These birds’ eggs were collected by Charles Brittlebank before 1910 but at this stage it is not known from which area they came. English-born Charles Brittlebank was a naturalist interested in ornithology, geology and mycology. He was the Government Plant Pathologist for Victoria from 1913 to 1924. He was the first to discover evidence of glaciation in the Werribee Gorge and published many papers on this subject and other aspects of natural history. It is not known when Charles Brittlebank was in the Warrnambool area or the origin of the birds’ eggs but it a very interesting (and perhaps rare) historical collection. .1 Birds’ Eggs - There are 27 eggs, either whole or partial specimens, contained in a box with home–made cardboard partitions. Ten are intact and the rest are broken. Eight are white and the remainder are speckled. The eggs are resting on a turquoise-coloured piece of material .2 Nest – This is woven from hair and fine twigs and is filled with white wool-like fragments .3 Letter – These are two sheets of writing paper with handwritten information in blue ink. .4 Envelope - This is a small envelope which contained the sheets of paper (.3 above) and the front has handwritten material in blue ink..3 ‘To whom it may concern – I hereby declare that these eggs were collected before 1910, and were part of a collection of the late Charles Brittlebank which is now in the Melbourne Museum. Fred. A. Shirrefs.’ .4 ‘To whom it may concern’ charles brittlebank, history of warrnambool

This box contained packets of Reckitts Blue and was probably displayed in a shop with the lid up showing the brand name and the items. Blue or laundry blue was a household product used up to about 1960 to improve the appearance of textiles during the washing process. It added a trace of blue dye which made white fabrics appear whiter and it was widely used. Reckitts was a firm established by Isaac Reckitt in Hull, England, in 1840. By 1888 it was a public company and in 1938 it merged with J.& J. Colman, a food manufacturer. Later it sold the Colman side of the business and today it trades as the Reckitt Benckiser Group. The firm established an Australian branch in the late 19th century.This box has been used to store the Charles Brittlebank birds’ eggs collection but it is of interest in its own right as a box that held Reckitts Blue packets. Most Australian households in the 19th and 20th centuries (up to about 1960) would have used blue bags or packets in the laundering process so they are part of our social history. Today a bleach is used as a replacement for a blue bag.This is a wooden box with a hinged lid (the hinges are hooks and eyes). The box once contained one gross of Reckitt’s Blue. The printing on the box is coloured but some of it is now faded. Inside the lid, pasted on, is the name of the manufacturer. The side of the box also has the name of the manufacturer pasted on but the printing has been discoloured at the edge by the application of maroon-coloured paint. On side of box: ‘Reckitt’s Round Blue, contains one gross of circular blocks’ Inside the lid: ‘Reckitt’s Round Blue’ social history, history of warrnambool, reckitt’ blue