These buildings and accessories are significant as examples of pre-war and wartime toy production in Australia. Their significance is especially enhanced because they were combined with British pieces to create an interesting mix of Australian style buildings such as the farm house with its verandah, the outside toilet and the sheep dip, and peculiarly English rural figures such as the parson, milkmaid and shepherd. While many toys of this type and era have lost their provenance, this set is firmly related to the history of Australian childhood toy manufacture and retailing. The development of the set with its Australian and English components from the late 1930s through to the early years of World War Two tells an interesting story of life on the Australian homefront.

Like many other educational toys, farm sets became popular through the 19th century when manufacture was dominated by German woodcarvers and modellers. In the 20th century firms such as Britains Ltd of London had enormous success with finely detailed hand painted hollow cast lead farm figures and accessories.

Britains first produced its 'Model Farm Sets' and individual figures in the 1920s. Many of these were exported to Australia where there was little competition from the small local toy industry. Enterprising local toy makers did, however, produce compatible scale buildings and accessories from scrap and recycled materials such as plywood. Sydney toy store Walther and Stevenson stocked these buildings from as early as 1931. Their 1931 catalogue described them as being 'For use with Britain's Model Home Farm Series'. Indeed the donor and her sister did purchase these buildings and accessories from that store to accompany their growing collection of Britains lead farm figures. The combined collection of buildings and lead farm pieces was amassed by regular visits to the store. A large piece of cane-ite was painted with a stencil of the farm layout by their father so that the farm could be recreated each time. The farm was later used by the donor's children who added to it with plastic Britains trees and combined it with a railway. Eventually fragility required that it be packed away.

The finely detailed outhouse bears a Division of Import Procurement [DIP] permit stamp. Authorisation for production was needed from the Department of War Organisation of Industries which issued WOI and DIP permits for the manufacture of toys after determining that the materials used were not needed for the war effort. The stamp confirms that some of the buildings were purchased after 1942. It is probable that they were made from recycled plywood.

Margaret Simpson
Assistant Curator, Science & Industry
2007

The buildings and accessories are made primarily from plywood stapled, nailed or glued and handpainted. The DIP permit stamp on the toilet is evidence of Australian wartime manufacture. The pencilled name 'O'Sullivan' is possibly some indication of the identity of the maker.

This date range reflects the earliest known catalogue reference to these toys and the period in which DIP and WOI (War Organisation of Industry) permits were current.

The maker of these farm buildings is unknown.

This farm set was built up over a number of years from the late 1930s to the early war years by the donor's mother who made frequent trips to the Sydney toyshop Walther and Stevenson to buy pieces for her two daughters. The farm set was later used by the donor's children, until fragility required that it be packed away. The set remained with the donor until it was donated to the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in 2002.

Toy farm buildings and accessories (12), wood / cellophane plastic / paper / sand / metal / cloth / lace / wax, maker unknown, Australia, 1931-1945

These are 12 toy farm buildings and pieces of equipment.

The plywood farm house has a detachable pitched roof with a chimney at one end and a thick paper or card ceiling underneath. It is painted green and there are simulated bricks drawn on paper on the chimney. The house has a verandah with four posts at the front painted green and grey. There are two windows at the front and two at the rear of the house. All have clear plastic to simulate glass and lace and/or cloth curtains glued to the inside. The interior of the house is lined with patterned paper to simulate wallpaper. The exterior walls are painted grey and green. The doors are painted green and brown and do not open. The house is fastened to a plywood base painted red and green.

The plywood toilet is a typical Australian outhouse or dunny. It has a pitched roof painted green and grey. The walls are painted red on the outside with a hole at the rear to remove the toilet pan. There is an opening door painted brown with a nail as a doorknob. There is a toilet seat inside. The toilet is on a green painted base. Underneath is stamped 'D.I.P. Permit No.29'.

The windmill is a Southern Cross style windmill or water pump. It has white painted tin blades and vane nailed to a vertical piece of wood. The structure is red, grey and black painted plywood. It stands on a base painted red and green. Underneath in pencil is the price '2/9'.

The plywood sheep pen and dip has a house at one end with a red painted roof and brown painted walls. There are two small doors hinged with glued pieces of plywood. The house opens to the dipping pool or channel. The dip is simulated with clear cellophane plastic glued over the top of orange paper. Green, red and grey paint has been flecked on to the sides to simulate dirt. There is a ramp at the other end painted brown and grey with foil paper simulating iron sheeting. The pen opposite the house is made from wooden posts with horizontal cut tin railings. A plywood door with cloth hinge was originally fastened to the opening to this pen. This door has become detached. The structure is fastened to a base of two sheets of plywood one covered with a thin layer of sand, the other painted green.

The chicken run and house has a plywood shed painted red and grey at one end, with perches and laying boxes within. One wall is fine wire mesh. There is a brown painted wood and wire mesh fence around the remaining section. There is a wooden gate with glued coth hinge which has become detached. The gate has a metal latch. The run and house is attached to a green painted plywood base.

The stables have a grey painted sloping roof with red painted walls. It is open fronted. Inside are two stalls with feed troughs along the side and structural uprights made from ply. It is attached to a green painted ply base.

The bails are made of ply and are comprised of a sloping red painted roof with brown painted walls. It is open fronted. There are two stalls with feed troughs at the rear. A curved piece of dowell has been attached to the front. It is attached to green ply base. The price '1/6' is written in pencil underneath.

The pond is a curved ply base covered with a thin coat of sand and spanned with a small bridge. Clear cellophane type plastic has been glued between pieces of plywood to simulate water.

The well is a small wood and wire construction painted green red grey and brown. A small detached metal bucket is filled with wax to simulate water.

The plywood pig pen has a shelter at one end with a grey painted sloping roof and red walls. Wooden railings on the front of the shelter and around the pen are flecked with red, grey and green paint to simulate dirt. The two top railings on each side are broken. There is a brown and white feed trough in the pen. A brown painted wooden gate is hinged with a piece of glued cloth which has been subsequently reinforced with strips of tacked metal. It is attached to a green painted ply base.

The model cream separator is painted silver, green and grey, and is attached to a red wooden base. There is a small unattached metal bucket without a handle.

The rabbit hutch is a small mustard painted plywood and fine wire mesh construction.

Maker: Walther and Stevenson; Australia; 1931 - 1945


Owner: unknown; 1930 - 2002

See parts

2002/58/1

1931 - 1945