Wembley Ware Society Founder

Foreword by the founder of The Wembley Ware Society

My first contact with Wembley Ware was in Subiaco, Western Australia in the early1990s.

In an antique shop my friend spotted a dhufish vase.  He seemed excited with the find, explaining that his grandmother had one of these very same vases!  He bought this one for himself. I thought it was quite an odd-looking thing, and when he told me it was Wembley Ware, I’m afraid this fact did nothing to make me like it any better.

Today Paul still has his vase, and more than a decade later I have two of them.

It was as a volunteer at the Subiaco Museum in Western Australia that I was to learn more about the china. I spent some time looking at the Calyx, Wembley Ware and Bristile China book and it was the history as written by Mr. Thomson that first held my interest.  Only later did I come to love the china also.

Firmly believing that wonderful Wembley Ware should be seen and enjoyed by everyone, I began to purchase items from second-hand stores, for the collection at the Subiaco Museum. I might add that the prices were very reasonable and at this time I had no idea of the real value of Wembley Ware.

These days I am collecting the items for myself, although my collection is comparatively small. I am enjoying learning more about the various items from members of  the Wembley Ware Society, and from Paul Bisby’s and John Thomson’s great books –see under ‘Publications’.

The Wembley Ware Society’s Archives are rapidly growing in line with our aim to preserve and record the history and identify as many items as possible which were produced by the pottery in Subiaco. It is exciting to see the growing interest in the less-well known ranges of china such a Calyx, Bristile and Australian Fine China.

I am passionate about seeing a Wembley Ware Museum built on the site in Subiaco, Western Australia, where the china factory stood for 85 years, and which is now being re-developed.  It is my hope that the developers of the AFC Site, in Hay Street Subiaco and the City of Subiaco will reach an agreement to develop a plan for a Wembley Ware Museum to be part of the new development. This space should be a showcase for examples of the various types of china and pottery which were produced here over the years.

As a celebration of the unique china made in Subiaco by a talented team of artists and crafts people, the Wembley Ware Museum should be central to history and heritage on the AFC site, and in the City of Subiaco, Western Australia.

Susan Wann, Subiaco WA