From Museum Victoria: Made in about 1927 by Hecla Electrics Pty Ltd and sold under the model name 'Foot Warma'. The foot warmer was made from the late 1920s until the 1950s and did not change substantially in design during this time. The Hecla brand name and logo was registered in 1918 by Clarence Marriott. It was inspired by the recent eruption of Iceland's volcano Mt Heckla. Clarence and his father James were metal workers who had made Australia's first carbon filament electric radiators in 1899, and also built an early steam car. As electricity use exploded in the 1920s and 1930s, 'Hecla' became a household name in Melbourne. They made a wide range of appliances for the home, and supplied commercial appliances to cafés, hospitals and offices. In 1927, the company shifted from small premises in the city to a bigger, electric-powered factory in South Yarra. Hecla had no retail stores of its own - instead it sold products through wholesalers and retailers, including the State Electricity Commission (SEC). The company promoted its goods through advertisements in home magazines and displays in shop windows, home shows and the 1935 All-Electricity Exhibition. A popular advertising slogan in the 1930s was 'Hecla household helps make happy healthy housewives!'. Hecla ceased manufacturing in Melbourne in the 1980s.Documentation of how people lived and is an example of early domestic electrical appliances. From Museum Victoria: Hecla Electrics Pty Ltd were a significant Melbourne manufacturing company, who became a household name in the 1920s making small electric appliances such as heaters and kettles. They also made a variety of other electrical appliances for domestic, commercial and military use. The company manufactured electric appliances in Melbourne from about 1922 until the 1980s, although Clarence Marriott, who formed the company, had begun making radiators with his father James in 1899. The company had a reputation for quality products. The company also played an important role within the Australian domestic and commercial appliance industry, both as a leading innovator and through its role in training skilled staff, many of whom went on to work for competitors such as Kambrook, Electrolux and Sunbeam. This electric coffee percolator represents the typical small domestic appliance that the Hecla company was famous for. Along with other items in the Hecla Collection, it highlights the diversity of electric appliances that the company made. This object also highlights the legacy of high quality design and metal construction work that Clarence and James established for the company, stemming from their early work as talented art metal workers. It also represents the first major period of the take-up of electricity use in the home. This take-up began in the 1920s and 1930s with the use of small appliances, and by the 1950s electricity had become commonplace in the home, and large appliances such as refrigerators and stoves became standard.Square metal object. The top surface is heavy cast iron and patterned with floral motifs. In the centre is a circle with the words ' Hecla Foot Warma' inside. Under the top is a black metal base with two feet at either end which extend the length of the base. The back foot is higher than the front foot. There is a circular disk from which extends the electrical cord. The cord is brown and white checks. At the end of the cord is a plug on which is printed 250V AMP S.2 EARTH 5. The plug is brown and made from Bakelite. On the base is a rectangular label which has words printed - HECLA Australia.Top: HECLA/-FOOT-/WARMA Base: Volts / 230/250 / WATTS / 80 / HECLA / Australia / CAT. NO. F26domestic, city of portland, glenelg shire council, electrical, foot warmer, heating, hecla, manufacture

Silver thimble made in America c 1880's when there was still a huge amount of domestic sewing done by hand and a thimble was an essential tool to protect the finger tip when pushing a needle through fabric. Sterling silver thimbles were special for their precious metal and this one came into the collection in a presentation box (T 513 1) Simons Bros of Philadelphia, PA USA were a very large jewellery manufacturing company which started c 1840's, with successful mechanisation the firm was able to increase production and sell its products in the booming 1870-1880's and is still in business in 2024.Sterling Silver Thimble with dimpled top half and panelled base 4 (size) on panel on lower band. Inside apex: Cursive S in a shield = Simons trademark

In 2005 Michele Matthews interviewed current and former residents of Bendigo for her thesis on the 1930s Depression as part of her PhD Research, with the University of Melbourne Faculty of Arts, History Department. Michele interviewed fifteen members of prominent Bendigonian families. The thesis was titled: "How Depressing?: The impact of the Great Depression on Bendigo and District 1925-1935". The Michele Matthews Collection contains fourteen audio cassette tape recordings and one written transcript. The tapes are each approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes duration. The questions presented to the interviewees explore everyday experiences they would have lived through at the time of the Depression. The questions covered sixteen relevant subjects: • Introduction and housing • Social activities, swimming, cinemas, school and games played with friends • Organizations such as the RSL, Relief Committees etc. and any effect they had on family life • The life of the single woman • Unemployment and Employment • Government Assistance • Charities Aid • Self-help • People Power, e.g. boycotts or protests • Politics • Trouble or crime • Family Health, Medical and Diet • Education • General memories of, and hardships encountered, during the DepressionNOTE: The interview tape except for the introduction is blank and, as their are no interview notes, it is assumed that the interview was abandoned for some reason. Audio tape interview with Jean Coulter (Nee May). Jean was born in 1915. In 1936 she married Raymond Coulter. Her father, David May was a fencer in Northern Victoria, and her mother worked as general duties in a hotel. She attended school at Quarry Hill State School (1921-1926) and Domestic Arts (1926-1927). The tape has been converted to a sound file. The 90 minute interview can be listened to, and the notes viewed, at the Bendigo Historical Society. By appointment only.history, bendigo, michele matthews collection, the 1930s depression tapes, jean coulter

In 2005 Michele Matthews interviewed current and former residents of Bendigo for her thesis on the 1930s Depression as part of her PhD Research, with the University of Melbourne Faculty of Arts, History Department. Michele interviewed fifteen members of prominent Bendigonian families. The thesis was titled: "How Depressing?: The impact of the Great Depression on Bendigo and District 1925-1935". The Michele Matthews Collection contains fourteen audio cassette tape recordings and one written transcript. The tapes are each approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes duration. The questions presented to the interviewees explore everyday experiences they would have lived through at the time of the Depression. The questions covered sixteen relevant subjects: • Introduction and housing • Social activities, swimming, cinemas, school and games played with friends • Organizations such as the RSL, Relief Committees etc. and any effect they had on family life • The life of the single woman • Unemployment and Employment • Government Assistance • Charities Aid • Self-help • People Power, e.g. boycotts or protests • Politics • Trouble or crime • Family Health, Medical and Diet • Education • General memories of, and hardships encountered, during the DepressionAudio tape interview with Lillian Lenore Taylor (Nee Carey). Daughter of Gordon Wilfred Carey (who was a wheat and oats farmer at Prairie then a dairy farmer at Mandurang and also a letter carver at Bendigo) and Charlotte Lillian Grylls. Lillian was born in 1922 and attended school at Prairie State School, 1928-1929, and Mandurang. She did domestic arts at Bendigo 1923-1933. Lenore married Norman Henry Taylor in 1943. The tape has been converted to a sound file. The 90 minute interview can be listened to, and the notes viewed, at the Bendigo Historical Society. By appointment only. Also included are four handwritten pages by Lenore of the depression and war years.history, bendigo, michele matthews collection, the 1930s depression tapes, lillian lenore taylor

The bottle was proably used to store ink.Straight sided, small light brown pottery bottle with a pouring lip. No cork.Lovatt. Lovatt. Ltd.domestic, pottery, brown, bottle, ink, container, ceramic, stoneware, writing equipment