Wilmington Toy Museum: In the Outback Region of South Australia
Nestled in the Southern Flinders Ranges, Wilmington is a quaint sleepy little town where time passes slowly. But step inside David Christie's Toy Museum and a lifetime can fly by in seconds.
That was certainly the case for the two blokes we met on a recent visit to the museum. Robin Armitage and his mate Ian Garske and their wives are from Armidale in New South Wales and they drove into Wilmington on their way home from an around-Australia trip. Their visit to the museum proved that regardless of a man's age, there's a little boy just waiting to get out.
Robin marveled at finding such a toy collection in a place the size of Wilmington. “We’ve seen a lot of things on our trip,” he explained, “but nothing like this - it’s unbelievable especially in a little town like this.”
For Robin, memories of a time when he owned more than one vehicle came flooding back when he found a collection of toy cars.
“Here is one of the biggest collections of Land Rovers I have ever seen. I didn't realise so many Land Rovers we made as toys.”
The toys we played with remain an indelible part of our personal makeup. And for some, just one of the toys at Wilmington might be the touchstone for entry into a long forgotten and carefree world.
Dave Christie's collection also has the answer for those with the need for speed - a fantastic electric slot-car racing set takes you back to the days of Formula One racing on the lounge-room floor.
The extent of the toy collection is truly amazing and it allows you to immerse yourself in childhood memories. There are toys assembled from Kellogg’s cereal packs as early as World War Two, and even older toys that were all about turning little girls into young women - like a collection of tiny toy sewing machines from the 30s. Most of them still work too.
David's collection transcends age and gender and he reckons it’s made a big dent in his pocket money too.
“My pocket money was supposed to go on stamps,” he said, “So I used to buy as many stamps for as little amount of money as I could to keep Mum happy and then I used to buy toys with the rest of the money and hide them in the bottom of the wardrobe.”
The wardrobe burst long ago so David had to find something a little bigger. An old service station in the main street was the answer and the museum was born. It now contains one man’s thirty-year obsession, which is still driven by the need to have more of the collectibles he loves most.
“My favourites are the very early Dinky Toys from the time they modeled miniatures. They were named Dinky Toys in 1934... and that's up until 1960.”
David’s motto is simple:
“I think there's a saying that he who dies with the most toys wins.”
And it's a motto David plans to live up to despite offers from other collectors to buy the lot. David turned him down, “I said no, this is my collection. Money isn’t everything.”
No, toys are, at the Wilmington Toy Museum. It's in the town's main street. Entry is $2. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
