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Metal jug
Metal jug

Metal jug

Dateearly 20th century
Object number00047483
NameJug
MediumMetal
DimensionsOverall: 271 x 287 x 240 mm, 1661 g
ClassificationsTools and equipment
Credit LineANMM Collection Transfer from Australian Maritime Safety Authority
DescriptionThis large jug with a pouring lip from the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service is painted silver and is marked DOT, or Department of Transport.HistoryThe lighthouse was often the first Australian landmark sighted by settlers and travellers. In the lead up to Federation, lighthouses and maritime issues were vital to the colonies. The gold rushes of 1850s saw a trebling of the ships coming to Australia and a marked increase in shipwrecks on the southeast coast of the continent in particular. An intercolonial conference was held in 1856 to make the ‘sea highway’ around Australia safer. By the late 1800s states were anxious to transfer the responsibility and expense of maintaining lighthouses to the new Commonwealth of Australia. After 1901 maritime navigation and safety became a Commonwealth concern and the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service was formed. The lighthouse keeper’s most important duty was to keep the light working, but he - and often his family - also had do such tasks as clean the lens, wash down the sea spray, oil the clockwork cables and weights to keep the lights turning, and report on maritime weather.SignificanceLighthouses have played a significant role in Australia’s history since the early nineteenth century.