Some of my earliest recollections are as a young boy playing in the yard at the Old Curiosity Shop, my mother worked at the Sunshine Buscuit Factory and my grandmother would look after me while she was at work. My grandmother worked at the Old Curiosity Shop and would take me along each day where I grew familiar with the myriad of odd and quirky items that were on display.
I was born in 1965 and my grandmother Verlie Huxtable was the tour guide at the Old Curiosity Shop throughout the 60’s, at this stage it was owned by the Howman family who employed her to take visitors through the house and gardens explaining the history of the place and all the items within.
What some people don’t know is that there is a second residence on the property, a small flat at the back which my mother and grandmother lived in the early 60’s before I was born.
My mother married and my grandmother re married and moved to East St opposite the Sunshine Biscuit Factory, I still have vivid memories of the delicious smell that came from that factory opposite grandmas. Verlie’s husband Jack loved his garden and also enjoyed photography and as a little boy I was facinated with his big box of slides and always enjoyed it when the slides were played on the projector. He took many photos of the Botanical Gardens as well as his own garden and also took pictures around the Old Curiosity Shop. I also remember watching the moon landing on tv with my grandmother who all the grandchildren affectionately called “Marnie” and her husband “Uncle Jack”.
Uncle Jack passed away around this time and the nine grandchildren spent a lot of time visiting Marnie at her house and at the Old Curiosity Shop. Each of us have fond memories and a connection to the quirky, unusual old place.
Verlie worked at the old Curiosity Shop into the 70’s and then retired. When Verlie passed she left me the box of slides which I still have to this day and recently I aquired a slide scanner enabling me to go through the hundreds of images. I found approx 50 slides from the Old Curiosity Shop which I have included here in the Gallery page. This collection of pictures provides a rare insight to the unusual items that were on display during this period.
Brett Warner
