This jardinière is one of many 19th and early 20th-century items donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by the Giles Family. It would have been used to contain a potted plant or similar foliage to decorate a room. Donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by Vera and Aurelin Giles, this item is associated with Warrnambool and the Giles Family history. Many items have been donated by the family and have come to be known as the “Giles Collection”. Many items in the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage that were donated by Vera and Aurelin Giles mostly came from the home of Vera’s parents-in-law, Henry Giles and his wife Mary Jane (nee Freckleton), who married in 1880 and whose photos are on display in the parlour. Henry was born at Tower Hill in 1858 and was a labourer on the construction of the Warrnambool Breakwater before leaving in 1895 for around seven years to build bridges in NSW. Mary Jane was born in 1860 at Cooramook, and she attended Mailor’s Flat State School and where she eventually became a student teacher. After which she became a governess at “Injemiara”, where her grandfather, Francis Freckleton, had once owned land. Henry and Mary’s family consisted of six; some of the children were born at Mailor’s Flat, and later, some children were born at Wangoom. They lived with their parents at Wangoom and Purnim west, and this is where Henry died in 1933 and Mary Jane died in 1940. The Giles family collection has social significance at a local level, because it illustrates the level of material support the Warrnambool community gave to Flagstaff Hill when the Museum was established. It also represents typical furniture and household goods owned by settlers in the Warrnambool District in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Jardinière is a good example of late Victorian memorabilia that was to be found in many homes of the period.Plant container: brass and copper jardinière, with tooled and pressed ornamental rose design on a band of copper around the planter and braised seam joins. Three short lion paw feet support the base. Part of the Giles Collection. An inscription is on a sticker under the base.Handwritten: "$85"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, emigrants from ireland, giles collection, henry giles, tower hill, cooramook, warrnambool breakwater, mailor’s flat, wangoom, 19th century household goods, brass jardinière, plant pot, potted plant, domestic decor, copperware, lion paw feet, rose design

The fringed tablecloth is an example of a domestic item brought to Australia by early settlers in the Western District of Victoria as a home comfort.The fringed tablecloth helps tell the story of the arrival of European settlers and the small, light home comforts they brought with them to maintain a meaningful connection to home.Fringed and lined square tablecloth. The front is hand embroidered on brown loose weave fabric, the back a pale yellow polished cotton fabric. The edges on the back have been turned and machine stitched. Hand-stitching has been used to join the top to the back and to add the fringe around the edges. The embroidery uses tapestry wool in cream, yellow, brown and green tones. The style is possibly an example of European folk style embroidery. An inscription on a pink ribbon is sewn onto the reverse.“S F . 31303 OLIVER - - [undecipherable]”flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime village, maritime museum, flagstaff hill maritime museum & village, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, tablecloth, fringed tablecloth, embroidered tablecloth, european embroidery, hand sewing, domestic object, handmade, textile, silk thread, geometric design, vintage, long-stitch, zigzag design, decorative, home décor, domestic linen, table linen

A fireplace was the most commonly used form of heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for laundry and domestic uses.Fireplace accessories were an important part of the decor of houses as well as being useful items.A curved copper pan. The handle is copper tubing with a wooden handle grip. It has 4 feet in the shape of animal paws (lion?). The handle is attached with lion faces. The paws and feet are brass and attached to the pan with screws.copper fireplace domestic kindling-holder

This textile is one of many 19th century items of furniture, linen and crockery donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village by, Vera and Aurelin Giles. The items are associated with Warrnambool and the Giles Family history. Items donated by the family have come to be known as the “Giles Collection”. Many items in the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage were donated by Vera and Aurelin Giles and mostly came from the home of Vera’s parents-in-law, Henry Giles and his wife Mary Jane (nee Freckleton) who married in 1880 and whose photos are on display in the parlour. Henry was born at Tower Hill in 1858, and was a labourer on the construction of the Warrnambool Breakwater before leaving in 1895 for around seven years to build bridges in NSW. Mary Jane was born in 1860 at Cooramook and she attended Mailor’s Flat State School and where she eventually was to become a student teacher. After which she became a governess at “Injemiara” where her grandfather, Francis Freckleton, had once owned land. Henry and Mary’s family consisted of six, some of the children were born at Mailor’s Flat and later some children at Wangoom. They lived with their parents at Wangoom and Purnim west, and this is where Henry died in 1933 and Mary Jane in 1940.The Giles family collection is of social significance at a local level, because it not only illustrates the level of material support the Warrnambool community gave to Flagstaff Hill during it’s establishment. But the Giles collection also gives us today a snapshot into what domestic life was like in early colonial times prior to Federation.Sideboard cover, white with crocheted lace on sides. (Part of the Giles Collection)Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, giles collection, linen, 19th century linen, furnishings, 19th century fashion, decor, henry giles, tower hill, cooramook, mailor’s flat, wangoom, 19th century household goods

This SEC cook book was produced circa 1950s when the Kiewa Hydro Electricity Scheme and its Commission was in full swing. The Commission had constructed two settlements, Mount Beauty and Bogong Village to house construction workers and their families in a "closed" community. These "closed" communities were for SEC staff and construction workers only. Entry into these villages was restricted to "SEC pass" carrying construction staff and their families. All facilities such as retail, sporting and other community services was provided by the SEC. This created an isolated community in which limited individual choice or administrative family leeway was available. It was a typical company town (live and work for the company). The Company was in the Kiewa Valley constructing power stations for the Kiewa Hydro Electricity Scheme of Victoria. In one way the individual did not need to be concerned with living costs, educational needs for children, and recreational amenities and therefore "normal" community survival /living methods did not apply. This living, although restrictive, was quite simple. When the scheme was completed, in 1961, marking the end of company town, caused some of the employees, who had enjoyed the "controlled" township environment, a fair degree of angst in having the new 'laissez-faire" controls thrust upon them. This was magnified when both Mount Beauty and Bogong Village became meshed into the Bright Shire, vis-a-vis, local government. This cook book is a prime example of " the company is looking after you" and leave the worrying to us. This environment of a "company town", which creates the atmosphere of minimal personal responsibilities, is still present in a few remote mining towns in Australia at the beginning of the 21st Century.This book is a classical example of the psychological control in which the company had its construction workers families living in. The motto of many companies who had employees in isolated regions was "keep them happy". A happy and contented worker is a more productive worker. This was a period in time (1950s to 1970s) when social psychology was gaining recognition in the Australian workforce as well as internationally. At the end of the construction of all the power stations both the Mount Beauty settlement and the Bogong Village became more integrated into the main stream of rural Australia environment. Development of tourism in the region opened up not only interaction with a greater cross section of the ever expanding type of Australian but also the overseas based non rural culture tourist or immigrant. It allowed the intermingling of ideas in a non company controlled environment. The Mount Beauty and Bogong Village has, and even up to the 3000 Millennium, the same housing construction, as was built by the SEC. There has only been a very gradual change to modern domestic architectural home styles. This SEC cookbook has a folded cover with two staples at the spine, securing eight double sided pages. The white pages contain black print and sketches(3), and one black and white photograph (of the author). The front cover is mainly orange in colour with a gradual fading into yellow(at the top). The cover is approximately 210 g/m2 in thickness and each page is approximately 90 g/m2 thick. Front cover: top of page "SEC Cook Book of Family Favourites", in the middle a sketch, black on orange background, of a smiling mother walking from the kitchen to the dining table with a steaming rolled roast and vegetables in one hand and a gravy pot in the other. The furniture and decor relates to the 1950s. Below this sketch is printed"SEC TESTED RECIPES NO. 16" Inside cover: on top of the page is a black and white sketch of a pineapple, apple pear fish with scales, bunch of grapes with leaves a pork roll (head of pig one end and a roll ending on the other, on top of this food arrangement rests a fruit pie. Below this sketch are printed in black print the books contents.The first side of the first page is a black and white photograph Mary Dunne, the SEC Home Service supervisor who provided a signed foreword. The inside back cover has a promotional segment detailing a black and white photograph of a smiling (and happy) couple in the foreground with an electric stove in the distance. The written motto below this photograph is" to Live better -and save money they'll join the Power People. "the new tariff is(1960s) - First 75kWh --6 cents per kWh Next 435 kWh---2.3 cents per kWh Balance --1.7 cents per kWh The rate per killowatt-hour for the final block drops from 2.1 cents to 1.7 cents --a reduction of 19%.cooking recipes circa 1950s, domestic food, sec victoria cook books, recipes circa 1950s