Behind the velvet rope

For the past few months I've been immersed in local history as part of my volunteer job at the local National Trust museum. I used to volunteer in the museum gift shop but soon realised I was hopeless at selling; good at chatting with the overseas visitors but ridiculously inept at dealing with prices of items and handling money. The only other task I could do (and which I really wanted) was to assist the archivist who recorded all the items when they were donated to the museum. But as with many things in country towns these jobs were tightly held and my efforts at volunteering fell on deaf ears. And then... the committee realised that they did indeed need a volunteer to get the museum's database up to date. Apparently nothing had been added to it since 2013. Up went my hand and I landed the job, mainly, I have to say, because other volunteers generally steer clear of anything vaguely technological.

The database that is used to record every single item in the museum - either donated or on loan - is called Mosaic and is the collections database of choice for all Australian museums. I had a few training sessions with a guy who had been originally trained in its use, and after a couple of wonky attempts, I was off and running. 

My job is to check that every item has a code affixed discreetly to the bottom of the object, is recorded in a paper-based file and then entered onto the database. A photographer has been taking photographs and adding them next to the text entry. 

So, what is the museum and where is it? It's right in the heart of Victor Harbor, overlooking Encounter Bay. The building was built in 1866 as the office and residence for the harbourmaster. It was in an extremely convenient position opposite the jetty. The job of the harbourmaster at this time was to manage shipping arrivals and departures, moorings, and the unloading and loading of vessels. He was also responsible for collecting custom duties on incoming goods, hence the house is sometimes referred to as the Harbourmaster and Customs House. 

The building itself is built of local stone; the walls are very thick and inside it is extremely cool - not so great in winter but delicious in summer. The customs office is used as a meeting room nowadays. The other rooms include a parlour, dining room, bedroom and display room (which would originally have been another bedroom) and are decorated in heritage furniture, china, ornaments, 19th century memorabilia and photographs of early Victor Harbor. Other rooms have been turned into a kitchen, office and library for museum staff. 

Snippets I've picked up from a couple of local history books say that, after 18 years, the harbormaster vacated the house following the decline of commercial shipping to Port Victor. Prominent early settler Edward Warland took over the lease and lived there with his family from 1900; his daughter conducted music lessons in the house. In 1911 the building was sold to the SA Railways for use as a stationmaster's residence for the nearby railway that now connected Victor with Goolwa and Adelaide.  It remained as a residence for 70 years, with electricity being installed, the slate roof replaced with corrugated iron, and an external bathroom, laundry and toilet added. 

The building's next phase began in 1986 when the Victor Harbor branch of the National Trust of South Australia opened the house as a history museum, showcasing items donated by descendants of early settlers. These have been added to over the years, hence the enormous task of making sure they are all documented in detail, including who donated or loaned the item and when, its history, the materials it is made of, its condition, and where it is displayed - all facts I have to check.

Oh - there is so much history embedded here in this relatively modest house and I feel it as I move from room to room, handling the items and envisaging their earlier life.

The bedroom, to my way of thinking, is a little overcrowded, but the prams, dolls and child's rocking chair provide a glimpse into a child's life in the 19th century.  

One of the things I love about my 'job' is the fact that I can go behind the velvet rope and pick up items, feel them and think of how they were used.  

For example, Victor Harbor was the holiday spot for hundreds of people from Adelaide who would descend on the coastal town each summer (and still do). There were numerous holiday guest houses scattered around the town (sadly, only a few survive today), and each guest house had its own cutlery, cups and saucers and dinner service, with a distinctive design and elegantly inscribed with the name of the guest house. The museum has a number of these sets and to me they evoke an era of gentility, service and pride in the guest houses' hospitality. Here is one such example - a dinner plate from 'Clifton', a guest house in the heart of the town. Over the years the building was added onto and sold many times, but always provided hospitality to holiday makers and visitors. It was demolished in 2000. The site is now a car park for the adjacent shopping complex. 

The dining room was a delight to record with loads of items that are no longer used or needed. For example, these elegant prism lights were used to catch the light from candles and reflect it back into the room before electricity. 

 There are only a few dresses on display as most of the ones the Trust owns are stored in boxes, and my task at the moment is to record only what is on display. 

There is an impressive collection of china - entire dinner sets made up of large plates, entree plates, side plates, soup bowls, cups and saucers, as well as gravy boats, milk jugs, vegetable and meat dishes - all the requirements for an elegant dinner in the 1800s and 1900s. Some of the sets bear the prestigious names of renowned English potteries such as Minton and Stoke on Trent, and were brought out on the boat with the early settlers in the early to mid-1800s.

 On this sideboard are displayed a number of fruit plates, each beautifully decorated with floral designs.

People are always drawn to doll displays and this case has a number of quite old ones.  

In one room there are some everyday objects made by local Ngarrindjeri women.

As well as my database duties, I also do volunteer gardening work in the museum grounds. The  garden has to be easy care as well as looking great, so Kathy the 'chief' gardener has designed it using colourful succulents, roses and hardy plants such as lavenders, salvias and rosemary - steering clear of the cottage garden effect with blooming annuals that need regular attention. There are few photos of the house in the 1800s so it was impossible to replicate what the garden would have looked like, but a garden would have been very low on the priority list back then anyway. We get lots of compliments on how the garden looks and that's a lovely reward. Here I am with Kathy - note the steam Cockle Train in the background has just arrived back from its trip to Goolwa. 

And lastly, two more garden shots.

So, databasing and gardening in a place I enjoy, during the virus, has been a pleasure for which I am very grateful.