Digital images of the Melbourne suburb od Kew and Hawthorn from the air.hawthorn, camberwell, kew junction, eastern freeway, camberwell junction, glenferrie, kew cottages, willsmere, melbourne, aerial, cityscape, landscape, kew, yarra river, aerial photograph

This is a tea tin from the business of Rolfe and Co., a wholesale grocery and importing business founded in Melbourne in 1854 by George Rolfe Senior, a merchant and politician. George Rolfe died in 1871 and the business was then run by his son, George Rolfe, Junior. The business continued until at least the late 1930s. George Rolfe (1836-1919) was a keen sportsman and he began holidaying in Warrnambool for some years in the 1870s when he started buying land in the area. By the early 1880s Rolfe owned 50 acres in Warrnambool and established his holiday residence at Lyndoch near the mouth of the Hopkins River. He improved the original site with the addition of a large garden, stables, jetty, boatshed, water well, chaff and bone sheds, reservoir etc and bought other properties including Shipley on the Allansford Road and the adjoining property Fairy Hill. He continued managing the Rolfe and Co. business in Melbourne until his death in 1919. Today Rolfe’s Lyndoch property in Warrnambool is the site of an aged care facility. This tin is of considerable significance as it is a memento of George Rolfe who established the property of Lyndoch in Warrnambool and was a prominent land holder in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Note that we have another Rolfe tea tin but it is in very poor condition compared to this later acquisition). This is a rectangular-shaped tin with four sides originally painted yellow but now showing considerable rust. The printing on the sides is brown and white, some on a blue background and some surrounded by decorative patterns.No. 2 Rolfe & Co. Ltd 286-300 King St. Melbourne Rolfe’s Tea Rolfe and Co. was established at Melbourne in 1854. Ever since then it has enjoyed an enviable reputation as a firm which supplies to the public goods of the highest quality. george rolfe, lyndoch warrnambool, rolfe & co, importers, melbourne, history of warrnambool

Thompson collectionStudio portrait, sepia photograph mounded on brown card; man age (40-50) dressed in suit and tieNone, but manufacturer's details on card; Melba, Melbournethompson collection, nightingale

This machine was made in Baden, Germany, for the Ward Brothers of Melbourne, who imported machines from various manufacturers and had them branded with their Ward Brothers decals. This machine is most likely dated after 1911, when the Ward Brothers became two separate businesses, as there are only remnants of two portrait decals on the machine bed. There is a fitted embedded ruler in the wood of the base. Many sewing machine manufacturers in Germany produced their machines specifically for export. A company could mass-produce its machines and give the same product several different brand names, according to their overseas buyers. There was a huge market for domestic machines as it enabled tailored clothing to be made in households at a fraction of the retail prices. Ward Brothers began in Australia in the late 1890s and early sewing machines sold by them had the three brothers on their decals. In 1911 the brothers divided into two separate firms, one operating on his own, the other two remaining together, and all still operating in Melbourne and at first still using the name Ward Brothers.This sewing machine is one of two hand-operated Ward Brothers machines in our collection that were made in Baden, Germany, and the only one that has the two Ward Brothers on its decal and that has side to side slide plates. This machine represents the early domestic market for sewing machines, making it possible for the everyday homemaker to produce fashionable garments and linen ware that was affordable. The owner of this machine could work at more than one location as it was portable and did not require a large space to set up. The machine is associated with the well-known Ward Brothers of Melbourne, who sold imported sewing machines that were branded with their own name.Sewing machine with case. The black-painted metal machine is hand-operated and the crank handle is wooden. The machine is on a wooden base and has a box included that contains many machine accessories. Made in Baden, Gemnamy, for Ward Brothers of Melbourne. There is an attached metal plate on the front with rows of groups of numbers on it. The wooden bed has an embedded ruler. The machine had decals with geometric designs and the maker's name.Printed in script: "Specially made in Baden / by Ward Broth Melbourne"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, sewing machine, hand operated, domestic sewing, homemade clothing, fashion, ward brothers, made in germany, baden, front and rear slide plates, post wwi, post 1911

From set of nine colour photographs of various locations on the Port Melbourne Railway Line from Port Melbourne to Montague Stations, 1987: Railway sidings on Evans Street, taken from Bridge Streettransport - railways, glen stuart

From set of nine colour photographs of various locations on the Port Melbourne Railway Line from Port Melbourne to Montague Stations, 1987: Railway sidings on Evans Street, taken from Bridge Streettransport - railways, glen stuart