Designed and made at James King's Irrawang Pottery (est 1832) at Raymond Terrace, north of Newcastle, NSW. Having trained in the glass manufacturing industry, King moved from Scotland to Australia in 1827. He set up business as a merchant and agent in Sydney, and was involved with Messrs Pallett and Co in making some glass items marked Irrawang from Sydney sand in 1834. He started farming (grain and cattle) at Raymond Terrace from 1828. He planted grapes there in 1832, and wine was produced in early 1836. He started a pottery in 1833 to make domestic wares in earthenware (from 1835), and later stoneware (from about 1844). Wine was produced in early 1836. The pottery closed between 1839 and 1843, possibly because of an economic depression at the time. The pottery effectively closed in 1851 except for making stoneware containers, when labour costs increased after the rush to the goldfields; it had ceased production by 1853, and was sold in 1855. King employed English-trained potters, both free and ticket-of-leave, and used many moulds for his wide range of wares, imported from England. King won a silver medal (first class) for his wines at the exhibition of 'Natural & Industrial Products of New South Wales' held at the Australian Museum in 1854, and at the same time exhibited 30 pieces of Irrawang pottery, which won him the opportunity to represent NSW at the Paris Exhibition in 1855.
A newspaper notice in the catalogue 'Irrawang Australia' identifies King's introduction of the threshing-machine to the NSW colony; glass for lenses from Sydney sand; and experiments into 'porcelain and Etruscan ware'.
Refer Geoff Ford: Australian Pottery: the First 100 years, Salt Glaze Press, Wodonga, 1995; and Judy Birmingham, 'James King's Pottery at Irrawang, NSW', in The Australasian Antique Collector, 16th edition, 1975, p 76. Also Carlin, Scott, Terracotta Australis: Potters and Brickmakers 1833-1981, Newcastle Regional Museum, (undated 1980s); 'Irrawang Australia', catalogue, with essays,published by the Hunter District Water Board, undated [1981?].
Made from local clay at the Irrawang Pottery, NSW. Judy Birmingham says (Aust Antique Collector, 16, 1975) that King brought clays from Stroud and Maitland, and used clay from the pottery site for kiln furniture, and that there was difficulty finding clay that fired at a higher temperature.
In the 1970s an important archaeological excavation was made of the site, led by Judy Birmingham from the University of Sydney (see file notes and articles). The existence of the site had been pointed out by historian Kevin Fahy.
See references above
This carafe came from Kinross, Raymond Terrace, the home of Archibald Windeyer and his descendants. The date of purchase is not known, but would presumably have been soon after the family arrived at the property in 1840. Alternatively it could have been left in the cottage by the previous owner. There are no papers to give any clues.
The donor moved to Kinross with her parents in 1945, and lived there until 1953 when they moved to Quirindi. "As a child I recall there being all sorts of odds and ends stored away, obviously not considered of value when family belongings were divided by family members, and so the pot survived. My mother took it into use as a vase and so it was taken with us when we moved, eventually ending up in the back of a cupboard."
In the early 1970s when there was publicity about the Irrawang Pottery my mother remembered the pot. She brought it to Sydney and through Ivan McMeekin, at the University of New South Wales, it was shown to Judy Birmingham.
It was then left in my possession, as at that time we wished to keep it. However the time has come when the association with Kinross is not relevant to the next generation and as part of Australia's early history it should be placed in the appropriate museum". (Notes from Janet Denne, 1998)
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