Category: Gold Rush Object

Absinthe and oysters This absinthe bottle was found in a rubbish pit at Little Lon (in Melbourne’s north-east corner) with nine more just like it, along with French champagne bottles, imported spirits and 300 odd oyster shells. The occupant, Mrs Alicia Bond (aka Sheridan), was supposedly running a grocery shop at this house, but why would a grocer be discarding such things? Object 17 Gold Rush: 20 Objects, 20 Stories Object courtesy Museum Victoria.   <Previous Object   |   Next Object> Little Lonsdale Street, 1870. Source: State Library of Victoria.   Absinthe, or the green fairy, was a hallucinogenic alcoholic drink available from the 18th century but reaching new heights of popularity in bohemian Paris in the late 19th century; coinciding nicely with the timing of Mrs Bond’s grocery. The contents of the rubbish pit are much more consistent with a high class brothel. Turns out Mrs Bond operated brothels in Little Lon for years to support her children and was now using her grocer shop as a cover for a...