Summary
Circular metal rack with six babies' bottles used about 1929. Each bottle marked for 8 ounces or 16 tablespoons.
It appears that the bottles were stored upside down in the rack.
The Methodist Babies Home was opened in 1929. Babies, especially from the inner-city slums, were referred to the home through the Children's Court. From 1929 until the early 1970s the Home's role was to care for babies awaiting adoption. From 1974, the direct care of neglected babies was phased out in favour of family unit-based support services.
According to former nurses who worked at the Babies Home during World War II (who spoke with Elizabeth Willis), tomato sauce bottles were used to feed the babies because babies' bottles were almost unobtainable. The babies were placed on their sides in their cots, and the filled bottle with a rubber teat covered with flannel was propped up on a chaff-filled cushion so that the baby could reach the milk. The nurse then moved onto the next baby.
Physical Description
Circular metal rack for six babies' bottles. Each bottle marked for 8 ounces or 16 tablespoons.
More Information
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Copelen Street Family Services, 09 Nov 1989
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Place & Date Made
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Place & Date Used
Methodist Babies Home, Copelen Street, South Yarra, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1929-1970
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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overall dimensions
19.5 cm (Width), 27.5 cm (Height)
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Maximum dimensions
189 mm (Length), 189 mm (Width), 247 mm (Height), 189 mm (Outside Diameter)
Measurement From Conservation. Sterilizing rack
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Maximum dimensions
52 mm (Length), 52 mm (Width), 183 mm (Height), 52 mm (Outside Diameter)
Measurement From Conservation. Approximate dimensions of each bottle
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Keywords
