Museum
During the 1930s a number of smaller Lines Bros (UK) Stockbroker Tudor style houses (Tri-ang) were exported here, and some good examples survive today, due in part to their robust build.
The 1950s saw the baby boomers growing up in more affluent homes, where cheaper toys became more plentiful. Smaller, more portable lithographed tin plate houses in flat-pack kits, together with plastic furniture, manufactured by Mettoy (England), Marx (USA) and others, were marketed through larger toy retailers. These houses often were made with plastic doors and windows. Plastic furniture by Kleeware (UK) and Spot-On (UK) and others was also available. Japanese tan lustre childrens tea sets also appeared in the 1950s, together with hand painted china, plastic and tin plate tea sets.
One of the first doll houses to be manufactured in quantity in Australia to the 1/12 scale was designed by Mr John Boundy. The Grange prototype (now in our museum) was developed in Mornington (Victoria) in the early 1970s, as his wife, Jean Boundy, was keenly interested in the miniaturist hobby, following her visits to the UK and USA, and needed a house to scale that looked more in keeping with the Australian Architectural style.
A range of other 1/12 houses were also designed and produced, mainly for the miniaturist hobbiest and collector. Most of these are still in production today, being available in both kit and ready-built form, and are built to a high quality standard.
During the 1970s and 1980s a lot of 1/12 scale furniture was manufactured in Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and exported to Australia, together with some from Europe and the USA. The rise of manufacturing in China since the 1990s has seen a range of lower priced doll houses being manufactured there and exported to Australia in prefabricated form. An extensive range of 1/12 scale furniture is now also manufactured in China.
Interest in doll houses waned during the 70s and 80s due to a massive range of mass marketed plastic and electronic toys.
There now appears to be a trend back to more traditional toys, and a growing appreciation of some of the classic toys of past years.
Since the commencement of the Museum within the National Dollhouse Gallery there is now a comprehensive permanent exhibition of:
30 dollhouses spanning in excess of 100 years
40 room boxes depiciting numerous scenes
Hundreds of dolls, clowns and miniatures (mid 1800s to 2009)
For your enjoyment we have images below of some of our exhibits
Beautifully handmade bridal gowns and accessories. 2007
Decorated & lit dollhouse 1/12 scale
"Annie's Antiques & Old Wares" shop 1/12 scale