PLACE REPRESENTED: Melbourne, Victoria , Australia
ITEM: Nic Nac Dish
NOTES: A small but well detailed nic nac dish depicting the Melbourne skyline as it was in the early 1960s.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: china
MADE IN: Australia
MANUFACTURER: Westminster
DIMENSIONS: 9.5cm x 9.5cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Hohenschwangau (specifically Neuschwanstein Castle) , Germany
ITEM: Bottle
NOTES: The famous Neuschwanstein Castle on a hill above the village of Hohenschwangau in southwest Bavaria, Germany depicted in nice colour on this miniature pinch bottle. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II, the King of Bavaria. Construction started 1869 and was completed the year of Ludwig’s death 1886 (he spent only eleven nights in the castle). As one who has gone through renovations over a lengthy period my advice is to borrow all the money at once and do it in one hit rather than over a long length of time. Apparently, “more than 1.3 million people visit annually, with as many as 6,000 per day in the summer”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: glass
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 11.5cm tall x 7cm wide
PLACE REPRESENTED: Ireland
ITEM: Fridge Magnet
NOTES: A fridge magnet cookbook with twelve Irish dishes. A fridge – a perfect place for a cookbook when you think about it.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2005
MADE FROM: cardboard , paper
MADE IN: Ireland
MANUFACTURER: Teapot Press
DIMENSIONS: 9.5cm x 12cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Croatia
ITEM: Doll
NOTES: Small doll from Croatia (then Yugoslavia) There are no identifying marks though it was purchased in Croatia. The ensemble the girl is wearing is very traditional but the blonde hair, though it does occur, is not the norm … well not naturally.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1973
MADE FROM: material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 17cm tall
PLACE REPRESENTED: Bundaberg, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Cap
NOTES: Bundaberg, the “Fresh Heart of Australia”. I haven’t heard that before. I only know about Bundaberg Rum, made from the dominant local crop, sugar cane. Goodling suggests otherwise “the heart of Australian food” and the “the heart of Australia’s fresh food”. Hmmmm, there are a lot of food bowl areas in Australia that would disagree. Apparently Tourism Australia is pushing Bundaberg as a culinary destination. Well, who am I to argue.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: 100% polyester
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: Headwear
DIMENSIONS: One size fits all
PLACE REPRESENTED: Johannesburg , South Africa
ITEM: Key Holder
NOTES: A two hook steel hanger from Johannesburg with a giraffe, naturally enough. Are two hooks enough? They are if the giraffe is one of the modes of transportation.. Nice.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 5cm X 12.5cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Brisbane, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Wall Plate
NOTES: A vivid plate of Brisbane at the time of the Queensland Centenary in 1959. The sites are all intact and not in abundance such was Brisbane in 1959. Accordingly, the plate makers have included Greenmount beach at Coolangatta on the nearby Gold Coast (which was then still relatively underdeveloped). All under the logo (“insert coat of arms or logo here”) of the Greater Brisbane H.T.A (a tennis association now defunct in Queensland) which is quite appropriate as tennis and sunshine mix well.
The plate has some special significance for me as my father and mother came to Australia, from Croatia (well, from Yugoslavia via other countries) in 1959 and 1960 respectively. They met here shortly thereafter and this is what they, no doubt, saw, and it was a lot les developed then what they were used to.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1959
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Japan
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 25.5cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Valparaiso, Chile
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A vivid little painted print in relief of Valparaiso, Chile looking down to the harbour from the hillside districts. Valparaíso a once major port, and a home for European immigrants, was known as “Little San Francisco” and “The Jewel of the Pacific”. Now it is is known for its tourism, educational institutions, and supportive environment for artists (which this simple but effective ornament suggests). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valpara%C3%ADso
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: wood, paper
MADE IN: Chile (no doubt)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 19cm x 7cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
ITEM: Bottle Opener
NOTES: The bottle opener, sold in the millions and perhaps the most useful travel souvenir (at least until screw top bottles and pull tab cans came along).. Here we have vibrant colours showing off the Great Barrier Reef.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: steel, plastic.
MADE IN: Japan
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 12cm long
PLACE REPRESENTED: Alabama , USA
ITEM: T Shirt
NOTES: Alabama, the “Heart of Dixie”. Are you allowed to say “Dixie” anymore? Surely someone will be triggered, somewhere. Wear with caution as you will probably be torn down in an attempt to erase the subjective past.
Dixie is an informal name for the states in the U.S. South, especially those that seceded and formed the Confederacy which led to the U.S. Civil war. It is a reference to the Mason Dixon line which marks the north from the South. Eventually it was shortened to “Dixie”. Alabama
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1994
MADE FROM: 100% cotton
MADE IN: Mexico
MANUFACTURER: Jerzees
DIMENSIONS: XL