THE ANSONIA KITCHEN CLOCK. In pride of place on the kitchen mantelpiece is the Ansonia kitchen clock, now happily marking each hour and half hour with the appropriate number of gongs. The clock dates from the early twentieth century and was made by the Ansonia Clock Co., New York. This clock is the “Kirkwood’ model which was being sold in 1914. In 1844, Anson Phelps formed the Ansonia Brass Co. in Connecticut to supply clocks. The Ansonia...
Cottage News
The Annis and George Bills horse trough at the Blacksmith’s Cottage is a survivor of a series of troughs donated by the estate of Annis and George Bills. When he died in 1927, George Bills left his estate of 80,000 pounds to ‘construct and erect and pay for horse troughs wherever they……..are desirable for the relief of horses and other dumb animals.’ The Annis and George Bills Bequest donated over 500 troughs throughout Australia. They were...
The Australian Gliding Museum at the Bacchus Marsh airfield is one of the area’s little-known treasures. As part of the National Trust Heritage Month, 16th April-29th May, the Museum is mounting a display of model gliders and the history of gliding in Australia in the buildings and grounds of the historic Cottage and Forge. Come and see large scale models of early gliders, including the ‘Lasco Lark’, ‘Grunau Baby’, and ‘Merlin’, and more...
PUMPKINS, POMEGRANATES AND PENSTEMONS Harvest Festival time at the cottage was a time of produce, people and flowers. Veggie patches and gardens yielded a splash of colour to the 1850s cottage. Pumpkins bedecked the hay bales in the yard and tomatoes and pomegranates spoke of autumn and winter dishes to come. Double Delight roses and penstemons added their own delightful colours and scents. Autumn is a good time to visit Bacchus Marsh. ...
Christmas Day has come and gone. It was just a couple of weeks when we enjoyed our special open day featuring an Aussie Christmas at Home. Christmas at the Cottage is always a special time with the rooms decorated in the old-fashioned way, using the materials to hand. Our visitors often commented upon how beautiful the cottage looked and how lucky we are to have such a well-kept reminder of days past. This year, our Christmas tree was a...
Robur, Bushell’s, TyneeTips, are all names that evoke an era when tea was made with leaves and not bags. Making the tea was quite a ritual, and for special occasions (if there were visitors!) the best china was put out. We were lucky enough to receive a donation recently of two English china tea settings: cups, saucers and plates. The pattern on them is “Old Willow”, a pattern which originated in China and was very popular, especially in...