Valued Treasures of the Archive Centre

Many of our valued treasures have come to us when Old Girls are downsizing, families are clearing out a deceased estate or complete strangers find an item which is easily identifiable as coming from St Margaret’s.

The beautiful treasures that we do receive have varied histories. Some have recent connections to our school, and some come to us from Old Girls of the 1920s. Some come with their provenance explained through family connections and others arrive with no names or provenance attached. That is when our investigative skills come to the fore.

A man was browsing in an ‘op shop’ in Adelaide and came across a book with the bookplate from St Margaret’s Albion Heights. He purchased the book, bought it home and did some investigating of his own to determine where this school was. He then sent us the book, and we were able to research its owner.

Recently, our Archive Centre received a silver serviette ring which had been awarded in the 1920s to the winner of the 60-yard dash. The family felt it was time to part with it and asked if we were interested in having it. You can guess my answer, “yes, please!”

Some people do not think we would be interested in a small item – whenever I am asked, the answer is always a resounding “yes”.

We have some truly special “treasures”. I am in the process of listing our most prized items – it could be the 1895 hat badge from Eton High School, the blazer from 1916 with the rowing oars or the pages from a 15th century breviary that we believe was purchased by the Sisters on the first European trip in the early 70s. Could it be the trowel used by Bishop Le Fanu to lay the foundation stone of the first purpose-built building on our campus, West Wing, or the report booklet from a student from 1921? Could it be the trophy donated by our second headmistress, Miss Juliet Lyon, in 1912 or the various pieces of branded china that have found their way back to the centre? Could it be the uniforms or the blazer pockets from so many of our students over the years or the ‘glamourous’ tea frocks that the boarders wore? Each piece has its own history, its own story and all of them go to make up what is our Archive Centre.

So, if you have been wondering what you will do with your school memorabilia, consider the school’s Archive Centre. Anything that has a connection with the school is worthy of inclusion in our archives and would be warmly welcomed to join our collection.

Per Volar Sunata

Mary Surtees

Archivist