City of Armadale - History House > Records

LANTERN, KEROSENE

1909 - 1950
Overview

Rectangular metal case. Rectangular window no glass at front top half. Inside round metal oil container with a cone shaped burner at top. Coming out from the burner to the left is a metal rod with a wheel at the end. Rod held in place by a slit on left side of case. The burner sits in front of a concave reflective metal cone. Squared handle at top. Top of case lifts up on hinges.

Historical information

Storm lantern either collected by or owned by Mrs Lois Turner who was a member of the Armadale Kelmscott Historical Society and collected and donated a large amount of 'olden days' objects for the museum in the year before it opened in 1976. Some of those items were owned by her or her family when they first lived in Armadale and later on farms near Brookton.
Lois's father, William Tidbury Mills came to Western Australia in the 1890s to try his luck on the recently discovered Goldfields. In c1905 William returned to South Australia and married Victoria Maria Mason. The newly married couple then returned to Western Australia and settled in Armadale where they started their family. Their first child, George Hartly was born in Armadale in 1906. Lois Adelaide Turner was delivered by local midwife Mrs Bodicoat in 1908 at the family property on the corner of Eleventh Avenue and Gull Street. Lois would have spent her first few years of schooling attending the Armadale State School. While in Armadale the family had four other children, Avon William in 1909, Hartly Mason in 1911, Sydney Eric in 1913 and Victor Glenn in 1914
In 1915 the Mills family moved to Brookton. That same year Hilda Victoria was born and in 1918 Fred Mason was born. The family lived on a farm which they called 'Masonville' to the east of the Brookton
In 1932 Lois married Sidney John Turner a local farmer and lived in the district for the next thirty years. In 1961 Sidney passed away and Lois moved back to Armadale. Lois would later join the Armadale Kelmscott Historical Society. In 1975 as the AKHS prepared to open History House Lois donated a large number of items from her family. Lois passed away in Armadale in 1988.

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-33-AK1975.62
Item type
Lighting
Material
Cotton
Sheet Metal
Width
109 mm
Height or length
334 mm
Depth
109 mm
Year
1909 - 1950
Statement of significance

This lantern is linked to the Mills family, pioneers in the development of the Armadale region. William Tidbury Mills, who emigrated from South Australia in the 1890s, settled in Armadale after marrying Victoria Maria Mason. The couple raised their family there, and their daughter, Lois Turner, was born in 1908 on their property at the corner of Eleventh Avenue and Gull Street. William Mills played a large role in local agricultural development, helping to shape the region's growth. In 1915, the family moved to a farm east of Brookton.

Comparative significance criteria
Interpretive capacity
Rare or representative
Well provenanced
Last modified
Wednesday, 1 July, 2026
Completeness
94
City of Armadale - History House

City of Armadale - History House

Rectangular metal case with rectangular window (no glass) frontside, top half. Inside the window is a concave, reflective piece of metal behind the burner.
Rectangular metal case with a rectangular window (no glass). Inside is a concave metal disc behind the cone shaped burner. Coming out from the burner, just to the left is a metal rod with a wheel at the end. Squared handle at top and the top of case lifts up on hinges.
Rectangular metal case with a squared handle at top
Rectangular metal case with squared handle attached at top end of the side panels. The arched lid lifts via 2 small hinges.
Rectangular metal case with a rectangular window taking up the top half, covered on the inside by a pitted piece of metal. The squared handle and burner control knob are both visible from this angle.
A Rectangular metal case with a rectangular window taking up the top half of the side, covered on the inside by a pitted and bent piece of metal. The squared handle and burner control knob are both visible from this angle. The lid is covered by a mildly mis-shaped arch of metal.
Rectangular metal case with a rectangular window taking up the top half, covered on the inside by a heavily oxidized piece of metal with a small slit at the bottom. The squared handle and burner control knob are both visible from this angle.
Rectangular metal case with a rectangular window taking up the top half, covered on the inside by a heavily oxidized piece of metal with a small slit at the bottom. The squared handle and burner control knob are both visible from this angle. The lid is covered by an arched piece of metal with a triangular piece of metal between the lid and the arch.

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