Author Archive for Lynne McNairn

Cool Tartan

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Collection: Powerhouse Museum

Recently I stopped to look at a Highland Pipe Band who were playing in the Corso at Manly. It was a hot and sticky Sydney summer day and the heavy tartan kilts looked out of place although the band members were wearing short sleeved shirts and did not have jackets. It brought to mind these cooler bricks in our collection.

…cooler bricks, along with eskies and barbecues, reflect the evolution of Australian leisure activities. The cooler bricks can be used to illustrate the increasing popularity of picnics, barbecues, camping and caravanning that resulted from the increased mobility made possible as the motor car became more affordable. These cooler bricks document a technological and commercial response to the need to keep food and drinks cold while travelling.

Tartan remains a popular theme for picnic accessories. In the 1960s when these bricks were made they would have matched the tartan esky and of course the still essential tartan picnic rug. This image is from Arthur H Gillott Pty Ltd transport archive, 1919 – 1998 and shows Mr and Mrs Arthur E. Gillott at a staff picnic in Middle Harbour, Sydney c.1980s – tartan blanket in hand.

Arthur H Gillorr archive. Collection: Powerhouse Museum

I’m sure the band members were looking forward to a cool drink and perhaps a lie down in the shade on a comfy tartan rug!

An Ellis Rowan Mystery

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Collection: Powerhouse Museum

This beautiful painting has been in our collection since the 1920’s. It is one of a collection of paintings by the well known botanical artist Ellis Rowan.

A lot can happen to an object in 90 years.  The Museum has moved from the old Technical College Building to the current Powerhouse site, storage systems move and change, conservation treatment is undertaken, paintings may be framed for exhibition and then remounted for storage.

Another change is record keeping practices, which have moved from hand written, leather bound ledgers, to complex relational databases supporting online content.  One thing remains unchanged, however, and that is for an object to be tracked through any system it must have a unique number.  This number is assigned when the object enters the collection and remains with it for “life”.  It is physically attached to the object and used as the record number in the database.

Somewhere along the line this painting lost its number and although it was safely stored with its fellows, it was not identified nor entered in our database.  There was no obvious entry in the original stock book and it did not help that we were not even sure what flower was depicted.  I sought the help of Mount Annan Botanic Gardens and the plant was identified as Brunonia australis, a smallish Australian native herb .  

It was then back to check the stock book. There was no entry for Brunonia australis, but there was an entry for Boronia australis.  Boronia is a far better known Australian plant with pink flowers that looks nothing like the plant in this painting! 

So the mystery was solved: a “typo” in 1920 had led this painting to lie unidentified for many years.

The original 1920s registry entry

The painting is now correctly numbered, entered in the database and the record available on the Internet.

Ready for Winter?

Published by Lynne McNairn 6 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Collection: Powerhouse Museum

In Sydney, we have just had our first “cold snap” for Winter and this made me think of these Electric Slippers from our collection.

The slippers were made by the Sharp Corporation in Japan. They feature thick rubber soles with an electric cord leading from the front toe of each slipper. The cord is separate for approximately 30 cms and then it joins into a single electric cord about 2 metres long, ending in an electric plug!

The museum record states (with perhaps just a touch of indignation)

To most Australians, who do not know what it feels like to have really cold feet, the electric shoes are a comical invention, but for those who have to survive cold winters and the elderly suffering from arthritis, they are extremely practical

I must admit that I find them a bit odd. We do not have an exact date of manufacture. The database lists somewhere between 1970 and 1998. To me, they look as if they would predate the widespread use of the TV remote control, so I guess if you had them set up in front of your favourite armchair and stayed glued to the ABC they would do a fine job.

I’ll have my stewed fruit in that nappy please

Published by Lynne McNairn 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

Collection: Powerhouse Museum

Recently I was poking about in the database when I came across a glass dish described as a ‘nappy’. Initially I thought this must be a case of the wrong image attached to the object record (a rare occurrence of course!) but with further searching I found we had quite a few small glass dishes with the description ‘nappy’. Most of these are from the Crown Corning Glassware collection.

Asking about the Registration office and also my older relatives no one was familiar with the term. However, an Internet search revealed the following:

Nappy
Definition: a shallow open serving dish with no rim
Pronunciation: nah-pee
Also Known As: the old term for a small bowl, with or without one or two handles, often used when referring to Depression glass or antique china

Answers.Com gives the derivation as “Probably from dialectal nap, bowl, from Middle English, from Old English hnæp”

This particular ‘nappy’ is press moulded carnival glass from a collection featuring Australian and New Zealand flora and fauna motifs.

Crown Crystal Catalogues in the 1930s and 1940s certainly listed ‘nappy’ as the description for many of its small sweet dishes. However, it is easy to understand why this term has fallen from general use, particularly for an eating bowl!

Organs for you

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Collection: Powerhouse Museum

It’s Organ Donor Awareness Week and this reminded me of a very popular former exhibition object known as ‘Chocka Bits’

One of the most dramatic advances in surgery occurred when it became possible to replace body parts, either with artificial implants or with human or animal transplants. The first artificial implant was a heart pacemaker developed in Sweden in 1959. Metal and plastic replacement hip joints followed in 1961. Skin grafts had been carried out as early as the 1860s but transplantation did not become truly successful until the problem of rejection was overcome. The first effective immuno-suppressant drugs were introduced in 1960, making organ replacement possible. Kidney transplants came first, followed by heart transplants in 1967.

‘Chocka Bits’ was commissioned for the ‘Mind and body’ exhibition to display artificial body parts in a life-like mannequin. Over thirty different implants were obtained from different manufacturers and an experienced model making company was contracted to undertake the fabrication and fitting out of the mannequin.

‘Chocka Bits’ was installed in 1989 and was very popular with visitors, in fact it received so much attention that by 1992 its skin was looking very dilapidated and it had lost several foot bones and an artificial testicle (Chocka Bits is a hermaphroditic figure). After a lengthy period of repair, during which time it was given a new, hard fibreglass skin, ‘Chocka Bits’ was returned to ‘Mind and body’ in 1993. It remained on display until the exhibition was dismantled in 1995, by which time most of its ‘bits’ would have been made obsolete by the rapid advances in replacement surgery in the intervening decade.

Despite the dramatic life saving outcomes possible for transplant recipients the decision to provide organ donations remains a sensitive issue for many. Campaigns such as Organ Donor Awareness Week and World Kidney Day seek to bring the issue to community attention and encourage family members to discuss donation, know each other’s wishes and register their decision.

Back to School lunches

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Collection, Powerhouse Museum.

This poster from our collection was issued by the NSW Department of Health in the 1950s. It shows the wise headmaster (in cap and gown) pointing out the formula for a healthy lunch to Jimmy who stands to attention with his hands behind his back. I’m not sure what to make of Jimmy’s expression – surprise or perhaps alarm at the prospect of wholemeal bread and butter with meat and salad or fruit?

The same health message is still promoted today, however, these days taste and variety are just as important in appealing to healthy eating habits. Look at this example about bread from the Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service of South Australia.

Courtesy of Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service of South Australia

The site lists 14 varieties of bread (not counting the “heaps of others”) and is aimed at children shopping for what they like themselves.

I doubt Jimmy (or even the headmaster) would have known more than two varieties of bread – Wholemeal (or Brown) and White.

When I was in school Vegemite sandwiches on white bread were the staple for many of us. What did you have in your sandwiches?

Christmas is the time for tipping….

Published by Lynne McNairn 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

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Collection, Powerhouse Museum

In the lead up to Christmas we are reminded by many causes and charities to remember those “less fortunate”.

 This Christmas card in our collection from the “Sanitary Man” (c.1950) reminds his customers of the nature of his service in its appeal for tips.

Our nightly toil is hard to bear,
With odour from the pans,
Yet Christmas time it gives us cheer,
For tips will come to hand.

A small army of sanitary carters or “Dunny Men” operated in the days before flushing toilets and sewerage were common place.  People had outdoor toilets with a seat constructed over a removable sanitary pan and on a regular basis – usually weekly – the full sanitary pan was taken away and replaced with an empty one. This is the job of the sanitary carter or “dunny man”.

Traditionally the “dunny man” operated out of sight in the small hours of the morning and along the back lane, but at Christmas it was time to remind people to be generous!

Lynne McNairn
Registrar

Saddling up with Gucci

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Designed by Gucci. Collection, Powerhouse Museum

Horse racing and fashion have always been closely associated and with Melbourne Cup upon us I had a look for “Horse Racing Fashion” in our databaase. One item is this bright floral dress made by Gucci around 1970. Gucci had a strong association with horses, starting out as he did with a small family owned saddlery shop.

Guccio Gucci (1881-1953), began his career in 1920 when he opened a saddlery business in Florence, Italy. Using equestrian motifs as an inspiration, Guccio established the House of Gucci and opened his first fashion boutique in 1921. During his lifetime, Gucci introduced many of the designs for which the company has become known, such as the bamboo handle handbag and the suede moccasin with a metal bit. After his death in 1953, Gucci’s sons continued to expand the company overseas, using their father’s initials to establish the famous GG logo. Although now under the direction of new designers, The House of Gucci remains the best selling Italian brand, and certainly one of the most easily recognisable brands in the world.

You can really see the equestrian influence in the buttons which show not only the horse shoe but an accurate representation of a horse’s foot as well.

Horse hoof button

Horse hoof button

Lynne McNairn
Registrar

Dust as Art

Published by Lynne McNairn 5 Comments Tags: , , .
illusion dust

Collection, Powerhouse Museum

Dust has been headline news recently with the dramatic dust storm over Sydney. This reminded me of an object in our collection literally made of dust! It is a necklace called ‘Illusion dust’ made by Japanese jewellery maker Teruo Akatsu in 1993.

Akatsu says of his work -

I aim to transform ‘negative’ jewellery into positive existence by accumulating dust over it. The use of dust is suggestive of the passing and accumulation of time. I collect dust from everyday places and thread it on to stainless-steel wires or incorporate it into sheets of material. The colours and nature of the dust play an important part in my jewellery making.

The general conception of jewellery is focussed on the fact that it adorns the body. However, this kind of understanding limits appreciation of my kind of jewellery. If we look at jewellery in terms of the relationship between the body and its surroundings, then we begin to see how we relate ourselves to objects, other people and our whole environment. With this in mind, the characteristics – including the advantages and disadvantages of the materials themselves, add meanings to my work. With the paradoxical nature of my work, I hope to question the true meaning of jewellery.

I like the fact that the Museum has collected an object made of dust when, for the most part, we go to a lot of effort at minimising this very thing!

Lynne McNairn
Registrar

Happy Wattle Day!

Published by Lynne McNairn 4 Comments Tags: , , .
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Collection, Powerhouse Museum

When you live in the suburbs and make long journeys along bus lanes or railway lines its hard not to notice wattle in flower at this time of year. Wattle of course is our national flower and gave us our green and gold sporting colours.

September 1st is officially National Wattle Day and this made me look up Wattle in our collection database. One lovely object is a hand embroidered silk valance made by Isabella Murray. Isabella Murray was the daughter in law of Sir Henry Parkes (often called the Father of Federation).

The valance features sprays of a ferny leafed wattle. Flowers were a popular embroidery motif with the journal ‘Castner’s Monthly and Rural Australian’ advising in November 1886 that ‘flowers must be true to nature – in fact nature must be as carefully copied as possible’. Native plants often featured and in the lead up to Australia’s Federation in 1901 wattle was increasingly common”.

Isabella was not lucky in her marriage to Sir Henry’s youngest son Varney

The family was often short of money as Varney had a chequered career as an architect, politician and businessman. Although not a distinguished architect, his practice seems to have flourished in the early 1890s, when he designed the ‘Marble Bar’ for George Adams’ hotel in Pitt St and other buildings in the city. However he was extravagant, lost money in various unsuccessful ventures and was declared bankrupt in 1895.

Varney was notorious for his extra-marital affairs. Isabella left him to live in Edinburgh in 1899 and sought a divorce three years later. This was not granted and she returned to bring up her family alone, settling in the suburb of Waverley. A resourceful, independent woman, Isabella found employment and raised her three children frugally but successfully. She lived with her daughter Mary (even after Mary’s marriage) until her death in 1927”.

It is not known at what stage of her life Isabella made this valance but it is nice to think of her sitting her parlour stitching away and I’m sure she would have enjoyed making it.

The valance is currently on display at the Powerhouse Discovery Centre at Castle Hill

Lynne McNairn
Registrar