Saved by a bible, wallet, silver cigarette case and a one-pound note. These items were carried by Thomas Gilbert (Gil) Holdsworth during the first World War and stopped a bullet, which probably could have killed him. These items were donated by Gil’s Grandchildren, Pamela Crisafulli and Peter Rowe.

Butter was often a luxury item and would have been proudly presented on the table in this dish. It was just the right container to keep the curls of butter cool. Inside the container there is a glass plate where the butter sits and below it is a small area for ice. Ingeniously, the cooler opens by sliding the rounded lid underneath the container.

What might these three sisters of the King family have talked about while they spent long hours hand sewing this quilt? Gertrude Myrtle (aged 24), Stella Blanche (22), and Emily Maud (19) made this quilt using material, scissors, needle and thread. In 1904, husband and wife, Alfred King and Fanny Higginbottom, arrived in Brookton with their six children from South Australia, including the sisters who made this quilt. The King family members stayed in Western Australia marrying into the Montgomery and Stanley families. Alfred King lived to be 92 and is buried at the Brookton Cemetery.