Mallala Museum

12/04/2025

06/01/2025

This morning I met up with Matthew Pantelis from 5AA, at the museum. He was keen to have a look around and ask questions. He recorded an interview as we went around the various areas.
The segment will go to air on Saturday afternoon.

14/11/2024

The Mallala Museum welcomes volunteers and helpers of all ages. We are open every Sunday and also have groups of visitors by appointment. Working bees are held each Tuesday morning. If you have a few hours a month to spare and would like to get involved, call in and talk to one of our volunteers or email [email protected]

30/10/2024

Who remembers Wattle Day?
https://australianchoice.com.au/blogs/aussie-information/the-history-of-wattle-day?fbclid=IwY2xjawGOc3xleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZ3KCVXYBk0utqya1D9YG1eu0m0xu5YURyUyVD4q6hoJdxHkUgZB72Tqug_aem_W3LsS6Gu2ufWozSj5hBhlA #:~:text=The%20First%20National%20Wattle%20Day,wattle%2C%20often%20sold%20for%20charity

Information provided by The Wattle Day Association. The first known use of wattle as a meaningful emblem dates back to the early days of Tasmania (1836). Near the end of the nineteenth century, naturalistic imagery of Australian flora and fauna began to appear on utilitarian objects such as furnitur...

16/10/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/uiCjvdw323d6PTAp/

PENFIELD, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
1940

Happy Thursday, all. A look back to a cute little store and Post Office at Penfield. Did you know that the township of Penfield was founded in 1856 by Mr William Penfold?

The original photograph of this edited and colourised picture is called "Store at Penfield" (B 10208). It was taken way back in 1940. The image is from the State Library of South Australia, Penfield Collection. The unedited black and white picture can be found using the link below.

https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+10208

The library summarises the following: "May Dunstone, nee Lillywhite, outside the Store and Post Office, Penfield, October 1940. Mrs Dunstone's husband, John Bennett Kerr Dunstone, was the storekeeper and postmaster. The post office operated at this location between 1856 and 1951."

Thanks to Mark, I can advise that May was born at Port Wakefield in 1875, and she went on to marry John Bennett Kerr Dunstone (1878 - 1956) at the Methodist Church, Port Pirie, on 5 April 1905. May passed away in 1959. A link to their marriage announcement is below (thanks again, Mark).

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5045594

Thanks to Paul, Ian and Wikipedia for the heads up about this information, "A large amount of land in the area between Penfield and Salisbury was compulsorily acquired by the Australian Government's Department of Munitions in 1940 to establish a munitions factory, the Salisbury Explosives Factory, during World War II. It led to the closure of the Penfield village. That site now includes RAAF Base Edinburgh, Defence Science and Technology Group and industrial premises."

According to the City of Playford, 'Playford's Past' website, "the store, first owned by Bell and later by the Barbers, was reputed to have sold everything. Traders delivered their groceries in a dray, and Afghans, Syrians and Indians used to come around with cases selling trinkets. From 1916 - 1920, dances were held every fortnight in the barn next to the store. Mr Bennet and Rita Dunstone were storekeepers at one time."
There are lots of history about Penfield on the Playford Library Service Heritage Collections website. Check it out using the link below:

https://playfordspast.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/179

Sources: Thanks to the State Library of South Australia, the City of Playford, Mark H, Paul, Ian and Wikipedia

Edited and colourised by Kelly Bonato of A Colourful History

Copyright © Kelly Bonato 2024. All image editing, enhancement and colourisation is subject to copyright. You can share this post, but the image alone cannot be copied or shared without my permission.