It is unknown how this specific item made its way into the Warrnambool Museum. However, many South African artefacts came to the museum through men who served in the army during the Boer Wars of 1880-81 and 1899-1902.

A beaded rope necklace. The rope is made from cloth and plant fibre with glass beads. It has a brass fastening. There are five colours: white, green, black and red with a pink band at the top. In the Zulu culture beads and jewellery were used as a means of communication. Generally they were used to convey messages about whether someone was married, engaged or single. The colours had different meanings but when placed next to white, the meaning would always be positive. white: purity and love black: marriage and rebirth red: also love green: contentment pink: denoted high status Beadwork was almost solely the work of women but men would also wear the jewellery.

zulu, south africa, jewellery, beads, kwa zulu natal, africa, boer war, warrnambool

This mat was donated to the Museum by the Rev. Andrew Rule Osborn. Reverend Osborn donated several artefacts including Aboriginal artefacts, Zulu and Pacific Islander objects. The Reverend came over from Tasmania to serve here in Warrnambool. His wife Annie was a fantastic author and wrote children's literature which was serialised in the newspapers. She was a supporter of women's suffrage and also the first woman editor of The Age.

A flat circular mat made from native Australian grasses. Indigenous Australians would use this as a baby-carrier on the back. One band would be placed around the lower back and mat and two higher up. The child would be placed between the back and the mat. It was also sometimes used as a sun shade or something to sit on. It is a spiral form with grasses woven around to bind it together.

aboriginal, indigenous, child carrier, mat, native grasses, reverend andrew rule osborn, annie osborn, women, mothers

It is unknown how this came into the collection at the Warrnambool Museum. However, during the 18th and 19th centuries it was fashionable for young men of means to undertake a 'grand tour'. During their travels they would often pick up souvenirs with these sometimes being ancient artefacts from classical Greece or Rome. It is thought that the item most probable came to the museum in this manner.

From discussion with specialists at the British Museum and the University of Reading it was ascertained that the oil lamp is indeed ancient Roman and over 2000 years old. The marking on the top could be Venus although it is quite worn away so it is difficult to tell for sure.

A terracotta oil lamp housed in a wooden box. On the top of the lamp are 3 circle incisions and in the centre of the circles is a depiction of a figure. There is a small finger sized handle on the side of the lamp. The handle has 2 incised lines leaving 3 raised ridges. It is squared off at the top. The top of the oil lamp has a hole in which to place a cloth wick and a spout from which the smoke would have come out. The spout is blackened from smoke. The container box is guessed to be from the time of acquisition which would be around the early 1900s and is made from a polished wood. Light in colour.

In the box was a label saying, 'Venus coming out of the gate of the temple'. It also stated that the lamp may have been placed at the feet of the dead in the catacombs.

oil lamp, roman, terracotta, classical, archaeology, victorian, grand tour

Knobkerrie are clubs used as weapons mainly in South and East Africa. The club end can be used to throw at an animal or to club an enemy's head in. Usually these would be carved from a protruding tree branch. The name is Afrikaans and comes from 'Knop', meaning knot or ball and 'Kierie', meaning cane.

Accessioned into the museum collection in 1913 and donated by a Mrs Newcome, there is not much other information on its provenance. However, the museum collection holds several artefacts from this region of South Africa and much of it was collected during the Boer Wars of 1880-1881 and 1899-1902.

A wooden club type object. It has a narrow cylindrical handle with a large wooden sphere at the top. The wood is shiny and smooth with a polished effect. The handle is 31.5cm long with a 2cm diameter and the head or knob has a height of 9.5cm and a circumference of 27cm.

This would have been hand carved from a protruding tree branch. Towards the end of the handle is a 13.9cm section of zig-zag patterning. Further down towards the 'knob' there looks to be carved into the wood 'Jud'.

knobkerrie, boer war, zulu, south africa, ethnography, weapon