Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
Hayley Heffernan 1
The Old Mitcham Police Station: An Archaeological Artefact Analysis.
Hayley Heffernan
June 2009
This report has been produced as a part of the assessment for ARCH 8508 Directed Study in
Archaeology, a graduate topic in the Department of Archaeology, Flinders University.
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
Hayley Heffernan 2
Executive Summary
This report is an archaeological analysis of the artefacts excavated from under the
floors of the Old Mitcham Police Station, Mitcham, South Australia. The
excavations were undertaken in May of 2008, at the request of the Mitcham
Heritage Council, and were directed by Dr. Heather Burke, with volunteer staff and
students from the Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, South Australia.
Mitcham Heritage Council is an association focused on the identification, research
and protection of historical buildings and places in the City of Mitcham. As part of
the development of a new cultural hub designed to “promote wider civic
engagement in arts, historical and other cultural activities” (Burke 2008:1) within
the City of Mitcham the Mitcham Heritage Centre decided to relocate to the Old
Police Station. The Police Station along with a collection of surrounding buildings
will house a number of existing community groups, including the Mitcham Heritage
Centre. It will form the centre of a hub incorporating a Heritage Research Centre,
Village Institute and Arts and Crafts Centre. Thus in the spirit of heritage and
community the council proposed excavations be done under the floor boards, to
learn more about the historical building soon to become a centre for research in
Mitcham. The purpose of the excavations was to recover any artefacts which may
have been deposited during the construction or occupation of the police station.
These finds may reveal details of both domestic and police duties within the
building between 1892- 1967. Between1967-2000 when the building was used by
the Metro South: South Australian Emergency Service. The building has since
been heritage listed, and is part of the historical Mitcham Village (Linke 2008:3).
During its 108 years of use, the building functioned both as a police station and a
domestic dwelling, often simultaneously. The original four-roomed building now
stands as six rooms, with the back veranda enclosed and turned into additional
room for toilets. The building was constructed according to the original building
instructions using traditional techniques of the time by Farr and Co Contractors in
1892, (Farr and Co Contractors 1891).
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Hayley Heffernan 3
The excavation and analysis were aimed at addressing the following research
questions; evidence for past standards of living in Mitcham, police activities and
procedures, information relating to the activities of prisoners, domestic
arrangements and standards in the household, evidence of women and children
living in the house and what this can reveal about gender and childhood, and
evidence for occupation and function of the various rooms within the Police Station
(Burke, 2008:2).
Fifty-six point two percent of the artefacts recovered from the 2008 MPS
excavation were metallic, twelve percent wood, three point one percent glass, two
point six percent ceramic, fifteen point one percent miscellaneous, seven point two
percent faunal/floral and three point eight percent were paper (Table 4-1). The
majority of the artefacts were recovered from room one. The next highest
concentration was in the cells followed by rooms three then two (Table 4-2). There
were four items recovered from the site with no indication as to where they were
recovered from. These include two glass bottles, one of which is broken, but
otherwise all pieces are present, a wood plain with the metal shaving portion
missing and a wooden dolly peg, likely to have been used for hanging washing.
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
Hayley Heffernan 4
Table of Contents Executive Summary………………………………………………………………ii
Contents……………………………………………………………………….......iv
1.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………...-1- 1.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………….-1-
1.2 Project Aim…………………………………………………………….-2-
1.3 Legislation and Regulations…………………………………………-3-
1.4 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………..-4-
2.0 Literature Review……………………………………………………………-4-
2.1 Historical Background………………………………………………..-4-
2.2 Related Studies……………………………………………………….-6-
3.0 Methodology…………………………………………………………………-6- 3.1 Heritage Victoria’s Function Key Word List………………………..-8-
4.0 Results………………………………………………………………………...-8- 4.1 Room One……………………………………………………….......-13-
4.2 Room Two……………………………………………………………-16-
4.3 Room Three………………………………………………………….-16-
4.4 Cells…………………………………………………………………..-17-
5.0 Discussion…………………………………………………………………..-19- 5.1 Room One……………………………………………………………-21-
5.2 Room Two……………………………………………………………-22-
5.3 Room Three………………………………………………………….-22-
5.4 Cells…………………………………………………………………..-23-
5.5 Response to Research Questions…………………………………-24-
5.6 Problems and Limitations…………………………………………..-26-
6.0 Conclusions………………………………………………………………...-27-
6.1 Recommendations………………………………………………….-28-
6.2 Further Research……………………………………………………-28-
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1.0 Introduction
1.1 Introduction This project was designed to analyse the archaeological artefacts recovered from
the Mitcham Police Station excavations undertaken in May 2008. The project was
conducted at the request of the Mitcham Heritage Centre and incorporated into
National Archaeology Week 2008. Excavations were undertaken by students and
staff of Flinders University Archaeology Department (FUAD) and the project was
directed by Dr Heather Burke. The Old Police station is to become the new
headquarters of the Mitcham Heritage Centre. The Centre decided to use this
opportunity to learn more about this historic building and the City of Mitcham in
past eras. Hence they invited Heather Burke and FUAD to excavate under the
floorboards of the old building, which revealed a collection of interesting and
intriguing artefacts.
The original four-roomed police station, located at 103 Princes Road, Mitcham,
Adelaide, South Australia, was built by Farr and Co in 1892 (Linke 2008:2). Later
additions included two more rooms, and a bathroom in 1917, and a single prisoner
cell in the back yard, approximately 10-15 metres from the rear of the building,
which in 1921 was converted into a double (Linke 2008:2-3) (see Appendix One).
Excavations were undertaken in three of the six internal rooms and the external
cells; a total of four trenches. All of the artefacts excavated were placed into bags
according to room number and context, then into a box before being stored in the
Flinders University Archaeology Laboratory. This report will outline the process of
artefact analysis, the results, and discuss what they mean in the context of the
project’s aims. As part of the excavation permit issued by the Department of
Environment and Heritage, South Australia, it is mandatory that the analytical
recording process follows Heritage Victoria’s Guidelines, all data will be entered
into a Historic Artefacts Database, and that a printed report outlining all of the
results will be submitted upon completion of the project.
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
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Mitcham Heritage Centre is an association focused on the identification, research
and protection of historical buildings and places in the City of Mitcham. As part of
the development of a new cultural hub incorporating a Heritage Research Centre,
Village Institute and Arts and Crafts Centre within the City of Mitcham, the Mitcham
Heritage Centre is being relocate to the Old Police Station. The Police Station
along with a collection of surrounding buildings, will house a number of existing
community groups, including the Mitcham Heritage Centre.
1.2 Project Aim The aim of this project is to analyse the material excavated from under the floor
boards of the Old Mitcham Police Station, Mitcham, South Australia, (MPS) in May
of 2008. By analysing the artefacts resulting from excavations "we may reveal the
nature of domestic and professional police life in Mitcham from 1891-2000” (Burke,
2008:2). The research questions are as follows:
• Is there any evidence for the standard of living in Mitcham, in the late
19th and early 20th centuries?
• What evidence is there for police activities or procedures in the late
nineteenth/early 20th centuries?
• Do the cells contain information relating to the activities of prisoners?
• How does this compare/contrast to domestic arrangements and
standards in the domestic household?
• What evidence is there for women and children living in the house?
What does this tell us about gender or childhood in Mitcham in the late
nineteenth/early 20th centuries?
• What evidence is there for the occupation and function of the various
rooms within the Police Station? Did these uses remain constant
throughout the regular changes of occupants, or can changes in the
use of various parts of the building be discerned through the
archaeology? What can this tell us about the changing nature of
policing as an activity in Mitcham throughout the 20th century? (Burke,
2008:2)
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Following analysis of the artefacts, recommendations for the long term storage or
reburial of the collection and/or items are proposed. The recommendations are
based upon a significance assessment of individual items and of the collection as a
whole, and their ability to contribute towards knowledge of past human behavior
within the Police Station. The level of significance was assessed according to
Heritage Victoria’s Archaeological Artefacts Management Guidelines to ensure
consistency (see Appendix Two).
1.3 Legislation and Regulations It is a condition of the excavation permit, number 0004/08, issued by the
Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia, that a full report be
made on all excavations done on the site. This includes a detailed artefact analysis
and construction of an artefact database modelled on Heritage Victoria’s guidelines.
The relevant act associated with the excavation and treatment of the building is the
Heritage Places Act 1993. Relevance is recognised under sections (see Appendix
Three);
Part 5- Special Protection
Division 1- Places or Objects of Particular Significance
25- Places of geological, palaeontological or speleological significance
26- Places of archaeological significance
27- Protection of archaeological artefacts
28- Damage or disposal of objects
29- Permits
Part five implies the need for a permit to excavate or disturb places or objects of
archaeological significance. It also prohibits the disposal or destruction of
archaeological artefacts without a permit, as well as advises on the conditions
under which a permit may be granted by the appropriate authorities.
Part 7- Miscellaneous
36- Damage or neglect
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
Hayley Heffernan 8
Part seven refers directly to the damage or neglect of a State Heritage Place in
order to reduce or destroy its heritage significance. It is prohibited under the act to
intentionally or recklessly damage or to fail to take reasonable care, being either
protection or repair, of a State Heritage Place.
1.4 Acknowledgements Mitcham Heritage Centre: for the opportunity to undertake such a project and for
the initial research into the Mitcham Police Station.
Maggy Ragless: for coordinating the volunteers and facilitating the excavation.
Dr Heather Burke: for the project guidance and assistance with research.
The students and other volunteers: for working on the site.
2.0 Background
2.1 The Building’s Construction
Opened in 1892, the Mitcham Police Station functioned both as a police station
and as a residential space simultaneously. The original four roomed building was
built by Farr and Co Contractors. The external walls were built from “Mitcham
freestone, of the best quality” (Farr and Co Contractors 1891:7), a building material
commonly used in the area. No stone was to be more that eight inches in height. It
was also specified that the “external work was to be pointed with ruled sunk joints
carefully joined on with thick oil paint”. The chimney shafts, quoins, dressings to
doors and windows and plinths were made from “the best approved hand, burnt,
evenly sharp, uniformly coloured sandstocks from Threadgold’s kilns at Marion”
(Farr and Co Contractors 1891: 7). The external arches to doors and windows are
described as being fourteen inches straight, cut, subbed and finished with a putty
joint. The internal arch openings were 14 inch herring bone arches with no wooden
lintels. The arch to the kitchen fireplace was three feet, nine inches, wide (Farr and
Co Contractors 1891: 8).
The internal fittings of the building were clearly specified by Farr and Co
Contractors. These include the manner in which walls were finished. Fourteen inch
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Hayley Heffernan 9
iron hoop straps were to serve as door frame supports, with two foot long ones
used as wall supports. Iron brackets were to be used in the kitchen and bedrooms
as supports for mantel shelves. Iron straps and bolts were recommended to secure
veranda posts. Slate was set upon solid brick in three fire places as well as in the
doorways and steps. All the mortar was made with freshly burnt lime and ‘clean,
sharp, round sand’ (one part lime and two and a half parts sand). It was specified
that all timber used in the construction of the building must be of the best “well
seasoned yellow Baltic and free from sap, shakes, large or loose knots or other
imperfections” (Farr and Co Contractors 1891:13). All external carpentry joints
were to be coated in thick white lead paint. King rods, queen rods, nuts, washers
and heel bolts were all used to secure the rafters and roof to pre-agreed
specifications. Builder’s details go on to include the veranda construction, mantel
piece, cupboard and shelving, as well as specifications for the glazier and painters
and down pipe installation (Farr and Co Contractors 1891).
Later alterations were made to the building and property. These included piped gas
in November 1892. In 1903 a portion of the back veranda was converted into a
bathroom, and a new kitchen and bathroom added in 1917. The single cell located
in the back yard was converted into a double one in 1921. Then, in 1924 internal
renovations were carried out which included the installation of electric lights in the
office (Linke 2008:2-3).
2.2 Staff History
When it opened in 1892, Police Constable William Henry Osborn was stationed at
Mitcham from September (Linke 2008:3). There are no specifications as to when
his service ended, but Osborn did received an honourable mention in July of 1896
and was promoted to Corporal in May 1898 (Linke 2008:3), suggesting he was still
in service at the Police Station at least until this time. Five other foot constables are
known to have served at Mitcham Police Station, including Steinely, between
March 1921-September 1929, Emery, between February 1923-October 1929, and
Milburn, between August 1950-August 1953 (Linke 2008:4). Constables by the
name of Spiers and Trotman are also known to have served at the same time as
Milburn, although precise dates of service are unknown.
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The Mitcham Police Station was closed on the 30th of August 1967, and the work
was distributed between Unley and Myrtle Bank (Linke 2008:3). The building was
then used by the Metro South State Emergency Services until 2000. It is locally
heritage listed and now forms part of the Historical Mitcham Village.
2.3 Related Studies There have been no previous studies on the Mitcham Police Station. As a
consequence little is known. What is known is that Unley Police Station, at 81
Edmund Avenue, was the third police station erected in Unley and opened in1925,
after the local council put pressure on the state Government for better facilities.
The court house, located at 83 Edmund Avenue, was also erected in 1925,
alongside (Unley Museum 2001: 16-17).
3.0 Methodology
3.1 Initial Method Overview Four trenches were opened during the 2008 MPS excavation. Three of these were
located inside the building in Rooms One, Two and Three, and the fourth in the
Cells, located approximately 10-15 metres from the rear of the building (see
Appendix One). The floor boards in Room One were easily enough removed and
therefore 100% of the room was excavated. The removal of floor boards from
Room One posed no immediate health and safety risks for visitors, as the room
was located to the side and was not needed to gain access to other areas of the
building. However, in order to access the sub-floor areas in Rooms Two and Three
holes needed to be cut into the floor boards. The entirety of the floor boards could
not be removed due to access and safety issues. Due to limited access, only
approximately 10% of Room Two and 5.8 % of Room Three were excavated (see
Appendix One). The easternmost cell was also excavated via access through a
removed section of floor boards. Approximately 11.5% of the area of the Cell was
excavated.
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The number of contexts varied over the site due to varying depths of deposits.
Room Two had only one context and Room Three had two contexts. The Cells,
however, had five contexts. This was due to a lack of stratigraphy and therefore
the opportunity for excavators to removed spits of arbitrarily, two centimetres at a
time. Hence, the deposits in the Cells are possibly only as deep as those in Rooms
Two and Three, yet were removed in arbitrary spits rather than by stratigraphic
layers. Room One contained seven contexts and was governed by stratigraphy.
During the excavation most of the items recovered were bagged on site and
labelled with the room number and context from which they came. Some items
were sorted and placed into individual bags, others were grouped according to
room and context and placed in the same bags. The glass bottles were cleaned
with water and a brush to remove the majority of dirt. From here all the artefacts
were placed into a box and a basic inventory was created by the Mitcham Heritage
Centre.
3.2 Laboratory Methods All of the artefacts from the 2008 MPS excavation were identified and catalogued.
The artefacts were sorted and cleaned lightly and carefully using a soft toothbrush
and water (on plastic items only), then placed into individual sealable bags,
labelled, using a fine permanent marker, with the site code and date of excavation,
the room they were excavated from and the context in which they were found. It
was mandatory that all artefacts were numbered according to Heritage Victoria’s
guidelines. This requires a unique site code be used. In this case the site code is
‘MPS’ followed by the room number and context from which it came. A unique, five
digit sequential number, eg. ‘00001, 00002’ was then given to all of the items. It is
essential that all artefacts were uniquely numbered and that the same numbers
were not used in different areas of the site. Exceptions did apply when dealing with
a group of shards found in the same area, in the same context. These were
grouped, placed in a single bag and given a collective identification number.
Following this, the artefacts were sorted according to material type. This included
the categories metal, wood, glass and ceramic. In the case of the MPS excavation,
the variety of items found meant other categories were also required, including
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‘faunal and floral’ to cover animal bones and seeds, and ‘miscellaneous’ to include
modern rubbish, plastics, hair, and anything else which did not fall into a standard
category. Paper, primarily newspaper, was collected in the deposits and was
placed into its own category, to comply with cataloguing standards.
Next the artefacts were labelled using archivally-stable Tyvek labels. These labels
are of archival quality and waterproof. A black waterproof/ lightfast/ dry-safe pigma-
pen was used to write on the labels. Artefacts were then identified according to
function, following the Heritage Victoria system, and weighed, measured,
described and dated.
Artefacts were weighed using electronic scales (Adam Equipment, Model Q.T. 600,
600g-0.1g). As some artefacts were too large to be measured using callipers and
therefore a scale ruler was substituted and all artefacts were measured in
millimetres, as per length, width and depth. Length was identified as the maximum
dimension, width was measured 90° to the length, and depth/thickness. In cases
where the depth/thickness of an object changed over its length the widest and
narrowest widths were recorded. For the majority of cases height was also
measured as length. For example the length and height of a piece of string was
considered the same. This data was then recorded directly into appropriate cells in
the blank spreadsheet. Colour was also recorded. In many cases the artefact was
too degraded to identify the original colour, hence the term Not Applicable (N/A)
was entered. N/A was also used in reference to ‘completeness’ where things such
as wood shavings and their ‘completeness’, cannot be recognised as relevant. It
was also used in measurement fields where the length, width and depth of such
items as wood shavings, newspaper scraps or hair was irrelevant and/or difficult to
obtain.
The next step was to identify and date the artefacts. Manufacturing information
was obtained wherever possible. Some of the artefacts were either too degraded
or broken, hence their functions were not identifiable. A descriptive and statistical
analysis of the results follows and includes an interpretation of the artefacts as
individuals, as well as within the site as a whole. It also includes hypothesis for
possible depositional processes. The significance of each artefact was assessed in
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
Hayley Heffernan 13
terms of how it contributed to the understanding of past human behaviour and
activity on the site. Based on these assessments artefacts were identified in terms
of weather they could form part of a representative and interpretive collection or
should be reburied on the site (see Appendix Two for guidelines).
The final stage of the project was the production of digital photographs. Using
appropriate photographic techniques and scales, photographs were taken of
selected diagnostic and significant artefacts. A complete list of all digital
photographs taken can be found in Appendix Four.
3.3 Heritage Victoria Function Key Word List
The Heritage Victoria Function Keyword List was established in conjunction with
the database. It acts as an addition to the database, providing users with a list of
standard terminologies to apply when cataloguing historical archaeological
collections. The keyword list is based on the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)
produced by the Getty Research Institute in the USA. The keywords chosen most
commonly represent materials and functions found in Heritage Victoria’s collection.
“The use of standard fields and terminologies will ensure that collections are
recorded in a regular and consistent way, and are searchable” (Heritage Victoria
2004:3).
Heritage Victoria identifies and uses eight primary functions to define artefacts
found on historic sites. These include architecture, domestic, personal, recreation,
societal/religious, tools/equipment, miscellaneous and maritime. Each function
category is subsequently divided into further functions which can better define the
artefacts (see Appendix Five). Due to the nature of the MPS collection the key
word function list was easily applied and successfully defined the artefacts. This
was due to its flexibility in applying the term ‘miscellaneous’ to objects which
remained unidentified. It also provided the ability to make definitions between
domestic, personal and recreation forming a major component in the discussion
and identification of the occupants of the building.
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4.0 Results
4.1 Results Overview
A total of 422 artefacts were recovered from the site. Room One contained 47.9%
(Table 4-1) of the items recovered and included artefacts of varied functionality
(Table 4-2). The Cells revealed the next highest concentration of artefacts, at 40%
of the total collection, these, too, were representative of various functions but were
concentrated heavily on architecture. Room Two contained 4.8% of the total
collection, and Room Three contained 6.7%. The majority of the items recovered
from Rooms Two and Three were also architecturally related. Context four of
Room One yielded the highest concentration of artefacts in total (Table 4-3),
followed by context two in the Cells. Across the site context one contained the
majority of the artefacts.
Table 4-1 MPS Artefact Category Totals, According to Room
Number of Artefacts
Category Rm1 Rm2 Rm3 Cells Unidentified MNI % Weight
(g) Metallic 86 14 18 114 0 232 55 800.1 Wood 41 3 3 2 1 50 11.8 >614.1 Glass 3 0 0 9 2 14 3.3 >1403.1 Ceramic 0 0 1 3 0 4 0.9 4.9 Miscellaneous 46 1 2 26 0 75 17.8 328.6 Faunal/Floral 12 2 2 14 0 30 7.1 39.2 Paper 14 0 2 1 0 17 4.1 0.0 TOTALS 202 20 28 169 3 422 100.0 3190.0
Table 4-2 Total Primary Function Distribution for the Site
Function Rm1 Rm2 Rm3 Cells Unidentified MNI % Architecture 89 13 20 90 0 212 50.2 Tools/Equipment 11 0 0 34 0 45 10.7 Societal/Religious 2 0 0 1 0 3 0.7 Personal 21 1 1 1 0 24 5.7 Domestic 64 4 7 21 3 99 23.4 Recreation 2 0 0 0 0 2 0.5 Organic 2 0 0 0 0 2 0.5 Miscellaneous 4 1 1 13 0 19 4.5 Unidentified 5 1 1 9 0 16 3.8 TOTALS 200 20 30 169 3 422 100
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Table 4-3 Total Distribution According to Context
Number of Artefacts Context Rm1 Rm2 Rm3 Cells Unidentified MNI %
1 22 20 28 35 0 105 24.9 2 0 0 0 87 0 87 20.6 3 50 0 0 38 0 88 20.9 4 93 0 0 5 0 98 23.2 5 13 0 0 4 0 17 4 6 23 0 0 0 0 23 5.5
Unidentified 1 0 0 0 3 4 0.9 TOTALS 202 20 28 169 3 422 100
Metallic artefacts represented the greatest portion of any single material collected
from the site, a total of 55% (Table 4-1). The majority of metallic artefacts were
located in the Cells (Table 4-1). ‘Fastenings’ represented 72.8% of the architectural
material recovered (Table 4-4), ie. nails, bolts, screws and other architectural
fastenings used for construction purposes. Room One contributed 37% of the
metallic artefact collection and revealed fewer artefacts which were, however,
weightier (Table 4-5). The rest of the metallic collection appears to have been
spread relatively evenly across Room Two and Room Three.
Table 4-4 Metallic Artefact Primary Functions
Function MNI % Architecture 171 73.7 Tools/Equipment 44 19 Societal/Religious 3 1.3 Personal 8 3.4 Miscellaneous 5 2.2 Unidentified 1 0.4 TOTALS 232 100
Table 4-5 Metallic Artefact Distribution Across the Site by Room and Context
Metallic Artefacts
Cxt 1
Cxt 2
Cxt 3
Cxt 4
Cxt 5
Cxt 6 Unidentified MNI %
Weight (g)
Rm1 8 0 25 41 5 7 0 86 37.0 319.7 Rm2 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 6.1 55.3 Rm3 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 7.8 87.9 Cells 28 57 22 4 3 0 0 114 49.1 210.7 Unidentified 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 68 57 47 45 8 7 0 232 100.0 673.6
In total 50 wooden artefacts were recovered from the excavation, representing
11.8% of the total collection (Table 4-1). Architecture and domestic artefacts
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
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represented 92% of the wooden collection (Table 4-6) and were concentrated in
contexts three and four in Room One (Table 4-7).
Table 4-6 Wooden Artefact Primary Functions
Function MNI % Architecture 26 52.0 Domestic 20 40.0 Tools/equipment 1 2.0 Miscellaneous 2 4.0 Unidentified 1 2.0 TOTALS 50 100.0
Table 4-7 Wooden Artefact Distribution Across the Site by Room and Context
Wooden Artefacts
Cxt 1
Cxt 2
Cxt 3
Cxt 4
Cxt 5
Cxt 6 Unidentified MNI %
Weight (g)
Rm1 1 0 14 19 1 5 0 40 80.0 >907.9 Rm2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 6.0 3.7 Rm3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 6.0 0.6 Cells 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4.0 0.2 Unidentified 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 4.0 9.6 TOTALS 9 1 14 19 1 5 1 50 100.0 >921.1
Fourteen glass items were recovered, representing 3.3% of the total collection.
Even though only a small proportion of glass artefacts were found, their total
weight is >1403.1 grams (Table 4-1), greater than any other category in the
collection. This is due to the small complete bottle and two complete liquor bottles
found. The Cells contained 69.2% (Table 4-8) of the total glass artefacts collected.
This is interesting in light of the fact that 78.6% of the glass collection is domestic
in nature (Table 4-9) and one would expect to find it closer to the dwelling.
Table 4-8 Glass Artefact Distribution Across the Site by Room and Context
Glass Artefacts
Cxt 1
Cxt 2
Cxt 3
Cxt 4
Cxt 5
Cxt 6 Unidentified MNI % Weight (g)
Rm1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 3 15.4 2.1 Rm2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rm3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cells 2 3 4 0 0 0 0 9 69.2 201 Unidentified 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 15.4 >1200 TOTALS 2 3 5 1 0 1 2 14 100 >1403.1
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Table 4-9 Glass Artefact Primary Functions
Function MNI % Recreation 1 7.2 Personal 2 14.2 Domestic 11 78.6 TOTALS 14 100
Ceramic finds contributed only 1.06% of the total collection, by far the smallest
portion (Table 4-1). Ceramics were recovered from the Cells, Room One and
Room Three (Table 4-10). The majority of the ceramic concentration was found in
the Cells, in context two (Table 4-11).
Table 4-10 Ceramic Artefact Distribution Across the Site by Room and Context
Ceramic Artefacts
Cxt 1
Cxt 2
Cxt 3
Cxt 4
Cxt 5
Cxt 6 Unidentified MNI % Weight (g)
Rm1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rm2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 Rm3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 25 4.4 Cells 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 75 0.5 Unidentified 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 TOTALS 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 100 5.9
Table 4-11 Ceramic Artefact Primary Functions
Function MNI % Architecture 4 100 TOTALS 4 100
Miscellaneous artefacts constituted 17.8% of the collection (Table 4-1) and are
concentrated mainly in Room One and the Cells (Table 4-12). This portion of the
collection consists of items made from plastic, such as buttons, rubber and natural
fibres, such as rope and string. Their distribution varied across context (Table 4-
12), as did their function (Table 4-13).
Table 4-12 Miscellaneous Artefact Distribution Across the Site by Room and Context
Miscellaneous
Cxt 1
Cxt 2
Cxt 3
Cxt 4
Cxt 5
Cxt 6 Unidentified MNI % Weight (g)
Rm1 10 0 8 21 4 3 0 46 60 >912.5 Rm2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.3 0.9 Rm3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2.7 0.6 Cells 3 12 10 1 0 0 0 26 34.7 12.4 Unidentified 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 16 12 18 22 4 3 0 75 100 >926.4
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
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Table 4-13 Miscellaneous Artefact Primary Functions
Functions MNI % Architecture 13 16 Personal 33 44 Domestic 15 20 Recreation 1 1.3 Organic 2 2.7 Unidentified 11 14.7 TOTALS 75 100
The faunal/floral artefacts consisted mainly of skeletal remains belonging to
rodents and chickens. This made up 7.1% of the collection (Table 4-1), and was
located in the shallow contexts of the Cells and deeper contexts of Room One
(Table 4-14). The notably domestic portion of the assemblage constituted 60% and
the remaining 40% was miscellaneous, referring to wildlife such as rodents and
birds (Table 4-15).
Table 4-14 Faunal/Floral Artefact Distribution Across the Site by Room and Context
Faunal/Floral
Cxt 1
Cxt 2
Cxt 3
Cxt 4
Cxt 5
Cxt 6 Unidentified MNI % Weight (g)
Rm1 1 0 1 6 1 3 0 12 40 19.8 Rm2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6.7 1.3 Rm3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6.7 0.3 Cells 1 10 2 0 1 0 0 14 46.6 17.8 Unidentified 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 6 10 3 6 2 3 0 30 100 39.2
Table 4-15 Faunal/Floral Artefact Primary Functions
Functions MNI % Domestic 18 60 Miscellaneous 11 36.7 Unidentified 1 3.3 TOTALS 30 100
Paper constituted 4.1% of the assemblage (Table 4-1) and was one hundred
percent domestic in nature. The majority of it was newspaper, some of which
yielded dates. From the deeper contexts of Room One 82.3% of the paper was
recovered, while the remainder came from Room Three and the Cells (Table 4-16).
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Table 4-16 Paper Artefact Distribution Across the Site by Room and Context
Paper Artefacts
Cxt 1
Cxt 2
Cxt 3
Cxt 4
Cxt 5
Cxt 6 Unidentified MNI %
Rm1 3 0 0 5 2 4 0 14 82.3 Rm2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rm3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 11.8 Cells 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5.9 Unidentified 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 3 1 2 5 2 4 0 17 100
4.2 Room One
The entire area of Room One, 3.36x4 m², was excavated and contained 47.9% of
the total artefact distribution (Table 4-1). A total of seven contexts were removed
to an unknown depth (see Appendix Six). However, the contexts in Room One
were not excavated and labelled systematically. Initially Room One was divided
into two trenches, east and west. They were divided by means of a low brick
support wall. Context one of the eastern side consisted of surface scatter, no
depths were recorded for this context. Eastern context two lay below context one
and above context three but had no depths recorded. Eastern context three had
deposit depths of approximately three to four centimetres and lay below context
five. Deposit depths of 2.3 cm were recorded for context five which lay below
context six. The western side of Room One had seven recorded contexts. Context
one consisted of surface scatter, no depths were recorded for this context. Context
two lay below context one, above context three and four. No depths were recorded
for it. There is no record for western context three. Western context four lays below
context two, is the same as context three and lay above context five. It was
decided at this stage that the entire room would be excavated as a single trench
and therefore have the same contexts, hence context five lay below eastern
context three and western contexts three, four and above context six. Context six
had deposits of approximately four to five centimetres deep before reaching a
compact natural surface with paving slate in the north-eastern corner. Context
seven cut into the eastern side of context six. It consisted of a post hole 55 cms
deep,17x14 cms round and positioned in, but on the edge of, a 28 cm square hole.
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Diagram 4-1 Harris Matrix of Room One Contexts
Metallic
Eighty six of the 202 artefacts from Room One were metallic and architectural in
nature (Table 4-2). The majority of these were various types of nails, including 14
rose-headed wire nails (1870-1893), 30 wrought, forged or cuts nails (1870) and
23 Eubanks wrought nails (1869-1870) (Varman 1980:104-109). The remaining
metallic artefacts included personal items, such as one hat pin, three bobby pins
and three buttons. Metallic tools/equipment recovered included one small broken
saw blade which appeared to be post 1950, a pencil lead, a paper clip (also
appearing to be modern), a small staple and three safety pins of varying sizes.
Two coins were recovered in context four dating to 1950 and 1966. Miscellaneous
artefacts recovered included a hinged ring, possibly a curtain ring, a small piece of
soft pliable metal likely to be zinc and a tiny spherical pellet, primarily silver in
colour. Metallic artefacts were found in all contexts.
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Wood
Forty-one wooden artefacts were recovered from Room One (Table 4-1). Over half
of these were architectural in nature and consisted of wood off-cuts and shavings.
Domestic artefacts included seven burnt matches, two dolly or clothes pegs, and
four coloured pencils, including one labelled "W_T_PU500T 159 Payneham Rd.
PHONE" and another with the end shaved away and labelled using a pen,
“SAWYER”.
Fig 4-1 Pencils and Pencil Fragments
Miscellaneous items consisted of one piece of peach-painted chipboard, possibly
from a piece of furniture. The wood plane was not excavated from under any floor,
and originated from Room One. It indicates that wood construction was taking
place on the site.
Glass
Only three glass artefacts were recovered from Room One. These consisted of
one small round white bead with green residue, one pink faceted bead, and one
small chip from a blue marble. These items contribute to the personal and
recreational understandings of the collection.
Ceramic
Four items were recovered. Three of these were located in the Cells and appear to
be framents of broken flooring tiles.
Miscellaneous
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Miscellaneous artefacts are those for which no primary material could be identified.
The majority of the miscellaneous items recovered from Room One were made of
plastic and represent 60.2% of the total miscellaneous artefacts collected from the
site (Table 4-12). Personal items consisted of one pair of men’s brown leather
boots, a pink plastic hair comb, five plastic buttons of varying colours, sizes and
shapes, two mother-of-pearl buttons of different sizes, and what appeared to be a
plastic decorative piece from a hair clip with the metal clasp portion missing. The
domestic artefacts consisted of various lengths and widths of string and rope, a
cork from a bottle and a small rubber band. A red plastic circular disk was also
recovered. Embossed with a World War Two solider it could be a gaming disk or
token. Two locks of hair were recovered, one brown and one blonde. It is possible
these could either be human hair or hair from a child’s doll. Three items were
seemingly unidentifiable; a tapered leather tube in very poor condition, possibly the
limb of a child’s stuffed doll or animal; an unevenly and jaggedly cut strip of soft
black rubber; and a small round plastic lug or stopper.
Faunal/Floral
All of the faunal/floral remains recovered from Room One were domestic in nature.
Forty percent of the total faunal collection were recovered from Room One (Table
4-9). Eleven bone fragments were recovered. Some showed signs of butchering
and gnawing. The later of which was probably related to rodents. No analysis was
done on the bones to identify the animals to which they belonged. Other bones
recovered are likely to belong to birds and/rodents. Two small seeds were
recovered, these are circular and textured and have part of an outer casing present.
Paper
All of the paper-based artefacts recovered from Room One were domestic in
nature. They consisted of one Wrigley’s chewing gum wrapper, two puzzles pieces
with no image or print, one piece of sandpaper and various scraps of newspaper
ranging in date from 1891 to 1892, the years of construction.
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4.3 Room Two Room Two contained only 4.7% of the total artefacts recovered from the site
(Table 4-1), a total of 20 individual items. A single context was excavated from a
1.7 x 0.8 metre square trench in Room Two, representing only 10% of the total
area. Deposits were approximately five centimetres deep.
Metallic
Only 6.1% of the total collection of metallic artefacts was recovered from Room
Two. This comprised 14 items, 13 of which held architectural traits. Eleven nails
were recovered and consisted of five rose-headed wire nails, which were dated to
1870-1893, three wrought, forged or cuts nails, dated to 1870 and three Eubanks
wrought nails, dated to 1869-1870 (Varman 1980:104-109). There was also a
single washer and one piece of scrap metal, possibly a construction off-cut. A
single bobby pin was recovered from Room Two.
Wood
Three wooden items were recovered from Room Two. These consisted of two
which were domestic in nature, a single burnt match and a damaged, but complete
matchbox. The matchbox had a label, now damaged, pasted on one side reading
"K___O OR BLUE RATED 'HAVELOCK' ADE IN __EDEN". This could either be
labelling for the matchbox or an advertisement for Havelock tobacco, or both. A
single miscellaneous object was recovered, a piece of chipboard, possibly broken
from a larger piece of furniture.
Miscellaneous
A single miscellaneous artefact was recovered: a reddish-orange rectangular piece
of plastic, with a hole melted in the centre.
Faunal/Floral
Two domestic bone fragments were recovered from Room Two.
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4.4 Room Three Room Three yielded 6.7% of the artefacts, a total of only 28 individual items. A
1.5x0.75 m trench was excavated in Room Three, representing only 5.8% of the
room. Three contexts were excavated. Context one consisted of surface scatter.
Context two lay below context one and on top of contexts 3/1 and 3/2 which cut
into context two. Context 3/1 consisted of a 30x30 cm three centimetre deep test
pit cut into context two. Context 3/2 consisted of a 40x40 cm circular test pit cut
into context two. Like Room One excavation stopped when the natural surface was
reached, depths are unknown.
Diagram 4-2 Harris Matrix of Room Three Contexts
Metallic
Eighteen architectural items were recovered, including 17 nails and one tack.
Seven of the nails were Eubanks wrought nails, (1869-1870), three were case nails
and seven wrought, forged or cut nails (1870).
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Wood
Room Three yielded only three wooden items, two domestic and one architectural.
A chipboard fragment was recovered, possibly from a piece of furniture. Two burnt
matches were also recovered, one of which was pink in colour and therefore from
a different pack, or perhaps a different brand, from the others found on the site.
Ceramic
Three red brick chips were recovered, similar in colour and texture to those used to
build the fireplace.
Miscellaneous
One article of domestic rubbish was recovered: used sticky-tape, and one single
dark grey plastic button.
Faunal/Floral
A single domestic bone, possibly deposited by rodents, and half a small bi-valve
shell were removed from Room Three.
Paper
Two pieces of newspaper were removed from Room Three, one of which was
dated to 1890, before the construction of the building. It could have possibly been
buried on the site before construction started, transported by rodents, or have been
used in the construction process.
4.5 Cells The Cells yielded 40% of the total artefacts recovered a total of 169 items. Five
contexts were excavated from a 1.3x0.92 cm trench, representing 11.4% of the
total area of the Cells. Context one consisted of surface scatter and debris to a
depth of two centimetres. Context two lay below context one and on top of context
three and was too excavated to a depth of two centimetres. Contexts three, four
and five were all excavated sequentially, although no depths were recorded.
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Metallic
Ninety of the artefacts were architectural and included fastenings, such as nails
and tacks. These ranged from 18 bullet-headed wire nails, two flathead wire nails,
one brad, two jolthead nails, four bolts and one bolt nut, all of varying sizes, 10
wrought, forged or cut nails with a date of 1870, two cast nails, one case nail, two
tacks, three washers, all of varying size and shape, three flathead tacks, one small
nail, 12 screws and one hook. A number of nail heads were also collected but were
too degraded to establish a positive type. Thirty-two artefacts relating to
tools/equipment were recovered, these included one large staple used in
construction or for packing, 22 fencing staples, two sewing pins, one lugnut, one
thumb tack and one spring washer, which looked modern. The two miscellaneous
items included a piece of scrap metal and a foil top, possibly from a milk or other
bottle. A single coin was recovered dating to 1982. Two unidentified objects were
also recovered, one was possibly used in construction or carpentry and appeared
to be two washers joined with a band, the other was a thin elongated item tapering
to a point, possibly used for piercing.
Fig 4-2 Possibly an Unused Rivett
Wood
Two wooden items were recovered from the Cells: a single burnt match, and part
of a small and flat, fragmented wooden ring with thin metal bands.
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Glass
Nine domestic glass artefacts were recovered from the Cells. These included thin,
approximately one- two millimetre, fragments of glass, possibly from seven
different vessels or items. All of the fragments were tiny and consisted of clear
glass although there were two dark green fragments and one amber fragment.
Also recovered was the corner/base of a clear container and a small complete
bottle, with a rounded lip and no lid or stopper.
Ceramic
Three architectural ceramic black floor tile chips were recovered in the Cells,
although the pieces are small and difficult to analyse.
Miscellaneous
Twenty-six miscellaneous items were recovered from the Cells, these included a
variety of items and functions. Architectural items accounted for 11 of the 26 in
total and consisted of assorted pieces of plastic wire casings, some of which had
copper wire inside. There were seven domestic items, one of which was a leather
off-cut, perhaps indicating leather-working on the site. Three were assorted thin flat
plastic shards, as if broken from a bucket or similar item. The others were pieces of
plaster. One round brown button was recovered, along with three unidentified
items. These included a cream plastic piece with "6.T&E" "15" embossed on both
sides, a soft plastic circular punch-out like for the eyelet of a tarpaulin and a thick
black rubber fragment, possibly a belt from some form of machinery.
Faunal/Floral
Fourteen faunal/floral artefacts were recovered from the Cells. Charcoal was
placed in this category for lack of a more suitable one. Ten miscellaneous bone
fragments were recovered, possibly from rodents and birds, including a complete
bird skull. One piece of bone, possibly from a cow or sheep, was recovered and is
a possible indication of diet, along with two small round seeds and a small pip from
an apricot or likewise, as well as parts of a husk/shell.
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Fig 4-3 Seed Husk/Pip
Paper
Only one paper item was recovered from the Cells, and is modern rubbish, as it is
the adhesive backing from dymo tape.
5.0 Discussion
5.1 Discussion Overview Architectural traits were attributed to 50.2% of the artefacts recovered from the
MPS excavations. A further 10.7% were tools/equipment and would therefore be
more likely to have been related to the construction of the building rather than its
habitation. Only 23.4% of the artefacts were of domestic significance which,
combined with societal/ religious, personal and recreation, leaves only 30.3% of
the total assemblage that can be attributed to domestic and daily life within the
police station.
The majority of the artefacts were concentrated in context one across the entire
site, contexts two and three in the Cells and context four in Room One. Room One
held 47.9% of the total number of artefacts, followed by the Cells, with 40%. The
remainder was spread relatively evenly through context one of Room Two and
Room Three. Three artefacts, however, had no indication as to which room or
context they were excavated from. These included two glass bottles, (which make
up the majority, by weight, of the glass artefact assemblage) and one wooden dolly
peg.
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Fig 5-1 Bottles and Jar
One of the two glass bottles, artefact number 00144 has been identified as a single
collar, ring seal champagne style bottle. Dark green in colour, it lacks any visible
seams and was therefore produced in a turn mould, or paste-mould, and is dated
to 1890-1915 (Lindsey 2006:11). It is also possible that the bottle could have been
machine made and would therefore date to the mid 1910s (Lindsey 2006:17).
Machine made bottles are recognisable by the polished sheen of the surface, as is
present on artefact 00144. Champagne was one of the more common alcoholic
beverages of the mid 19th to early 20th century, although the recognisable
champagne-style bottle was also used to bottle other products, such as sparkling
wines (Lindsey 2006:15).
Artefact 00145, the second dark green glass bottle, is broken, although all pieces
appeared to be present. The bottle shape suggests it contained stout, but it could
also have carried other liquor or mineral water. The wavy, uneven glass and
presence of air bubbles suggests it could also be a beer or ale bottle (Lindsey
2006:8). Mould seams suggest it was produced in a three piece ‘post-bottom’ or
‘Ricketts mould’, manufactured between 1820-1920 (Lindsey 2006:6). It has been
embossed with the words “JOHNSON LIVERPOOL TRADE MARKS
REGISTERED” and an iconic compass.
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Fig 5-2 Assortment of Nails from Across the Site
Nails dated to 1870 were recovered across all contexts in Room One. Nails
recovered in higher contexts were possibly deposited when the floor boards were
removed immediately prior to the excavation. Trampling during excavation
distributed the nails both vertically and horizontally throughout the room and would
have had a similar effect on all of the deposits recovered (Nielson:2001 483-489).
This means that dates identified for any of the recovered artefacts do not
necessarily apply to the deposit from which they were recovered. For example,
Room One context four yielded two coins dating to 1950 and 1966, as well as nails
dated to 1869-1870.
Fig 5-3 Three Coins collected from Room One and the Cells
Clean, new modern screws were also recovered from this same context. There is
no way that these artefacts were deposited at the same time, causing doubt in the
chronology of Room One. As a second example of typhonic movement, weathered
safety pins and bobby pins were recovered from context three, and were clearly
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Hayley Heffernan 31
older than the screws recovered from context four beneath them, further
supporting a disturbance in the stratigraphy relating to the deposition of artefacts.
Fig 5-4 A Hat Pin and Four Bobby Pins Collected from Across the Site
5.2 Room One Not surprisingly, many of the artefacts recovered from MPS were located in Room
One. Room One is positioned off the kitchen (and as the kitchen was traditionally
the centre, or hub of the house, Room One could possibly have incorporated some
of the over flow, depending on its original use). It contained artefacts deposited
before its construction in 1917, as well as when it was being used as a domestic
residence. Context seven incorporated a post hole, indicating that the area had an
outdoor use prior to the construction of the room.
A lot of the architectural artefacts, including scrap metal, and nails were possibly
deposited during the construction of the original police station in 1892 or during the
construction of the 1917 extension. These items are larger, bulkier and also
include a cork, dolly pegs and a pair of men’s boots, and would therefore not have
fallen through the floor boards, meaning that they pre-date 1917 and the
construction of phase two (see Appendix One).
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Fig 5-5 Dolly Pegs
Fig 5-6 Boots Uncovered from Room One
The boots appeared to have been placed carefully rather than thrown into the
south-eastern corner of Room One, just next to the doorway. It has been
suggested that the presence and placement of the boots could be related to the
concept of ‘ritual objects’, which was still present in early 20th C Australia. Shoes
are considered the most common of these ritual objects and were placed in
chimneys, and roof and floor cavities as a response to folk magic and a fear of
witchcraft (Evans 2009:8-9). Nails found in Room One, and in other areas of the
site, date to 1870 a long time before the construction, and therefore indicate reuse.
Domestic and personal items recovered indicate habitation of the building by men,
women and children. The majority of these items are small and used in everyday
domestic life and could have been deposited either before or after the construction
of the room.
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Fig 5-7 Three Safety Pins and Two Sewing Pins
Fig 5-8 Buttons, Beads and a Gaming Disk Collected from Across the Site
Newspapers dating to 1891 and 1892 could have either been deposited before
construction of Room One or after its construction, as a result of rodent activity.
Bones recovered were domestic in nature, and had evidence of gnawing
suggesting they were transported by rodents.
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Fig 5-9 Faunal Remains
Fig 5-10 Faunal Remains
Fig 5-11 Faunal Remains
No significant glass or ceramic artefacts were recovered from Room One. This
suggests that outside the original kitchen door was not the place for rubbish
disposal, or that the area may have been dugout and flattened off during the
second phase of construction. In this case the ceramic and glass deposits may
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Hayley Heffernan 35
have been moved to another location. Unfortunately the area around the police
station has now been bitumized and any ceramic or glass left from the period of
occupation will have been buried.
5.3 Room Two Room Two contained very few artefacts, the majority of which were architectural
and included scrap metal and nails dated to 1869-1870, the same date range as
the nails recovered from Room One. As only a single context in Room Two was
excavated, all of the items recovered were from context one, suggesting little to no
disturbance of this area of the site.
A single bobby pin was recovered and suggests, like Room One, the presence of
at least one female in the building. A match and match box coincide with the
presence of a fire place. Although the matchbox is squashed, it is relatively intact
which would suggest that, if it was deposited through the floor boards, it was done
so deliberately.
Fig 5-12 Wooden Matchbox and Matches Recovered from Room Two
5.4 Room Three
Like Room Two, Room Three yielded very few artefacts, the majority of which were
nails. All but the paper were recovered from context one. The newspaper was
recovered from context three and revealed a date of 1890. This was found under
nails found in higher contexts which were dated to 1870. This, again, supports a
theory of nail reuse, but also raises questions about the presence of newspaper
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Hayley Heffernan 36
that predates the construction. As the newspaper was recovered from deeper
deposits, it is likely that it was on site before the construction of the Police Station.
Matches recovered are relevant in relation to the fire place and, along with the
recovery of a button, indicate domestic activity. Domestic bone was recovered and,
like that uncovered in Room One and Room Two, some of which was possibly
transported by rodents. A small bi-valve shell recovered would most probably have
been transported to the site in the sand used to create the mortar.
5.5 Cells Like the internal rooms, the majority of the material recovered from the Cells was
architectural in nature, and included various types of nails, bolts and screws, with a
common date of 1870 (Varman 1980:104). One jolthead nail, however, has a post
1925 date in New Zealand, suggesting it was used in Australia around the same
time, and could be related to the 1921 extension of the building. The variety of
nails, bolts and screws recovered from the cells suggests they may have been
used for storage after the police station closed in 1967, after the cells were no
longer used to hold inmates.
Evidence of post depositional disturbance can be seen. A coin dated to 1982 was
recovered from context two (See Fig 5-3), however the post 1925 jolthead nail and
others from 1870 were excavated from context one. This suggests either
disturbance, or a redeposition of earlier artefacts at a later date. Rodent bones and
gnawing of domestic bones indicate the presence of rodent activity within the Cells.
Such activity could have contributed to the post depositional disturbance of the
material under the floor.
A single burnt match was recovered from the Cells. This would coincide with the
lack of electricity and perhaps the use of gas or oil lamps for light. Other
possibilities for its deposition are related to the presence of small glass shards.
The Cells are located down hill from the main building. The movement or flow of
water as a result of rain could have washed the small fragments of glass under the
Cells where they collected. It is also possible that such fragments were deposited
before the Cells were built. The small glass bottle recovered from the Cells was in
good condition and showed no signs of damage or wear, suggesting deliberate
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
Hayley Heffernan 37
placement in relation to storage rather than disposal. A single button recovered
suggests human presence, but isn’t very enlightening in terms of activities within
the Cells.
5.6 Response to Research Questions
Research Question One
Is there any evidence for the standard of living in Mitcham in the late 19th and early
20th centuries?
Faunal remains excavated from the MSP site in 2008 contained bone as a result of
domestic discard. Some bone showed evidence of butchery and therefore cuts of
meat could possibly be identified as a result. There was very little glass or ceramic
recovered from the site, none of which was identifiable. Personal items, such as
buttons, were mostly made of plastic and therefore hold little indication of status or
class.
Research Question Two
What evidence is there for police activities or procedures in the late 19th/early 20th
centuries?
No evidence of policing activities could be identified from the artefact collection of
MPS.
Research Question Three
Do the cells contain information relating to the activities of prisoners?
The Cells contained no direct information relating to the prisoners and there was a
lack of relevant personal or domestic items. Lack of personal items could be
interpreted as a lack of activity within the cells, but it unknown as to how often the
cells were used. It is more likely that the design of the floor boards, tongue-in-
groove, meant few items could slip through.
Research Question Four
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How does this compare/contrast to domestic arrangements and standards in the
domestic household?
There was a much greater variety of personal items recovered from the domestic
dwelling. This is not surprising when contrasted with the cells. The Police Station
would have been occupied nearly all of the time and housed a variety of activities
and people. The presence of more people produces more artefacts, with more
chances of something being lost and falling between the floor boards.
Research Question Five
What evidence is there for women and children living in the house? What does
this tell us about gender or childhood in Mitcham in the late nineteenth/early 20th
centuries?
There is a lot of evidence suggesting women and children lived in the police station.
A single hat or shawl pin was recovered, along with many hair/bobby pins. This
suggests the presence of at least one woman in the house. Smaller decorative
buttons, including two made of mother-of-pearl, indicate the presence of women
and/or children. A chip from a blue marble was recovered, along with a red circular
disk, possibly a gaming piece, several coloured pencils, two puzzle pieces and a
possible limb from a stuffed doll or animal. These toys or ‘play things’ suggest the
presence of children, or at least one child. The toy fragments recovered suggest a
boy was present, yet a lack of more gender-specific play things could mean it was
a small girl who simply enjoyed playing marbles. The presence of a girl would also
coincide with the recovery of bobby pins and more decorative buttons. Three
safety pins were recovered, all of various sizes. It is possible that at least the larger
of the three was used as a nappy pin, as it appears too large to be used for
anything more practical. Thus, the possible presence of a baby or small child in
nappies is noted. This could be the same child who later played marbles and used
the coloured pencils. Yet nothing is known of the specifications (size or
composition), the family/families, or their length of habitation within the Police
Station. The exact number of women and children is unknown. The artefacts,
however, do not reveal anything specific about gender roles or childhood activities
in late 19th/ early 20th century Mitcham.
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Research Question Six
What evidence is there for the occupation and function of the various rooms within
the Police Station? Did these uses remain constant throughout the regular
changes of occupants, or can changes in the use of various parts of the building be
discerned through the archaeology? What can this tell us about the changing
nature of policing as an activity in Mitcham throughout the 20th century?
Evidence for the occupation of various rooms within the Police Station is
represented by the number of artefacts recovered in each of the rooms. Room One
yielded the highest percentage of items in the entire site, as well as the highest
percentages of personal and domestic items. This suggests that Room One
contained the majority of activities relating to domestic use. Although it is not clear
that these items belong to the occupation of Room One, they could pre-date its
construction. Room Two and Room Three had very few artefacts and the majority
of them consisted of burnt matches and architectural items, such as nails. The
architectural items can provide no information regarding the use of the rooms.
Matches, however, are associated with the fire place and suggest the rooms were
used but there is no indication of what they were used for. Due to the disturbance
of materials in Room One and the lack of materials in Rooms Two and Three,
along with the absence of glass and ceramic artefacts, it is impossible to comment
on how the use of the rooms might have changed with the occupants. The lack of
datable artefacts makes it impossible to comment on the changing nature of
policing in Mitcham.
5.7 Problems and Limitations Various problems and constraints arose during the cataloguing and research
elements of this report. Some of these may, or may not, have affected the outcome
and results and should therefore be mentioned in detail.
The first problem was identified when it was discovered that the artefacts had not
been cleaned, bagged or labelled correctly, as indicated in the excavation proposal.
In some cases dates and relevant room/trench numbers were missing. The lack of
trench number caused problems when identifying where on the site exactly specific
artefacts were found. The two main mistakes were the indication of the east and
west sides in Room One and the east and west sides in the cells. Fortunately
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
Hayley Heffernan 40
Rm1S and Rm1N are only two side of the same room, therefore, as long as Rm1
was indicated on the bags locality, then some sort of relative positioning was
obtainable. Likewise, in the case of the cells. Three of the significant artefacts
collected on the site, including two glass bottles and a dolly peg, had no labels to
indicate where or when they were found.
The lack of cleaning and bagging onsite created more work in the lab. Dirty objects
had made bags dirty and therefore artefacts needed to be transferred into clean
bags after having been brushed clean. According to Heritage Victoria items such
as metals, leather, textiles, wood, weathered glass, bone, ivory and mother of pearl
should not be washed (Heritage Victoria 2004:12). Brushing clean the dry dusty
objects caused issues in relation to health hazards. Lack of windows and
ventilation in the lab made it unpleasant to work there.
Some of the artefacts were too light to be weighed using the electronic scales. The
minimum weight for the scales was 0.1g. Hence the items consisting of two
matches, several locks of human hair and a small rubber band were prescribed a
weight value of <0.1g. The opposite was also the case. Three items, including two
glass bottles and a pair of men’s boots, were too heavy for the scales, at a
maximum loading of 600g; these items were weighed using the electronic scales
with weights of >600g.
Lack of appropriate comparative sources made it increasingly difficult to date
accurately many of the artefacts. Some sources on 19th century nail production
allowed for some of the nails to be dated, and two bottles were dated using a
comprehensive web site outlining manufacturing techniques by analysing mould
seams. Coins have manufacturing dates printed upon them and therefore provide
a maximum date for deposition, as do newspapers. Yet many nails, bolts and
screws were not datable due to a lack of comparative sources. A lack of credible
sources made it difficult to date the matchbox brand let alone the production of the
box itself. The pair of men’s boots requires comparative sources to establish an
exact date.
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6.0 Conclusions
The 2008 MPS excavation, surprisingly, revealed very little about the occupation
and use of the Police Station. Although both domestic and personal items were
uncovered, the majority of the artefacts were architecturally-based and tell us
nothing of the occupation of the building only of its construction. However scant the
evidence, there is the suggestion of the presence of women and children, although
the lack of any ceramic or substantial glass artefacts hindered the ability to
recognise the class or status of the occupants. The limited area for excavations in
the Cells revealed very little in relation to the activities or treatment of inmates.
The presence of the men’s boots raised questions about whether or not these were
purposefully deposited and what this could mean in relation to the previous
occupants. The concept of folk magic is certainly a possibility, since boots, articles
of clothing, children’s toys, books and dead cats are often associated with floor and
roof cavities and fire places (Evans 2009:8). The use of ‘ritual objects’ as a way of
warding off evil spirits was a response to fears of witchcraft still present in the early
20th century. Although only a recent idea in Australia, this avenue could potentially
provide insight into the daily lives and understanding of the Police Station
occupants and society in late 19th/early 20th century Mitcham.
Limited access to the subfloor areas of the Cells, Room Two and Room Three is
reflected in the small number and limited range of artefacts recovered from these
areas, which is evident when compared to the much larger and more varied
collection from Room One. However, tongue in groove floor boards in the Cells
would have prevented objects from falling between them, resulting in a lack of finds.
The three other internal rooms were not open to excavation. Furthermore, the
bitumizing of the area surrounding the building meant that no trenches could be
placed externally in order to search for a rubbish dump. These limitations resulted
in the exploration of only a small proportion of the Police Station, hindering results
and therefore the ability fully to know and understand the past occupational history
of the building.
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6.1 Recommendations Recommendations for the long term storage of the artefacts were outlined in the
project proposal and are as follows; “any artefacts with the potential to tell a story
of the old Mitcham Police Station will be curated locally and stored for interpretive
display by the Mitcham Heritage Centre and Mitcham City Council. All artefacts
without long term interpretive potential will be reburied on site. The location for
any reburied material will be noted in the final site report" (Burke 2008:5).
Appendix Seven lists 70 proposed artefacts which are representative of the total
collection recovered from the site. For conservation reasons these artefacts
should be kept in a cool dry place out of direct sunlight and only handled when
necessary. Such conditions prevent further deterioration.
6.2 Further Research
Suggestions for further research include;
-Special analysis of the domestic faunal remains in order to establish meat cuts
and possibly status;
-Further analysis of selected artefacts could produce manufacturing dates and
therefore contribute to possible depositional processes on the site;
-The location of the external rubbish dump in the car park of the police station
would yield more artefacts and a greater understanding of domestic life in early
20th C Mitcham.
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References
Burke, H. 2008 Mitcham Research Design. Unpublished proposal to the
Department of Environment and Heritage and the Mitcham City Council.
Evans, I. 2009 Old Houses Harbor Secrets of Mystical Past. In Heritage Matters,
Heritage Council of Western Australia, 28:8-9.
Farr and Co Contractors 1891 Specification of work to be done in building a Police
Station at Mitcham. Office of the Superintendent of Public Buildings, Mitcham
Heritage Centre, Adelaide, Australia.
Heritage Victoria. 2004 Archaeological Artefacts Management Guidelines, Version
2. Heritage Victoria, Melbourne.
Lindsey, B 2006 Historic Glass Bottle Identification and Information Website
Retrieved 2009 from http://www.sha.org/bottles/index.htm. Bureau of Land
Management- Klamath Falls Resource Area, Oregon.
Linke, V. 2008 Chronology: Mitcham Police Station. Unpublished manuscript
Mitcham Local History Service and Heritage Research Centre. Mitcham, Australia.
Mitcham City Council 2009 City of Mitcham Website Retrieved 27th March from
http://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=230
Nielson, A.E. 1991 Trampling the archaeological record: an experimental study. American
Antiquity 56(3):483-503.
South Australian Heritage Council 2003 Heritage Places Act, South Australia.
Unley Museum 2001 Pathways to the Past, Unley Museum, South Australia.
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
Hayley Heffernan 44
Varman, R.V.J. 1980 The Nail as a Criterion for the Dating of Building and Building
Sites (Late 18th Century to 1900). In Birmingham, J and D. Bairstow (eds), Papers
in Australian Historical Archaeology, pp.104-112. The Australian Society for
Historical Archaeology, Sydney.
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
Hayley Heffernan 45
Appendix One. Old Mitcham Police Station, 103 Princes Rd, Mitcham. Plan showing phases of construction and approximate trench location. (Not to Scale).
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
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Appendix Two. SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT Heritage Victoria - Artefact Management Guidelines.
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE. (Criteria adopted by the Heritage Council on 6 March 1997 pursuant to Sections 8(c) and 8(2) of the Heritage Act 1995) CRITERION A. The historical importance, association with or relationship to Victoria's history of the place or object. CRITERION B. The importance of a place or object in demonstrating rarity or uniqueness. CRITERION C. The place or object’s potential to educate, illustrate or provide further scientific investigation in relation to Victoria's cultural heritage. CRITERION D. The importance of a place or object in exhibiting the principal characteristics or the representative nature of a place or object as part of a class or type of places or objects. CRITERION E. The importance of the place or object in exhibiting good design or aesthetic characteristics and/or in exhibiting a richness, diversity or unusual integration of features CRITERION F. The importance of the place or object in demonstrating or being associated with scientific or technical innovations or achievements. CRITERION G. The importance of the place or object in demonstrating social or cultural associations. CRITERION H. Any other matter which the Council considers relevant to the determination of cultural heritage significance.
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Appendix Three.
South Australia
Heritage Places Act 1993
An Act to make provision for the identification, recording and conservation of places and objects of non-Aboriginal heritage significance; to establish the South Australian Heritage Council; and for other purposes.
Part 5—Special protection
Division 1—Places or objects of particular significance 25—Places of geological, palaeontological or speleological
significance A person must not, without a permit from the Council—
(a) excavate or disturb a State Heritage Place designated as a place of geological, palaeontological or speleological significance; or
(b) remove geological, palaeontological or speleological specimens from such a place.
Maximum penalty: $75 000.
26—Places of archaeological significance A person must not, without a permit from the Council—
(a) excavate or disturb a State Heritage Place designated as a place of archaeological significance; or
(b) remove archaeological artefacts from such a place. Maximum penalty: $75 000.
27—Protection of archaeological artefacts (1) A person must not, without a permit from the Council—
(a) excavate or disturb any land (not designated as a place of archaeological significance) for the purpose of searching for or recovering archaeological artefacts of heritage significance; or
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
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(b) excavate or disturb any land (not designated as a place of archaeological significance) knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that the excavation or disturbance will or is likely to result in an archaeological artefact of heritage significance being discovered, exposed, moved, damaged or destroyed.
Maximum penalty: $75 000.
28—Damage to or disposal of objects (1) A person must not, without a permit from the Council, damage, destroy or
dispose of—
(a) a geological, palaeontological or speleological specimen removed from a State Heritage Place designated as a place of geological, palaeontological or speleological significance (whether removed before or after the entry of that place in the Register); or
(b) an archaeological artefact removed from a State Heritage Place designated as a place of archaeological significance (whether removed before or after the entry of that place in the Register).
Maximum penalty: $75 000.
(2) A person must not, without a permit from the Council, damage, destroy or dispose of an object entered in the Register (either as a provisional or confirmed entry) under section 14(2)(b). Maximum penalty: $75 000.
29—Permits (1) A permit may be granted on such conditions as the Council thinks fit and those
conditions may, for example—
(a) require that the operations to be carried out in pursuance of the permit be supervised by a person with appropriate professional qualifications and experience specified in the permit;
(b) provide for the notification of the discovery or recovery of any specified classes of specimens, artefacts or other objects under the permit;
(c) provide that geological, palaeontological or speleological specimens, archaeological artefacts or other objects recovered or removed in the course of the operations are to belong to the Crown;
(d) make provision for the protection and curation of any such specimens, artefacts or other objects.
Part 7—Miscellaneous 36—Damage or neglect (1) A person who—
(a) intentionally or recklessly damages a State Heritage Place; or
(b) engages in conduct knowing that it will or might, or being recklessly indifferent as to whether it will or might, destroy or reduce the heritage significance of a State Heritage Place,
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
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is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty: $120 000.
(2) A person who undertakes any action that—
(a) damages a State Heritage Place; or
(b) destroys or reduces the heritage significance of a State Heritage Place,
is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty: $50 000.
(3) A person who—
(a) fails to take reasonable care of a State Heritage Place; or
(b) fails to comply with any prescribed requirement concerning—
(i) the protection of a State Heritage Place; or
(ii) the state of repair of a State Heritage Place,
is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty: $25 000.
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Appendix Four. MPS Photographs Date: 05/06/2009 Site SSS142 Flinders University Camera: Nikon DX Photographer Hayley Heffernan Photo No. Artefact No. Description
HH050609001 00063,00071,00066,00008, 00068, 00011, 00104 Assorted nails
HH050609002 00063,00071,00066,00008, 00068, 00011, 00104 Assorted nails
HH050609003 00117, 00119, 00129 Wooden dolly pegs HH050609004 00117, 00119, 00129 Wooden dolly pegs HH050609005 00117, 00119, 00129 Wooden dolly pegs HH050609006 00133, Matchbox HH050609007 00133, Matchbox
HH050609008 00133, 00127, 00131, 00132, 00134 Matchbox and matches
HH050609009 00133, 00127, 00131, 00132, 00134 Matchbox and matches
HH050609010 00121, 00122, 00120, 00128 Pencils HH050609011 00040, 00041, 00098 Coins, front HH050609012 00040, 00041, 00098 Coins, back HH050609013 00001, 00057, 00004, 00030 Hat/shawl pin, hair/bobby pins HH050609014 00001, 00057, 00004, 00030 Hat/shawl pin, hair/bobby pins HH050609015 00118, Paintbrush/quill HH050609016 00155, Tapered leather tube/nozzle HH050609017 00155, Tapered leather tube/nozzle HH050609018 00003, 00005, 00006, 00091 Safety pins, sewing pins HH050609019 00003, 00005, 00006, 00091 Safety pins, sewing pins
HH050609020 00147, 00168, 00024 Unknown long, thin ceramic and metallic objects
HH050609021 00217, Unknown metal pointed object
HH050609022
00160, 00159, 00167, 00162, 00163, 00157, 00158, 00184, 00038, 00170, 00039, 00051, 00161, 00169, 00139, 00137 Plastic gaming disk, buttons, beads
HH050609023
00160, 00159, 00167, 00162, 00163, 00157, 00158, 00184, 00038, 00170, 00039, 00051, 00161, 00169, 00139, 00137 Plastic gaming disk, buttons, beads
HH050609024 00213, 00202 Seeds, pip HH050609025 00207, 00214 Bone HH050609026 00207, 00214 Bone HH050609027 00200, 00204, 00206 Bone HH050609028 00200, 00204, 00206 Bone HH050609029 00201, 00205, 00209 Bone HH050609030 00201, 00205, 00209 Bone HH050609031 00203, Bone HH050609032 00203, Bone HH050609033 00208, Bone HH050609034 00208, Bone
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HH050609035 00215, Bird skull HH050609036 00211, 00214 Bone HH050609037 00211, 00214 Bone HH050609038 00143, 00144, 00145 x2 bottles, jar HH050609039 00143, 00144, 00145 x2 bottles, jar HH050909040 00231, Wood plane HH050609041 00231, Wood plane HH050609042 00154, Boots HH050609043 00154, Boots HH050609044 00154, Boots
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Appendix Five. Heritage Victoria Function Key Word List
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Heritage Victoria Function Key Word List
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Heritage Victoria Function Key Word List
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Heritage Victoria Function Key Word List
Old Mitcham Police Station- Archaeological Artefact Analysis
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Heritage Victoria Function Key Word List
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Heritage Victoria Function Key Word List
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Appendix Six. List of context sheets for MPS site. Rooms Context Rm1 East Rm1 West Rm2 Rm3 Cells East Cells West
1 Missing Missing Present, inc depths
Present, no depths
Present, inc depths
Present, no depths
2 Missing Missing Missing Present, no depths
Present, inc depths Missing
3 Present, inc depths Missing N/A
Present, inc depths Missing Missing
4 Present, no depths Missing N/A N/A Missing Missing
5 Present, inc depths Missing N/A N/A Missing Missing
6 Missing Present, inc depths N/A N/A N/A N/A
7 N/A Present, inc depths N/A N/A N/A N/A
Notes
2 sheets present for context 5
Another unlabelled context sheet present
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Appendix Seven List of Artefacts for preservation
Artefact N
o.
Square/Trench
Context
Activity
Function 1
Function 2
Significance
Condition
MN
I General Description
Date/
Date range
00001 Rm 1 1 Hat pin Personal Costume High Good 1 Plain, undecorated hat or shawl pin
00003 Rm 1 3 Safety Pin Tools/equipment Sewing High Weathered 1 Safety pin, Embossed text 'FLIAMLE'
00004 Rm 1 3 Bobby pins Personal Grooming High Poor 2 Bobby pins (x2) used for hair
00005 Rm 1 3 Safety Pin Tools/equipment Sewing High Weathered 1 Safety pin, possibly for sewing or
baby nappies
00006 Rm 1 3 Safety Pin Tools/equipment Sewing High Good 1 Safety pin, possibly for sewing or
baby nappies
00030 Rm1 4 Bobby pin Personal Grooming High Poor 1 Bobby pin, used for hair
00038 Rm1 4 Button Personal Costume High Poor 1 Button, shank missing
00039 Rm 1 4 Button Personal Costume High Good 1 Button, used on clothing
00040 Rm 1 4 Coin Societal/ religious Money High Good 1 One Cent Australian piece 1966
00041 Rm 1 4 Coin Societal/ religious Money High Good 1 Three Pence, Australian piece 1950
00046 Rm 1 5 Spherical
pellet Miscellaneous Miscellaneous High Weathered 1 Unknown artefact
00051 Rm 1 6 Button Personal Costume High Good 1 Button, embossed with '*THE
CLIMAX*'
00057 Rm 2 1 Bobby pin Personal Grooming High Poor 1 Bobby pin, used for hair
00079 Cells 1 Staple Tools/equipment Miscellaneous Medium Poor 1 Staple, use for construction or
packaging
00080 Cells 1 Staples Tools/equipment Fastenings Medium Good 3 Fencing staple
00091 Cells 2 Pins Tools/equipment Sewing High Poor 2 Pins, used for sewing
00098 Cells 2 Coin Societal/ religious Money High Good 1 1 cent Australian piece 1982
00117 UK UK Dolly peg Domestic Utensils High Good 1 Wooden dolly peg
00118 Rm1 1 Paint
brush/quill Domestic Utensils High Poor 1 Paint brush/quill
00119 Rm1 3 Dolly peg Domestic Utensils High Good 1 Wooden dolly peg
00120 Rm1 3 Pencil Domestic Utensils High Poor 1 Partial pencil "W_T_PU500T 159
Payneham Rd. PHONE"
00121 Rm1 3 Pencil Domestic Utensils High Poor 1 Pencil
00122 Rm1 3 Pencil Domestic Utensils High Weathered 1
Partial red coloured pencil "Sovereign" Labelled with biro "?
SAWYER"
00127 Rm1 4 Matches Domestic Utensils Medium Poor 3 Burnt matches
00128 Rm1 4 Pencil Domestic Utensils High Poor 1 Partial pencil, painted red
00129 Rm1 5 Dolly peg Domestic Utensils High Good 1 Wooden dolly peg
00131 Rm1 6 Matches Domestic Utensils Medium Poor 4 Burnt matches
00132 Rm2 1 Matches Domestic Utensils Medium Poor 1 Burnt match
00133 Rm2 1 Match box Domestic Utensils High Poor 1
Match box "K___O OR BLUE RATED 'HAVELOCK' ADE IN
__EDEN"
00134 Rm3 1 Matches Domestic Utensils Medium Poor 2 Burnt Matches
00136 Cells 1 Match Domestic Utensils Medium Poor 1 Burnt match
00137 Rm1 3 Bead Personal Costume High Good 1 Facetted bead with hole for stringing
00138 Rm1 4 Marble
chip Recreation Play Medium Poor 1 Chip off of glass marble
00139 Rm1 6 Bead Personal Costume High Good 1 Spherical bead with hole for stringing, wear around hole
00143 Cells 1
Small glass bottle Domestic Container High Good 1 Small glass bottle
00144 N/A N/A Glass bottle Domestic Container High Good 1
Glass bottle embossed on bottom "955"
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00145 N/A N/A Glass bottle Domestic Container High Good 1
Glass bottle embossed: "Johnson Liverpool Trade Marks (compass)
Registered"
00147 Rm1 4 Slate pencil Domestic unknown Medium Poor 1 Slate pencil
00154 Rm1 1 Pair of boots Personal Costume High Poor 2
Pair of men’s leather boots, with sole and laces partially intact
00155 Rm1 1
Tapered leather
tube Unknown Unknown Medium Poor 1 Tapered leather tube, with stitching,
possible toy arm/limb?
00156 Rm1 1 Comb Personal Grooming Medium Weathered 1 Plastic hair comb, with reddish-brown
residue
00157 Rm1 1 Button Personal Costume High Good 1 Mother of peal, circular, two hole
button
00158 Rm1 1 Button Personal Costume High Good 1 Grey, circular, plastic, four hold
button
00159 Rm1 1 Button Personal Costume High Good 1 Blue, circular, plastic, two hole button
00160 Rm1 1 Gaming
disk Recreation Play High Good 1 Red, circular, plastic, embossed with
WW2 solider
00161 Rm1 1 Button Personal Costume High Good 1
Red (with gold paint residue), circular, plastic, shanked button,
textured pattern
00162 Rm1 1 Button Personal Costume High Good 1 Brown, circular, plastic, four hole
button
00163 Rm1 3 Button Personal Costume High Good 1
Brown, circular, plastic, two hole button, browny-orange thread still
attached
00168 Rm1 3 Slate pencil Domestic Unknown Medium Poor 1 Slate pencil
00169 Rm1 4 Button Personal Costume High Good 1 Sliver, circular, mother of pearl, four
hole button
00170 Rm1 4 Button Personal Costume High Poor 1 Fabric covered, circular button,
shank missing
00176 Rm1 5 piece of hair clip Personal Costume Medium Poor 1
Possible decorative piece from a hair clip
00178 Rm1 6 Cork Domestic Beverage Medium Good 1 Cork from bottle with mortar attached
00184 Rm3 1 Button Personal Costume High Good 1 Dark grey, circular, plastic, four hole
button
00187 Cells 1 Button Personal Costume High Good 1 Brown, circular, plastic four hole
button
00217 Cells 2 Rivet Tool/equipment Fastening High Poor 1 Unused rivet
00221 Rm1 4 puzzle piece Domestic Toy High Weathered 1 Puzzle piece, no picture/print
00226 Rm1 6 puzzle piece Domestic Toy High Poor 1 Puzzle piece, no picture/print
00231 N/A N/A wood plane Tool/equipment Hardware High Weathered 1
Wood plane, metal shaving base/blade missing