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Sunday, August 27, 2017

More of our Powerhouse Museum Visit.

As it's name suggests, this Sydney museum is in a repurposed Powerhouse. The building is large and on several levels. I imagine that many of these floors have been added into what was once a huge cavernous space. The wedding dress exhibition was on Level 4 and DH and I then walked down the ramp to Level 3 and that's what this post is all about. 
There is a huge space that soars up to the roof line...Lawrence Hargrave with his invention; a box kite is in this vast space.

At floor level is an old steam train engine with a few carriages.

I joked with DH that if we had have lived in the era of this train, we probably would have only afforded to travel in the 3rd class carriage...😉not very salubrious that's for sure! Lol

Behind the train was another very old vehicle...quite cute really! Lol

The theatrette at the museum was modelled on the Art Deco style of the Kings Theatre Chain. There was a meeting of some sort going on inside the theatrette so we couldn't explore inside, so just a photo of DH in the foyer.

Still on level 3, we walked through some more of the exhibits...they were quite an eclectic lot! I'm just posting a few of the many items.
A car...

Some clothing...
A crocheted dress that was worn by actor, Cate Blanchett, which she called her 'Cate Blanket'!

Aussie pop singer Johnny O'Keefe's suit...

A Jenny Kee ( an Aussie knitwear designer! sweater similar to the one that Princess Di wore...

Furniture...very avant-garde at that!

The sofa nicknamed 'The Marilyn'...
Another lounge...

There was a little display cabinet of Smurfs.

There was an example of an Enigma cipher machine which had been developed by the Germans after their codes were constantly being deciphered in WW1. During the Second World War the Allies actually were able to again break Axis codes...remember Bletchley Park!

Throughout the museum there were iPads which provided information about the exhibits...

It was scrolling through this iPad that I saw that there was an Enigma machine on display. When I found this machine, I saw something beside it that made me go, 'Wow!'

Yes, one of the first Apple computers; what a contrast with those iPads being used in the museum! 😳
Something quirky? A parade float called Granny Smith, which featured an old Hills Hoist clothes line and lots of green apples.

In another exhibition hall there was a display based on old style shops...

A lady standing beside me commented on the gun cartridges on display in the middle of old haberdashery items!

The next photo prompted old memories of our school days...pen nibs to use with the ink in the inkwells in our old school desks...

A very elegant old cash register...

A ad poster...my mum used to use 'blue bags' to whiten whites on washing day but I think she used Reckitts brand.

Then it was time to move to the next level down. And I've already written about the Annette Kellerman exhibition which was just one of the displays on that level. It was certainly a busy morning/early afternoon for us! 

3 comments:

Dorothy said...

Gosh .. lots of old memories there. Not my memories necessarily but some of these would have been in my mother's time. Looks like an interesting place to visit. Actually, I do remember Johnny O'Keefe's suit - but that's another story LOL

angela said...

Wow. That is an old apple!
I remember cate wearing that dress. I must be getting on lol
Thanks for the virtual tour xx

Jackie said...

Cute computer..... Really very different from what we have now or what I remember the Computer Science students working with in University.

Love the giant lips made into a sofa, just not sure they would fit into my decorating scheme.

God bless.