This brooch with its floral design is typical of the jewellery worn during the Romantic Period of the Victorian Era, when Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, was alive 1837-1861. During this period flower motifs and brooches and pins were popular.This brooch is representative of jewellery worn during the Romantic Period of Queen Victoria's rule, 1837-1861.Brooch, light weight, rose coloured gold metal with red- brown onyx stone. Flower shaped brooch with six petals, stone attached, with rose design stem which is flanged on back. Backing plate is also rose coloured metal. A small ring is attached to the top of the brooch where the safety chain is attached. There are two small holes on back of brooch. A chain is attached to the horizontal pin on the back, and has a pin on its end. There is an Inscription engraved on the back. Engraved in script, "Coco" [Italian word for gold]flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, ladies jewellery, victorian era jewellery, jewellery inscribed 'coco', brooch, jewellery, ladies' jewellery, victorian era, romantic period

Jet became popular in the Victorian era for mourning jewellery, which became fashionable after the death of Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert in 1861. Jet is a dense black fossilized wood, almost like coal, and very light in weight. It is easy to cut, so carved well. It became popular in the Victorian era for mourning jewellery, which became fashionable.This jet necklace is typical of the mourning jewellery worn by early settler women in Moorabbin Shire c1900A continuous circular, long, black necklace with small jet beads.Nonejewellery, mourning wear, jet stone, queen victoria fashion, early settlers, pioneers, black clothing, moorabbin mirror, bader fran, rietman august, rennick stefanie, resin jewellery,

Jet came into common usage in the 19th century when a small town in England, Whitby, began mining jet to make mourning jewellery. When Queen Victoria declared that her court wear mourning attire for the three years after the death of Albert,and that only jet jewelry was to be worn at court for the first year jet jewellery was widely worn. In the Victorian era, there was a wide variety of materials used to mimic Whitby Jet for mourning jewelry. This item is an example of typical mourning style jewelry which became popular as a universal form of adornmentA black jet bead choker with fasteners at the ends.jewellery choker jet

A hat pin is a decorative pin for holding a hat to the head, usually by the hair that was styled in a Chignon or French Roll style and usually worn in a pair. They are typically around 20 cm in length, with the pinhead being the most decorated part. The hatpin was invented to hold veils in place, and was handmade. Birmingham, England was the centre of production when demand eventually outgrew the number that could be supplied by hand-making and they also began to be imported from France. In 1832, an American machine was invented to manufacture the pins, and they became much more affordable. During the 1880s, bonnets gave way to hats, some of which were very large and the popularity of hatpins soared. In the Victorian era, when appearance was everything, it just wouldn't do for a fashionable lady's hat to blow off in the wind. They remained a standard women's' accessory through the 1910s and were produced in a vast range of materials and types. Hat pin holder boxes were also produced. One of the most well-known makers of hatpins is silversmith Charles Horner, of Halifax, whose turn of the century jewellery company became a leader in the market by creating a series of mass-produced pins that were still of exceptional quality. As a result, thousands of Horner's pins are still on the market and on display in museums worldwide. Women of the 1920’s used hat pins as decoration on their Cloche hats that fitted snugly to their heads. The women of the pioneer families liked to dress up in their best hand made dresses and fashionable hats for Church gatherings and special occasions as a relief from the daily chores of hand washing, ironing with flat irons and cooking over open fires.2 lady's long steel hat pins with sequents in a flower design on mauve material bonnets, hats, veils, scarves, moorabbin, bentleigh, brighton, cheltenham, early settlers, pioneers, clasps, hairdressing, combs, steel pins, jewellery

The gold cross was discovered by Victorian scuba diver Julie Wilkins, who had already experienced more than 500 dives in Australia and overseas. She was holidaying in Peterborough, Victoria, and looking forward to discovering more about the famous Loch Ard ship, wrecked in June 1878 at Mutton Bird Island. The fast Glasgow-built clipper ship was only five years old when the tragedy occurred. There were 54 people on board the vessel and only two survived Julie's holiday photograph of Boat Bay reminds her of her most memorable dive. Submerged in the calm, flat sea, she was carefully scanning around the remains of the old wreck when, to her amazement, a gold coin and a small gold cross suddenly came up towards her. She excitedly cupped them in her hands, then stowed the treasures safely in her wetsuit and continued her dive. She soon discovered a group of brass carriage clock parts and some bottles of champagne. It was a day full of surprises. The items were easily recognisable, without any build-up of encrustations or concretion. Julie secretly enjoyed her treasures for twenty-four years then packed them up for the early morning train trip to Warrnambool. After a short walk to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village, her photograph was taken as she handed over her precious find. She told her story to a local newspaper reporter, lunched a café in town then took the late afternoon train home. Her generous donation is now part of a vast collection of Loch Ard shipwreck artefacts, including the gold watch and the Minton Majolica model peacock. The small decorative cross dates back to on or before 1878, when the Loch Ard had set sail. The loop and ring have been added, perhaps as a pendant, pocket watch accessory or similar purpose. It may have been worn for ‘good luck’ or a ‘blessing’ on the long journey to Australia, where ships had to carefully navigate the treacherous Bass’s Strait before arriving at their destination of Melbourne. Sadly, many met their fate on that short stretch of ocean aptly named the Shipwreck Coast. The cross is very recognisable even though it was exposed to the wrecking of the ship, its consequent movement, and the sea's turbulence. Its scratched, pitted and worn condition, and the damage near the loop, is part of its story. The red-brown-black discolouration is similar to that found on other gold coins, sometimes called the ‘corrosion phenomena’. Studies suggest the possible cause is contaminants in the minting process reacting to the coins’ environment. Three edges of the cross have slightly raised narrow ridges of gold which could have been cause by the gold being cast liquid gold into a mould.This gold cross pendant is significant as a symbol of Christianity, a sign of hope and safety, and a sample of the religious following on board the Loch Ard, although not everyone wears a cross for this reason. This cross is a sample of jewellery owned by people migrating to Australia in the late 19th century. The cross and the guinea recovered together from the wreck of the Loch Ard are made of gold and help interpret the financial status of some of those on board.Gold cross; yellow gold with decorative hand engraved foliage design on the front, fitted loop and ring on top. The simple Latin or Roman variation of the cross, with an elongated vertical arm, has no figure on it and the reverse has no decoration. The right, left and base edges have sections of narrow, long slightly raised ridges. The top edge has remnants of red-black colour. Victorian era cross, ca. 1878. The cross was recovered from the wreck of the ship Loch Ard.Engraved foliage design. Slightly raised long ridges on sides and base edges. flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, gold cross, religious cross, religious trinket, religious jewellery, engraved cross, cross pendant, cross with ring, victorian era, 1878, antique cross, crucifix, religious symbol, christian symbol, christian jewellery, contamination phenomena, gold corrosion, good luck, lucky charm, blessing, pendant, loch ard, wreck of the loch ard, mutton bird island, peterborough, scuba diver, 1980s, shipwreck artefact, relic, latin cross, roman cross, pectoral cross, julie wilkins