City of Armadale - History House > Records

TOY, CAR

« Prev Item Next Item »

c. 1920

Overview

A metal toy car. It has a torpedo shape at the back and rounded off at the front of the toy.

The headlights are recessed into the front of the car and consist of raised tiny rectangles in four rows of nineteen.

A hole is halfway along the top of the toy to represent the windscreen. The cockpit of the car starts at the sides of the windscreen and tapers to the back of the main body.

The blue paint it was coated with has rubbed away in some places and in others has given way to rust.

Historical information

The Richon vineyard was originally planted by Joseph and Anton Marian in 1901 as Marians Vineyard with some locals referring to it as The Slavonian Vineyard. Joseph was Anton’s uncle and was originally from Austria.

A cellar was built at the site in 1906 but was almost completely burnt to the ground in 1914, it would be rebuilt and extended.

In 1919 the vineyard was sold to Gerald Valentine Patrick McCarthy who renamed it in 1920 to Richon after Rishon LeZion, a town in what is now Israel. McCarthy had spent time in the town during the First World War as an intelligence officer.

Manufacturer and model of toy car unclear.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-33-AK2000.100

Item type

Toys

Inscriptions and markings

White circle on right side of the car above exhaust [7]

Year

c. 1920

Statement of significance

Found on the site of Richon Vineyard in the rubbish holes where the house and office were situated.