City of Armadale - History House > Records

TERRARIUM, GLASS

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c. 1970

Overview

Large moulded bulb-shaped glass jar with a flat base, text on the bottom is illegible. The top has a circular rim to house the stopper.

Historical information

The terrarium was purchased and used by Scott McCormick, a former employee of Gladalan nursery.
A vivarium is an enclosed area, used for the breeding and observation of plant or animal life, i.e. an aquarium or insecterium. A terrarium was specifically a dry or woodland environment. Terrarium though, did become a more generic term of glass containers used for creating micro-climates for plants.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-33-COA2013.2a

Themes

Social History

Width

310 mm

Height or length

398 mm

Depth

310 mm

Contextual Information

The site that was to become Gladalan Nursery was first owned by the Joyner family in 1920 who established an orange orchard. In 1937, Alan and Gladys Brown purchased the property and grew oranges, onions as well as eggs. They named the property Gladalan (using their first names). In the 1950s, they expanded their operations by building several greenhouses and moving into growing seedlings and onions on a commercial scale. They grew into the second largest employer in the district, with a workforce of approximately 65 people in the 1990s.
The Gladalan white and brown onions were first grown at the nursery and named in honour of the nursery. In 1999, the nursery was part of a pilot program to reduce contaminated waste water from the nursery from running into the Wongong River.
In 1999, the Brown family sold the nursery to Dr Adrian Hobley. It closed the following year.

Keywords

Year

Statement of significance

This object is part of a collection that represents the commercial history of the City of Armadale. It represents the many different businesses that have operated in the local area and how those businesses have evolved over time. Businesses play an important role within a community, they provide wanted and needed goods and services, employment, income and opportunities to the local community. They can also operate as important social connectors, places where people gathered and engaged with other members of the community.

Comparative significance criteria

Interpretive capacity

Object’s condition or completeness

Rare or representative

Well provenanced

City of Armadale - History House

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