A WAVE of childhood memories is guaranteed to engulf visitors to a recently opened toy museum in Guildford, Western Australia.
From muppets to Meccano, every cabinet contains a blast from the past.
Iconic toys from the ’50s, ‘60s, and ’70s crowd the shelves. You can spot Robot from Lost in Space, Mr Squiggle, Thunderbirds, Sooty and Sweep.
Pop culture toys from movies and TV abound, from the Flintstones and The Wizard of Oz to Disney, Star Trek, Noddy and Superman. There’s also some present-day favourites, such as Harry Potter.
Owner and collector Kerry Croft’s love of toys began with her first childhood doll.
Since then she has acquired many more vintage dolls and her fascination with toys has never left her. The museum only has room for a third of her vast collection.
Kerry enjoys seeing visitors’ reaction to her loving tribute to childhood.
“It makes people feel very nostalgic,” she said. “The Star Wars toys seem to be the most popular at the moment.”
Husband William said older men particularly liked the train sets.
“Serious toy collectors can take an hour just to look along one shelf,” he said.
“They know the value of the toys; where they are from, which company made them.
“You can tell they are just itching to take them off the shelf and have a play.”
- The museum is behind the couple’s antique store, Trading Treasures, at 163 James Street, Guildford.
