Summary

Alternative Name(s): Tea Measure

Stylised tea scoop, in the shape of a clock and a kettle, made of brass alloy and carefully debossed with wording and the time marked four o'clock on the clock - afternoon tea-time. It can be used to measure loose-leaf tea, before brewing in the tea-pot; however, it may have also been kept as a decorative item, and memento of a road trip.

Made by Stokes & Sons of Australia, this scoop has been crafted as a souvenir for a trip to Mount Buffalo State Park, in the Alpine Shire of north-east Victoria. A popular tourist tourist stop enroute the snowfields of Falls Creek, Mount Bulla and associated towns such as Mount Beauty, the site is also part of a long tradition of day-trips from urban Melbourne since the 1920s. Hiking, birdwatching and recreation are popular at Mount Buffalo State Park, chalet and hotel, with dense forest around the peak, and the mount said to resemble a buffalo's physique.

This Stokes design, No. 15733, was used for a variety of tea caddy spoon souvenirs, of recreational tourist sites across Victoria, and also of important events. Versions in fine silver depict the water reservoir and water catchment area at Healseville in the 1960s; and also the royal visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Melbourne, in 1954.

Stokes, and later Stokes & Sons, have a long association of producing commemorative metal ware such as medals, coins, and souvenirs in Australia, since the International Exhibition of 1880. Through a combination of innovation, such as their technique with G.F. Martin in 1867 for electroplating silver, and designs which capture the zeitgeist of the times, Stokes & Sons became the major manufacturer in this line of metal-craft for the 20th century, still mass-producing collectable badges and pins today. Museum Victoria holds a strong collection of items pertaining to and manufactured by the company.

Physical Description

Small, brass disc-shaped spoon. Handle is short and in the shape of a teapot. The bowl of the spoon is inscribed with a clock face which reads four o'clock.

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