Historical information

The Wodonga Historical Society Haeusler Collection provides invaluable insight into life in late nineteenth and early twentieth century north east Victoria. The collection comprises manuscripts, personal artefacts used by the Haeusler family on their farm in Wodonga, and a set of glass negatives which offer a unique visual snapshot of the domestic and social lives of the Haeusler family and local Wodonga community.

The Haeusler family migrated from Prussia (Germany) to South Australia in the 1840s and 1850s, before purchasing 100 acres of Crown Land made available under the Victorian Lands Act 1862 (also known as ‘Duffy’s Land Act’) in 1866 in what is now Wodonga West. The Haeusler family were one of several German families to migrate from South Australia to Wodonga in the 1860s.

These Disney figurine toys belonged to Alfred Haeusler (b.1922) and were played with during his childhood in Wodonga in the 1930s. The character of Donald Duck was released by Disney Studios in 1934, so they can be dated from the mid to late 1930s. These toys are among several objects in the Haeusler Collection concerning early childhood that provides insight into family and home life in early twentieth century Wodonga.

The Walt Disney Company animation film studio was established in 1923 in Los Angeles. The period the Haeusler Collection Disney figurines were manufactured in the 1930s is known as the ‘Golden Age’ of Disney filmmaking, beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and ending with Bambi.

Significance

This item has well documented provenance and a known owner. It forms part of a significant and representative historical collection which reflects the local history of Wodonga. It contributes to our understanding of domestic and family life in early twentieth century Wodonga, as well as providing interpretative capacity for themes including local history, social history, and women’s history.

Physical description

Walt Disney celluloid figurines of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Popeye, with moving parts c.1930s