Whirling Room. When the Melbourne Observatory closed in 1944, the Weights and Measures Branch was formed to continue and this branch remained at the Observatory site unit until 1995. J & M Ewan History: J&M Ewan was a Melbourne firm that began by selling retail furniture and wholesale ironmongery. They had substantial warehouses situated at the intersection of 81-83 Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets, the business was established by James M Ewan in 1852. Shortly afterwards he went into partnership with William Kerr Thomson and Samuel Renwick. When Ewan died in 1868 his partners carried on and expanded the business under his name J & M Ewan. The business was expanded to provide a retail shop, counting-house and private offices. Wholesale warehouses adjoined these premises at 4, 6 and 10 Little Collins Street, West. This company provided and sold a large and varied amount of imported goods into the colony that consisted of agriculture equipment, building materials, mining items as well as steam engines, tools of all types and marble fireplaces. They also supplied the Bronze measuring containers in the Flagstaff Hill collection and the probability is that these containers were obtained by the local Melbourne authority that monitored weights and measures in the mid to late 19th century. The company grew to employ over 150 people in Melbourne and opened offices at 27 Lombard St London as well as in New Zealand and Fiji. The company also serviced the Mauritius islands and the pacific area with their steamship the Suva and a brig the Shannon. Robert Bate History: Robert Brettell Bate (1782-1847) was born in Stourbridge, England, one of four sons of Overs Bate, a mercer (a dealer in textile fabrics, especially silks, velvet's, and other fine materials)and banker. Bate moved to London, and in 1813 was noticed for his scientific instrument making ability through the authority of the “Clockmakers Company”. Sometime in the year 1813 it was discovered that one Robert Brettell Bate, regarded as a foreigner in London had opened a premises in the Poultry selling area of London. He was a Mathematical Instrument maker selling sundials and other various instruments of the clock making. In 1824, Bate, in preparation for his work on standards and weights, leased larger premises at 20 and 21 Poultry, London, at a rental of four hundred pounds per annum. It was there that Bate produced quality metrological instruments, which afforded him the recognition as one of one of the finest and principal English metrological instrument-makers of the nineteenth century. English standards at this time were generally in a muddle, with local standards varying from shire to shire. On 17 June 1824, an Act of Parliament was passed making a universal range of weights, measures, and lengths for the United Kingdom, and Bate was given the job of crafting many of the metrological artifacts. He was under instruction from the renown physicist Henry Kater F.R.S. (1777-1835) to make standards and to have them deposited in the principal cities throughout the United Kingdom and colonies. Bate experimented with tin-copper alloys to find the best combination for these items and by October 1824, he had provided Kater with prototypes to test troy and avoirdupois pounds, and samples with which to divide the troy into grams. Bate also cast the standard for the bushel, and by February 1825, had provided all the standards required of him by the Exchequer, Guildhalls of Edinburgh, and Dublin. In 1824, he also made a troy pound standard weight for the United States, which was certified for its accuracy by Kater and deposited with the US Mint in 1827. Kater, in his address to the Royal Society of London, acknowledged Bate's outstanding experimentation and craftsmanship in producing standards of weights, measures, and lengths. An example of a dry Bronze measuring container made specifically for J & M Ewan by possibly the most important makers of measurement artifacts that gives us today a snapshot of how imperial weights and measures were used and how a standard of measurement for merchants was developed in the Australian colonies based on the Imperial British measurement system. The container has social significance as an item retailed by J & M Ewan and used in Victoria by the authorities who were given legal responsibility to ensure that wholesalers and retailers of dry goods sold in Victoria were correct. The container was a legal standard measure so was also used to test merchants containers to ensure that their distribution of dry goods to a customer was correct. Bronze round container with brass two handles used as a legal standard for measuring dry quantities & is a 'peck' measurement. "IMPERIAL STANDARD PECK" engraved around top of container with " VICTORIA" engraved under.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, standard measure, bronze, peck measurement, j & m ewan, victorian standard dry measurement, bronze container, victorian standards, melbourne observatory, robert bettell bate -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Equipment - Standard measure, Mid to Late 19th Century
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...The beginning of standardised weights and measures began In Victoria when the Melbourne Observatory received sets of standard weights and measures, which had been tested in Britain against the then British Imperial standards. These included the primary standard yard and pound for the Colony of Victoria. Other standards of weights and measure held by shires and the administrative body's within the colony could then be compared to these primary standards. A Weights and Measures Act was passed in Victoria in 1862, establishing local inspectors throughout the colony. By the 1870s each local council and shire in Victoria held a set of standards that were used to test scales, weights and dry measures used by wholesalers, factories and shops. Every ten years the councils’ standards would themselves need to be rechecked against the Victorian Standards. The checking was done by the Victorian Customs Department in the 19th century, but with the transfer of responsibility for customs to the Federal Government in 1901, weights and measures function was retained by the Victorian Government and was shifted to the Melbourne Observatory. In 1904, a new building was erected at the south end of the Great Melbourne Telescope House, where the standard weights and measures and testing equipment was installed. This room had a large whirling apparatus for testing air meters and became known as the Whirling Room. When the Melbourne Observatory closed in 1944, the Weights and Measures Branch was formed to continue and this branch remained at the Observatory site unit until 1995. J & M Ewan History: J&M Ewan was a Melbourne firm that began by selling retail furniture and wholesale ironmongery. They had substantial warehouses situated at the intersection of 81-83 Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets, the business was established by James M Ewan in 1852. Shortly afterwards he went into partnership with William Kerr Thomson and Samuel Renwick. When Ewan died in 1868 his partners carried on and expanded the business under his name J & M Ewan. The business was expanded to provide a retail shop, counting-house and private offices. Wholesale warehouses adjoined these premises at 4, 6 and 10 Little Collins Street, West. This company provided and sold a large and varied amount of imported goods into the colony that consisted of agriculture equipment, building materials, mining items as well as steam engines, tools of all types and marble fireplaces. They also supplied the Bronze measuring containers in the Flagstaff Hill collection and the probability is that these containers were obtained by the local Melbourne authority that monitored weights and measures in the mid to late 19th century. The company grew to employ over 150 people in Melbourne and opened offices at 27 Lombard St London as well as in New Zealand and Fiji. The company also serviced the Mauritius islands and the pacific area with their steamship the Suva and a brig the Shannon. Robert Bate History: Robert Brettell Bate (1782-1847) was born in Stourbridge, England, one of four sons of Overs Bate, a mercer (a dealer in textile fabrics, especially silks, velvet's, and other fine materials)and banker. Bate moved to London, and in 1813 was noticed for his scientific instrument making ability through the authority of the “Clockmakers Company”. Sometime in the year 1813 it was discovered that one Robert Brettell Bate, regarded as a foreigner in London had opened a premises in the Poultry selling area of London. He was a Mathematical Instrument maker selling sundials and other various instruments of the clock making. In 1824, Bate, in preparation for his work on standards and weights, leased larger premises at 20 and 21 Poultry, London, at a rental of four hundred pounds per annum. It was there that Bate produced quality metrological instruments, which afforded him the recognition as one of one of the finest and principal English metrological instrument-makers of the nineteenth century. English standards at this time were generally in a muddle, with local standards varying from shire to shire. On 17 June 1824, an Act of Parliament was passed making a universal range of weights, measures, and lengths for the United Kingdom, and Bate was given the job of crafting many of the metrological artifacts. He was under instruction from the renown physicist Henry Kater F.R.S. (1777-1835) to make standards and to have them deposited in the principal cities throughout the United Kingdom and colonies. Bate experimented with tin-copper alloys to find the best combination for these items and by October 1824, he had provided Kater with prototypes to test troy and avoirdupois pounds, and samples with which to divide the troy into grams. Bate also cast the standard for the bushel, and by February 1825, had provided all the standards required of him by the Exchequer, Guildhalls of Edinburgh, and Dublin. In 1824, he also made a troy pound standard weight for the United States, which was certified for its accuracy by Kater and deposited with the US Mint in 1827. Kater, in his address to the Royal Society of London, acknowledged Bate's outstanding experimentation and craftsmanship in producing standards of weights, measures, and lengths. An example of a dry Bronze measuring container made specifically for J & M Ewan by possibly the most important makers of measurement artefacts that gives us today a snapshot of how imperial weights and measures were used and how a standard of measurement for merchants was developed in the Australian colonies based on the Imperial British measurement system. The container has social significance as an item retailed by J & M Ewan and used in Victoria by the authorities who were given legal responsibility to ensure that wholesalers and retailers of dry goods sold in Victoria were correct. The container was a legal standard measure so was also used to test merchants containers to ensure that their distribution of dry goods to a customer was correct.Maker Possibly Robert Brettell Blake or De Grave, Short & Co Ltd both of LondonContainer brass round for measuring quantities- Has brass handles & is a 'Bushel' measurement. 'Imperial Standard Bushel Victoria' engraved around container. Container bronze round shape for measuring dry quantities has brass handles & is a 'Bushel' measurement"IMPERIAL STANDARD BUSHEL" engraved around the top of the container. VICTORIA engraved under "J & M Ewan & Co London and Melbourne" engraved around the bottom of the container.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, standard measure, bushel, bushel measurement, j & m ewan, dry measurement, victorian measurement standard, bronze container, melbourne observatory, robert brettell bate -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Chair
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Chairs wooden round back support & flat seat, turned legs in front and sloping legs at the rear, rectangular in shape. (4)flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Instrument - Musical, Piano, Renardi, c. 1900
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...This solid, late Victorian era piano is branded Renardi, which is a German name. In the late 19th century thousands of pianos were exported from Germany to Australia. Some, unfortunately, were amongst the cargo of shipwrecks. It seems that the Renardi pianos were not made by a Renardi company but made to order by any of a number of German piano manufacturer and branded for distribution by Australian music stores.This Renardi piano represents an era where musical gatherings were part of domestic entertainment. Pianos were ialso installed in clubs, public halls and hospitality businesses for song nights and concerts were encouraged for community unity.Piano, upright, walnut veneer with floral design on panels. Turned columns, hinged lid and two metal pedals. Branded Renardi, a German name, made c. 1900. "RENARDI"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, musical instrument, upright piano, german, renardi, victorian era, late 19th century, entertainment -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Furniture - Desk, Circa 1890
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...This small desk was possibly used by an office clerk or student.This modest desk is typical of student's and administrative furniture used in the early 1900s.Desk, writing slope, plain design. Cedar wood, sloped top, plain tapered legs, hinged lid, lock at front, raised edge at front and back.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, desk, writing desk, office furniture, domestic furniture, writing slope, clerk's desk -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Container - Ink Bottle, 19th to early-20th century
... flagstaff hill maritime village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...This design of ink bottle or ink well was commonly referred to as a ‘penny ink well’ because it was very inexpensive to produce. It is also known as a dwarf bottle. Pen and ink has been in use for hand writing from about the seventh century up until the mid-20th century. Up until around the mid-19th century a quill pen made from a bird’s feather was used. In the 1850s the steel point pen was invented and could be manufactured on machines in large quantities. In the 1880s a successful portable fountain pen was designed, giving a smooth flowing ink and ease of use. Ink wells, used with steel nib dip pens, were commonly used up until the mid-20th century. The pens only held a small amount of ink so users had to frequently dip the nib of the pen into an ink well for more ink. Hand writing with pen and ink left wet writing on the paper, so blotting paper was carefully used to absorb the excess ink and prevent smudging. Ink could be purchased, ready to use, or in the powdered form, which needed to be mixed with water. After the invention of fountain pens, which had a reservoir of ink, and then ballpoint pens, which also had ink that flowed freely, the dip pen was slowly replaced. However, artisans continue to use nib pens to create beautiful calligraphy.This ink well is historically significant as it represents methods of hand written communication that were still common up until the mid-20th century, when fountain pens and ballpoint pens took over in popularity and convenience.Ink bottle or ink well, sometimes called a Penny Ink Well. Cylindrical body, salt-glazed, brown ceramic stoneware bottle, handmade. Stoneware bottle. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime village, maritime museum, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, writing equipment, writing accessory, office equipment, stationery, domestic, stoneware, clay, ceramic, pottery, ink well, inkwell, ink bottle, penny ink well, nib pen, dip pen, ink, hand writing, record keeping, household, business, vintage, blotting paper, dwarf bottle -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Flag
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Flag of white rectangle & blue diamond & 5 point red star in centre. The shipping House Flag of the Jadranska Linijska plovidba - Rijeka - Also known as the Adriatic lineflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Flag - The Missions to Seamen
... flagstaff-hill-maritime-village...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street ...Flag of dark blue rectangle with white writing 'The Missions To Seamen' & flying angel imageflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, the missions to seamen, flag