The O'Keefe Collection

A collection of 406 toys, books and school items used on the Western Australian Eastern Goldfields, in Harvey, Maylands and Perth Modern School by two generations of children and teachers. Some items belonged to Kalgoorlie sisters Alvina, Evelyn and Beatrice Straube who were raised in the 1890s and early 1900s. Alvina became a local school teacher and married postmaster George Barker. Their five children, Dorothy, Carmel, Monica, Loretta and George, spent part of their childhoods in Boulder and Leonora between 1916 and 1925 and later in Harvey and Maylands a suburb of Perth. Most items in the collection are childhood items belonging to Monica, but the collection also includes items from Monica's education at Perth Modern School in 1936-37, teacher training at Claremont Teacher's College and later time as a primary school teacher in various Western Australian government and private schools through to her retirement in 1971. The toys and other items reflect families of modest means. There are no grand objects, rather, cheap dolls, ephemeral and home-made toys and simple traditional games such as knuckle bones and marbles. Many are dirty from outdoor play. The extensive range of educational material is reflective of the education experience of two generations of Western Australian students and teachers.

本数据集共收录406件玩具、书籍与校园用品，这些物品曾由两代儿童与教师在西澳大利亚州（Western Australia）东金矿区、哈维（Harvey）、梅兰兹（Maylands）以及珀斯现代学校（Perth Modern School）中使用。其中部分物品来自卡尔古利（Kalgoorlie）的施特劳贝（Straube）三姐妹——阿尔维娜（Alvina）、伊夫林（Evelyn）与比阿特丽斯（Beatrice），她们成长于19世纪90年代至20世纪初。阿尔维娜后来成为当地一名教师，并与邮政局长乔治·巴克（George Barker）成婚。二人共育有五名子女：多萝西（Dorothy）、卡梅尔（Carmel）、莫妮卡（Monica）、洛蕾塔（Loretta）与乔治（George）。1916年至1925年间，孩子们的部分童年时光在博尔德（Boulder）和莱昂诺拉（Leonora）度过，之后则迁居珀斯（Perth）郊区的哈维与梅兰兹。本数据集的绝大多数物品均为莫妮卡的童年旧物，但同时也收录了她1936至1937年在珀斯现代学校就读期间的学习用品、她在克莱蒙特师范学院（Claremont Teacher's College）接受教师培训的相关物品，以及她此后在西澳大利亚州多所公立与私立小学任教直至1971年退休期间的相关物品。这批玩具及其他物品展现了当时家境俭朴的家庭生活面貌，藏品中并无奢华大件物品，多为廉价玩偶、易逝型或自制玩具，以及诸如指关节骨游戏与弹珠等简易传统游戏用具。不少物品因户外玩耍而沾染污渍。丰富多样的教育用品则展现了两代西澳大利亚州学生与教师的教育经历。