Vintage Nullarbor Souvenir Dish John Eyre Motel Caiguna Eyre Highway WA Retro
Description
A vintage souvenir dish from the John Eyre Motel at Caiguna, Western Australia — a roadhouse stop deep on the Nullarbor, on the Eyre Highway between Norseman and the South Australian border.
Screen-printed in brown, orange and blue on white melamine. The design shows the motel block and the service station with period sedans at the bowsers, surrounded by a kangaroo, a wombat and an emu, with a figure holding a spear at right. Below is a schematic map marking Norseman, Kalgoorlie, Caiguna, the Transcontinental Railway and the coastline.
Caiguna was established in 1962 to service traffic crossing the Nullarbor for the Commonwealth Games in Perth. It sits at the eastern end of the 146.6 km straight — one of the longest straight stretches of road in the world. The name is understood to come from an Aboriginal word meaning "spear track". The motel takes its name from the explorer Edward John Eyre, who crossed the Nullarbor in 1841. The John Eyre Motel is still operating today.
Moulded LAMI ITALY on the underside. Lami was an Italian melamine manufacturer; blanks like this were imported and printed locally for the Australian souvenir trade, so the dish is Italian-made with Australian printing. Dates to the 1960s or 1970s on the basis of the maker, the material and the cars in the illustration.
Please note the design includes a stylised depiction of an Aboriginal man in the manner typical of Australian souvenir ware of this period. It is offered as a genuine period piece and is shown in full in the photographs.
Measures 13 x 13 cm and 1 cm deep. Weighs 76 g. The display stand in the photographs is not included.
A good piece of Nullarbor road-trip history — one for anyone who has made the crossing, or collects Australiana and mid-century melamine.
Postage: light and easy to send, packed protected.
Free postage within Australia. International buyers welcome
Customs & Import Duties For international orders, any customs fees, import taxes, or duties are the buyer's responsibility. Orders shipped to the United States have applicable duties and taxes calculated and included at checkout — no additional charges on delivery. This applies to USA orders only. Buyers in all other countries are responsible for any local customs charges. If unsure, we recommend checking with your local customs office before purchasing.
Packaging All fragile items are carefully packed for safe delivery using recycled materials where possible. Comes from a smoke-free home.
Before You Buy Please review all photos carefully as they form part of the item description. Colours may vary slightly due to screen settings — we do our best to represent items accurately but an exact colour match cannot be guaranteed.