A new display at the Armidale Folk Museum has assembled some long-forgotten devices that had even local history buffs scratching their heads, and fascinated in equal measure.
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“Oddities and Curiosities” went on display on Monday and features until the end of February.
Museum team leader Hayley Ward said it was certainly a very unusual collection of everyday objects, including the wonderful and exotic.
Was this a prototype that never made the production line?
- Hayley Ward
“Despite being very popular in their time, many of these objects are no longer used today and their use has been lost to memory,” she said.
“We’re hoping some visitors to the museum will be able to identify the particularly mysterious items and tell us how they were used.”
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The more intriguing devices include an unusually designed and unpatented cake mixer.
“Our staff has been unsuccessful at finding information about anything similar,” Ms Ward said.
“The museum is a fascinating place. Every day I find a new object that tells a fascinating story about our past and how we used to live.”
Oddities and Curiosities also has some interesting medical equipment that was very popular in its day, but has been since been shown by science to provide no benefits.
Armidale Folk Museum recently changed its opening hours to encourage lunch-time shoppers to pop in and reacquaint themselves with the wonderful collection on display.
“The new hours, from 11am to 2pm, enable people to make the most of their lunch breaks and discover something about their local history,” she said.
Located on the corner of Rusden and Faulkner streets, the Armidale Folk Museum is open seven days a week. Entry is by donation.
