Hand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Sign in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Vaughan Cemetery in Central VictoriaHand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around the Ellen Smith headstone.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art, ellen smith

Hand forged iron fence around the Ellen Smith headstone.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around the Ellen Smith headstone in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art, blacksmithing

Hand forged iron fence around the Ellen Smith headstone.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Hand forged iron fence around a grave in Vaughan Cemetery.vaughan, vaughan cemetery, forged ironwork, cemetery art

Dates from gold-mining period in Queenstown (St. Andrews) Caledonian Diggings. Used for lift ore to the surface by windlass in small-scale shaft mines.Heavy leather bucket with iron reinforcing and handle. Panels are stitched and joined with thonging Ironwork is hand-forged and rivetted in place.

This object is of primary significance. The nickel plated brass bedstead was made by Carl Alfred Ziebell for his wife Dorothea. Carl Alfred Ziebell ( 23.08.1867 - 26.10. 1940) was the third generation grandson of Christian Ziebell. Dorothea remained proud of her bed throughout her long life. (14.7.1873 - 14.12.1969) The bed linen and quilts remain traditionally dressed as they were in 1850. This ornate iron bed holds strong historical and cultural significance as a rare surviving example of craftsmanship by Carl Heinrich Alfred “Carl Alfred” Ziebell (1867–1940), grandson of Christian and Sophia Ziebell, early German-Wendish settlers of Westgarthtown. A skilled wheelwright by trade, Carl Alfred possessed deep technical knowledge of metalworking, timber precision, and traditional fabrication techniques required for constructing and repairing wagon wheels. These same skills are reflected in the bed’s carefully forged ironwork and its distinctive circular decorative motifs. Carl Alfred crafted this bed for his wife, Dorothea, who, as family accounts recall, “remained proud of her bed throughout her long life.” The linens displayed on the bed are traditional cotton fabrics with intricate lace detailing, donated to the museum by Sylvia Ziebell. These textiles closely resemble the types of linens that would originally have dressed the bed, helping to evoke its historic domestic context. The bed represents both the material resourcefulness and artisanal expertise present within the second generation of the Ziebell family. Its construction demonstrates a blending of practical skill with aesthetic ambition, illustrating how tradespeople adapted their craft to create durable and decorative domestic furnishings. As Carl Alfred and Dorothea are buried in the Lutheran Cemetery adjacent to Ziebell’s Farmhouse, the bed also strengthens the site’s tangible connection to the family’s multi-generational presence in Westgarthtown. The piece is significant for its rarity, its association with an identified maker within the Ziebell lineage, and its ability to illuminate the lived experience, creativity, and craftsmanship of the early community. Nickel plated and painted tubular steel bedstead with double bed mattress and spreads. On four castor wheels, ornate decoration on both ends. Turned sections on each corner post, four on the bottom ends, only caps on the top ends. Spring wire mattress base.furniture, domestic, double bed, bedstead, nickel-plated, steel, turned

The horse-drawn buggy, built by Carl Alfred Ziebell, is one of the most evocative surviving artefacts of everyday life at Ziebell’s Farmhouse, and a tangible link to the family’s heritage. As a skilled wheelwright, Carl Alfred constructed this four-wheeled vehicle on the property to serve his wife Dorothea and their ten children throughout the early 1900s. For decades, the buggy was the primary mode of transport for the Ziebell family, used for travel between their farm, central Melbourne, and surrounding districts and there was adequate rear storage for purchases. Its survival in fair, serviceable condition offers a rare example of traditional carriage construction, combining finely turned timber wheels, forged ironwork, steel-trimmed rims, and a leather-upholstered seat. As the only remaining transport relic associated with Westgarthtown’s settlers, the buggy holds deep historical, technological and social significance. It illustrates how immigrant families adapted European trades to harsh landscape conditions, tailored domestic vehicles for local needs, and maintained mobility before motorisation. Exhibiting the buggy within the museum preserves and interprets these connections, offering visitors a direct insight into the material culture and everyday lives of the Ziebell family and the broader settler community in 19th- and early 20th-century Victoria. The buggy was donated by Lyn and James Ziebell. James Ziebell is the son of Henry Christian Ziebell (1911–1988) and Anne Emily Ziebell (née Zimmer, 1912–1985), on whose property the buggy resided following the sale of the Ziebell’s Thomastown farm. Horse drawn buggy. Black leather upholstered chair with studded back. Four large timber spoked wheels the back wheels are larger than the front wheels, with steel trim on edges of wheels. Axels connects wheels and have turning mechanism. Two metal steps on each side of carriage. Small wooden seat on back of carriage facing the back. Steel barrier at front of the carriage. Wooden attachment with two wooden poles to attach to cart to horse.No visible markings.transport, animal, buggy, cart, horse, dairy, carriage, jessie.