Toys of yesteryear escape fire damage

It was a lucky escape for several vintage toys this week, having been moved into the interpretive centre inside Railway House for an exhibition before the Busselton Museum caught fire Tuesday afternoon.

Busselton Historical Society’s Sue Paterson said the toys on display — including dolls, board games, a Knight Rider car, metal animal figurines and a Mills and Wares biscuit tin — had been stored on the upstairs level of the museum for many years.

“It was just luck I had them in the boot of my car, otherwise they would have been quite smoked out,” she said.

“There are a lot of toys adults will reminisce over and it gives the kids something to look at, too.”

The toys will remain on display until the end of May to show visitors some of the items displayed at the museum, housed in the Old Butter Factory.

City of Busselton cultural development officer Jacquie Happ said the first exhibition at the interpretive centre was on group settlement with railway memorabilia.

“We try to change the exhibition every couple of months to gain interest and help people find the butter factory,” she said.

“This time we decided to do toys for the school holidays.”