DINNER PLATES x 6, TOODYAY ROAD BOARD

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c. 1950 - 1960

Subcollections

Overview

Set of six dinner plates; eggshell-coloured, glazed dinnerware with a red brown insignia of a sheep and a sheaf of wheat inside a shield.
Inside a banner, above the shield, is the word 'Toodyay' and below the shield, 'Road Board' is written, all in capital sans serif font.
The bottom is marked with a hallmark; a letter 'W' and a 'B' intertwined around which the words 'Wembley Quality Ware' are written. A crown sits atop the writing..

Historical information

In November 2008 Mrs Denise Bambridge offered a dinner plate, side plate and teacup branded with a reddish/brown Toodyay Road Board insignia for donation. Mrs. Bambridge had purchased the items in a garage sale some years prior.
Prompted by Mrs Bambridge's donation it was decided to assemble a complete set of 6 saucers, teacups, side plates and dinner plates with the same Toodyay Road Board logo, which was now obsolete.
Mrs. Bambridge's donated crockery was included and the remainder were sourced from the Shire's existing collection, still being used and stored in the Shire Administration offices.
(The collection was incorporated into the Shire of Toodyay's museum collection under accession numbers 2009.1 to 2009.4 inclusive.)

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-37-2009.1a-f

Item type

Themes

Material

Width

30 cm

Depth

2 cm

Inscriptions and markings

Wembley Vitrified

Contextual Information

'Wembley Ware' was produced by a Western Australian company, Brisbane and Wunderlich. During the 1950s, Brisbane and Wunderlich of Subiaco, Western Australia, were Australia's largest commercial producers of ceramics. The branding later became known as Bristile' or 'B&W'. One of their most successful ranges was Wembley Ware, produced between 1946 and 1961. High taxes on decorative ceramics at the time meant that the majority of Wembley Ware items were designed as useful household crockery but with outlandish and highly stylized designs that superseded their primary function. The company changed ownership a number of times over the years and its primary function became providing vitrified crockery to the hospitality industry and military.

Year

c. 1950 - 1960

Statement of significance

The Toodyay Road Board and Toodyay Shire Council crockery is significant for:
1.Their association with the Toodyay Road Board and Toodyay Shire Council and the development of civic organisations in the town of Toodyay
2.Their representation of the changing symbol or logo of the Toodyay road Board/Shire of Toodyay, demonstrating how the Council wished to be represented publicly and reflecting the values of the town's people.

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance