PLACE REPRESENTED: Cairns, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Fridge Magnet
NOTES: Fridge magnet and thermometer with tropical relief. It is quite Cairns specific as it has the “fish sculptures” that appear in the pool along the waterfront.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2014
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: Citer Souvenirs
DIMENSIONS: 8.5cm across x 6.5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Hervey Bay, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Fan
NOTES: Beautifully kitsch plastic souvenir fans from the 60s or early 70s. The fans fold in on themselves or open up. Nice scenes of the sites at Hervey Bay and the nearby Fraser Island.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: plastic
MADE IN: Hong Kong (it’s written on the red bit at the bottom)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 18cm tall , 3.5cm wide (18cm tall x 3.5cm wide (when folded in) or 25cm when open up)
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA – Tray
PLACE REPRESENTED: Queensland (specifically Sunshine Coast) , Australia
ITEM: Tray
NOTES: A bamboo tray from the 1970s depicting all the must see sites of the Sunshine Coast tourist trail … especially significant when they start with "The" … The House of Bottles, The Big Cow, The Big Pineapple, The Big Shell, The Endeavour Replica (demolishedin 2007), Tanawha World (now closed), a lighthouse, and The Glasshouse Mountains (the only natural beauty on this list).
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s MADE FROM: bamboo
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 33cm diameter
BUNYA MOUNTAINS, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA – Tea Towel
PLACE REPRESENTED: Bunya Mountains, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Tea Towel NOTES: A tea towel with all the colourful flora and fauna of the Bunya Mountains, on the Great Dividing Range in south east Queensland.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: 100% cotton
MADE IN: India
MANUFACTURER: Souvenirs Australia
DIMENSIONS: 45cm x 70cm
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA – Coasters
PLACE REPRESENTED: Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Coasters
NOTES: A perfectly kitch set of coasters in a flip open coaster holder. Cheap plastic, cheap graphics, made in Hong Kong, with the standard proclamation for Queensland, "The Sunshine State". Still, they are very handy.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: plastic
MADE IN: Hong Kong
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 8.5cm diameter (coaster)
BOWEN, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA – Bottle Opener
PLACE REPRESENTED: Bowen, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Bottle Opener NOTES: A simple (but useful bottle opener depicting Bowen, or perhaps the surrounds of Bowen. Bowen is on the coast but this depiction of Bowen seems to be facing inland perhaps because in the days before tourism this was a farming and cattle area. I like how this bottle opener has a small protusion at the bottom which has no purpose except for spinning …. perhaps for drinking games?
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: steel , plastic .
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 11.5cm x 5.5cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Cairns, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Key Chain
NOTES: The Volkswagen Camper Van is hardly Australian. But, with a surf board on top, and a couple of blokes inside looking for the perfect wave in the endless summer it becomes Australian … and you do see them around Cairns (no surf there though)
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2014
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: Australia
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 4cm across x 4cm high (van)(7cm including chain)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Mackay, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Pin Cushion
NOTES: A most unusual pin cushion and quite a good one. I’m not sure is this locally made as I’m not sure Mackay is famous for its shells given it’s located on a river (the Pioneer river) though it is a jumping off point for the nearby Great Barrier Reef, and the Whitsunday Islands. Still, I would be happy to put my pin in this cushion.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: shell
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 7.5cm long x 5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Great Barrier Reef, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Ashtray
NOTES: The Great Barrier Reef as an ashtray?
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Japan
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 16cm x , 16cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Warwick, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Ashtray
NOTES: A homemade ceramic ashtray celebrating the Warwick rockswap in 1973. The Paris Exposition it wasn’t. But, it is still going having started in 1967!
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1973
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Australia
MANUFACTURER: Handmade
DIMENSIONS: 9cm across , 3.5cm high