Tucker Alarm Till - Allen Bros Post Office Store

DESCRIPTION

TitleTucker Alarm Till - Allen Bros Post Office Store Object TypeObjectDatec.1870DescriptionTucker Alarm Till used at Allen Bros Port Office and Store, Addison Street, Shellharbour.

The coin till has a pine sliding lid. There are eight compartments for coins, and four for notes .

At the back is the metal alarm . There are five metal rods and a once cent (brass) coin.

Provenance and SignifcanceWalter Allen opened a store in Addison Street Shellharbour in 1868, and sold ironmongery, drapery and haberdashery. Clothing and other goods were ordered by catalogue through the store. He conducted a post office from 1871 from the front room of his house, Karamia, next door to the store in Addison Street. A telegraph office was added in 1900.

A report from the Illawarra Steam Navigation Book 1912 stated Allen Bros ‘are always ready to assist visitors planning excursions in the district’. The store met the tourist’s requirements for fishing tackle, bathing costumes and boating supplies.

In 1876, eight years after opening the store, Walter contracted typhoid and died. His wife Charlotte (nee Dunster) carried on as storekeeper and postmistress until her own death just six years later. Members of the Allen family and their relatives the Wickham’s, operated the store and provided continual service to the people of the Shellharbour district for 70 years: selling the business in the 1960s.

Allen’s store and residence still stand today. The Allen family home, Karamia is the site of Tangs Restaurant and the store is on the western side of this building.DonorHodgson, David

CHARACTERISTICS

MaterialThe front of the till is beaded oak and the coin tray insert is made from beech & pine.Dimensions43.5L cm x 40W cm x 11H cm

CONNECTIONS

CollectionObjectsFamilyAllen (Shellharbour)LocalityShellharbour VillagePlaceAllen Bros Post Office & StoreRelated Item1998.62 Last edited by: Annette Charlton

LOCATION

Item LocationOn Exhibition

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Tucker Alarm Till - Allen Bros Post Office Store

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Tucker Alarm Till - Allen Bros Post Office Store