Historical information

This item is from a collection donated by descendants of John Francis Turner of Wodonga. Mr. Turner was born on 6 June 1885. He completed all of his schooling at Scotts Boarding School in Albury, New South Wales. On leaving school, he was employed at Dalgety’s, Albury as an auctioneer. In 1924 John was promoted to Manager of the Wodonga Branch of Dalgety’s.
On 15/03/1900 he married Beatrice Neal (born 7/12/1887 and died 7/2/1953) from Collingwood, Victoria. They had 4 daughters – Francis (Nancy), Heather, Jessie and Mary.
In 1920, the family moved From Albury to Wodonga, purchasing their family home “Locherbie” at 169 High Street, Wodonga. "Locherbie" still stands in Wodonga in 2022. The collection contains items used by the Turner family during their life in Wodonga.

Toby jugs date back to the mid-1760s in Staffordshire, England. The most common belief is that Toby Jugs were named for an 18th-century Yorkshire man who got the nickname Toby Fillpot after he drank 2,000 pints of Yorkshire stingo (ale). Original jugs usually showed a seated figure but over time they evolved to be character mugs, often featuring well known personalities.
Simon Cellarer was the subject of a 19th century English folksong. The keys on the handle are those to his cellar, full of great wines and ales. He was always good for standing a drink for his friends. It was issued from 1936 to 1960.

Significance

This item comes from a collection used by a prominent citizen of Wodonga. It is representative of a style of pottery items popular in the 1930s to 1970s in Australian households.

Physical description

A ceramic Toby Jug depicting the character "Simon the Cellarer". The character wears a maroon hat and white ruff. The handle is in the shape of the keys to the cellar door.

Inscriptions & markings

Around bottom of ruff: "Simon Cellarer: