Gippsland and Northern Co-operative Co. Ltd.

A while has passed since our last post so I think its only fair to reveal the work that has been going on behind the scenes to keep the project steaming ahead.

Digitising Newspaper Advertisements

Ordinarily I'm not much of a fan of the advertisements that clutter the pages of newspapers but in recent weeks I've been spending a bit too much time trawling old newspapers in hope of uncovering some gems. I'm interested in finding and collating advertisements for dairy manufacturers, though I've been finding myself strangely distracted by neighbouring advertisements despite my best attempts otherwise. Some of the unrelated ads catching my attention have been those claim their ointment will "cure all ailments", the hilarious scenarios captured in Bushell tea ads and the visual trickery of weight loss solutions (who could have guessed that girdles delivering "massage-like action" could be purchased as far back as 1937?).


'Harmony Restored', The Courier Mail, 17 March 1937, page 25



But getting back to the topic at hand, I've managed to digitise a good number of advertisements for dairy manfucturers who were predominately based in Melbourne. These were given to me by Margaret Simpson from the Powerhouse Museum who I owe a great debt to for providing to me with these great resources.



Gippsland and Northern Co-operative Co. Ltd.

One company that kept appearing as I went through the collection was the Gippsland and Northern Co-operative Company Ltd. which had me thinking about about our friends over at Old Gippstown who we've been sharing a talkfest with as of late. At first I'd only thought the company sold and marketed dairy produce but from the advertisements it appeared they also sold (and perhaps manufactured) machinery in the "Manufacturing Department" (based at 607 Collins Street, Melbourne). Other articles reveal that they even dabbled in real estate and cattle auctions.

So Old Gippstown, have you any collection items that may tickle our interest in learning more about this successful company?

Trade Advertisements for Dairy Machinery

Trade Manuals

Babcock Milk Tester

Though a little shaky, the above video provides a good idea of a hand-worked Babcock Milk Tester in motion. The tester is in the collection of the Bega Pioneers Museum, who have kindly allowed me to present this material.

As per the last post, the centrifugal machine was worked by the user rapidly rotating the hand crank for about half a minute. This machine could fit two samples at any one time.