Kayen Lamp double mantle wick

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Type: Lamp components
Place: Old Adaminaby, New South Wales, Australia
Materials: Ink, Paper, Textile - non specific
Collection: C J Yen Family collection no. 2
Accession number: 2013.0041.0018

Description

A paper bag containing a 'Kayen Lamp' double mantle wick. The bag is a faded yellow colour with dark blue text that reads 'KAYEN LAMP / DOUBLE MANTLE TIE / ... / MADE IN AUSTRALIA / KAYEN MANTLES / ALSO FIT TILLEY LAMPS'. The top of the packet is folded over towards the back to close. The wick itself is a white and pink coloured circular piece of textile.

About the collection

Included in this collection are four sections of iron-lace balustrading from the C J Yen General Store in Old Adaminaby, a gold sieve and gold pan, a hand-operated petrol drum pump from Yen's Garage, Old Adaminaby, a roll of two shilling tickets from the Federal Theatre, Old Adaminaby, a spirit iron and leather coin purse. There is also a range of store goods, including haberdashery, pharmaceutical and household items, two pairs of ladies gloves, cigar box with cigar and a packet of Ve-Tsin gourmet spice powder. Following the end of the Kiandra gold rush around 1860, pioneering Chinese gold miner, Charles John Yen (c.1843-1927) remained in Adaminaby and later married Jane Thomas. Together, and later with the help of their six children, they established and operated several businesses in Adaminaby, including C J Yen's general store, the Adaminaby butcher shop, the Federal picture theatre and Yen's Garage. Over time, the Yen family made a significant contribution to the community and sporting life of Old Adaminaby and were also among the district's pioneering skiing families. After the flooding of Old Adaminaby in 1958, the Yen family business premises were demolished and the Yen's relocated to the new town of Adaminaby where they continued to operate their businesses in new premises purpose-built by the Snowy Mountains Authority.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:15:59 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-23. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.