This Sikes brass hydrometer was manufactured by the optical and scientific instrument makers Kasner & Moss of 17 Collins Street West, Melbourne, in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The firm adverted hydrometers, as well as optical instruments, as early as August 13th, 1864, in The Age, Melbourne. This hydrometer set was donated to Flagstaff Hill in 1979 by local wine and spirits merchants Lynch Bros of Fairy Street, Warrnambool. Giffen Russell had established the business in 1878, and Harry Lynch took it over in the 1930s, and after he passed away in 1953 Kevin Matthew Lynch became proprietor of K M Lynch Food and Liquor. The business closed in the 2010s. The hydrometer may date back to the establishment of the business in 1878, as Kasner & Moss were selling hydrometers in Melbourne from 1864. Hydrometers were used to measure the density, or relative density, of liquids from the late 1600s. In 1816 Bartholomew Sikes won the competition for the most useful accurate hydrometer. Hydrometers were commonly used by distillers, vintners, and brewers to establish accurate measures of alcohol concentration in their beverages. Following this manufacturing process, government inspectors and excise officers used them to check that the labelled indications of alcohol-proof were correct and that the right amounts of duty were being paid. This hydrometer and its fitted and hinged wooden container show signs of heavy and protracted use in a working environment. Although the instrument has some parts missing and has been recently repaired, the original quality of the inlaid box and the fine engraving on the instrument and the attachable weights, are indications of the hydrometer’s very real value when new. This Sikes hydrometer, bearing the maker's mark of “Kasner & Moss Melbourne” and the registered number “20373”, was presented to the purchasing public as a precision-made instrument designed for professional use. The Sikes hydrometer is of local significance because of its implied association with the alcohol trade in the southwest region of Victoria. It was donated by a family member of Lynch Bros, a local licensed outlet for wines and spirits in the period before the general relaxation of liquor licensing laws in the State of Victoria. It may have belonged to Griffin Russell who established the liquor store in 1878.Hydrometer; original Sikes brass hydrometer in a polished wooden case with an inlaid plaque on the lid. The brass float is a sphere with a thin flat upper stem and a short, lower stem with a bulb-shaped end. The upper stem is engraved scale on both sides with the numbers 1 to 10, and five divisions between each number. There are ten fixed pegs in the base to secure the thick brass horseshoe-shaped, numbered, various-sized weights (20, 30, 40, 80, 90); the free pegs would have originally stored another five weights (10, 50, 60, 70, and 100). The empty compartment in the box suggests another part in the initial set, probably a thermometer. The fitted, fabric-lined box has two brass closures and two brass hinges. The scientific instrument shows signs of heavy use and repairs. The Serial Number on the float matches the Serial Numbers on the weights. The plaque on the lid, the float and the weights have inscriptions. Made by Kasner & Moss, Melbourne. Plaque: “SIKES HYDROMETER / KASNER & MOSS / MELBOURNE” On float's lower stem: “SIKES 20373” On one thin edge of the float's scale, engraved in script “Kasner & Moss” and stamped “MELBOURNE”, and symbol“P” rotated 90 degrees. On the opposite thin edge of the float: “N20.373”, “SIKES”, “I P % II O” (in ornate capitals). Each weight has s unique number, and the same serial number “20373”.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, sikes hydrometer, scientific instrument, pressure measurement, measuring instrument, ullage tool, customs, excise duty, tax, alcohol content, proof, calibrate, standard weights and measures, tariff, kasner & moss, scientific instrument makers, specific gravity, liquid density, alcohol testing, technology, alcohol measurement, proof spirit, wine and spirits merchants, local business, brass measuring instrument, k m lynch, giffen russell, harry lynch