By Casey Neill
Where did you get that hat..?
Colin Robinson has collected hundreds of hats from op shops and junk piles.
He’s put about 280 from his collection on display at the Springvale and District Historical Society headquarters.
“Some of them are reproductions but they go from Corinthian and Greek helmets, Roman helmets, through to ladies’ bonnets from the First Fleet and up to 1860s and ’70s,” he said.
Mr Robinson has military hats from Australia and overseas, police hats from the 1850s to modern day and firemen’s helmets dating from the 1884 to today.
The 1884 is an original from France.
“I’ve got some of about 1850, original ones,” he said.
“I see a hat, I like it, I buy it.
“A lot of them just come from op shops.
“Some very rare ones have come from op shops and junk piles.”
Mr Robinson found a 1868 peace hat made in Ballarat in the bottom of a box.
“I haven’t paid a lot of money for them over the time,” he said.
“They’ve been at a price I can afford. Some of them have only been a few dollars.”
He’s also put costumes on display to “show the hat off”, from a Russian Cossack in a full uniform to a Japanese wedding kimono.
Visitors can check out the collection from noon to 4pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday until the end of July.
“But it might go longer,” Mr Robinson said.
Springvale and District Historical Society is at 7 Hillcrest Avenue, Springvale.
