Monday, August 05, 2013

Our World Tuesday

Something different this week. Last week we decided to go for a drive up to the Murray River - the biggest in Australia, but not that big by American and European standards. However it is what we've got and vital to the eastern states of Australia.

The drive was very pleasant and we enjoyed a good lunch by the river , but the find of the day was the most amazing antique shop in a small river town called Morgan. It is owned by a retired French polishing teacher and she has been running this amazing shop for many years.  It is housed in a very old cottage - the 4 rooms on the bottom being full to overflowing and she lives above the shop.

The two larger rooms house the 'for sale' items - books, clothing, jewellery, clocks, paintings, bric-a brac, etc.  Every tiny space has been used.







But even more amazing are the back two rooms where the proprietress has her own personal and family collections on display.. One of the the rooms houses a tool collection which I know my husband would give his eye teeth fo asw ell as household items belonging to her family..




The other room blew me away. The owner's mother took up tapestry at the age of 77 when her husband died. When she died at just over 100 (I think) she had completed hundreds of tapestries, which were purchased from he by friends and family so that she could afford to buy more materials. I assumed that she spent the last 25 years or so of her life sitting in her arm chair doing tapestry - not so.  In fact the old lady, Kath App, played competition ten pin bowling until she was 97 and was heavily involved in community work  and other activities.  My photos do not do justice to her amazing achievements.  I could only fit the bottom half of the 13 foot walls into each shot.




If you ever have the opportunity to visit Morgan in South Australia, this is one attraction you must not miss.

Liz Needle - linking with Our World Tuesday.

12 comments:

  1. Thank you for the tip Liz. If I ever get over that way I shall remember to go to Morgan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow! the tapestries are something. i thought the collections were neat, too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I could hours browsing around a shop like that - and your photographs made it very enticing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I WE would love to poke around this shop. It would take hours, I suspect!

    ReplyDelete
  5. oh wow - amazing! What a guerrilla tapestry embroidered she must have been! And what a fascinating shop to browse through. We will be in SAust in a couple of months, so I am going to check out where Morgan is.
    Have a great week. I am linking up to you through Our World Tuesday.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a fabulous find! I could spend days in that shop!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What an amazing place and something that would take more than one day to see properly. I like the idea of that old lady playing ten pin bowls until she was 97!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow!! Almost afraid to move in there. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Its the kind of place you leave the kids outside of!

    The Murray is longer than the Rhine!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

    ReplyDelete
  10. it looks like every inch of wall space is taken (lol), lot seeing all the stuff~

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wonderful place, and I thought we were pretty cool with our Collections but they win hands down :-)

    ReplyDelete