When We Were Young

Childhood has changed dramatically over the last 200 years. The mass consumerism of today was non-existent, children often worked to boost the family income, and entertainments were often crafted from found objects or sprang from young imaginations. The History Trust collections trace the changing nature of childhood and the diverse experiences that comprise South Australian childhood across place, time, culture, class and gender. These mementos of young lives reflect the focus of our motor, migration and maritime museums.

‘Life is more fun if you play games’ – Roald Dahl Childhood has changed dramatically over the last 200 years. The mass consumerism of today was non-existent, children often worked to boost the family income, and entertainments were often crafted from found objects or sprang from young imaginations. The History Trust collections trace the changing nature of childhood and the diverse experiences that comprise South Australian childhood across place, time, culture, class and gender. These mementos of childhood reflect the focus of our motor, migration and maritime museums. Children made ship journeys – as migrants or as passengers on cruise ships. The collection includes voyage souvenirs from children’s dinner menus, deckside sports programs, lushly illustrated certificates celebrating crossing of the Equator to keepsakes from exotic ports of call. Others experienced the harrowing journeys of displaced persons and refugees – their only mementos, cherished toys linked to lost homes. In the past, certain playful pursuits were considered fitting for only one gender. Young girls painstakingly stitched embroidered samplers while boys made and raced model boats and toy cars. The beach offered a more gender neutral playground and collections of metal buckets, umbrellas, swimming costumes, and pint-sized deck chairs hint at nostalgic childhoods of sun, surf and sand. Not all were so fortunate. The collection also includes buttons and badges from children’s hospitals, orphanages and homes. Without well-funded social welfare, marginalized children relied on charities (and the button drives that funded them) to reach adulthood.