ceramics - Bendigo Pottery

George Guthrie, a former Glasgow potter founded the Bendigo Pottery at Epsom near Sandhurst (as Bendigo was then called) in 1858.

It was not surprising that an important pottery was established at the gold?clds, particularly as the Victorian miners had discovered good clay-fields in the course of their search for gold. Guthrie had arrived from Scotland to try his luck on the goldfields, and as a potter by trade recognised the potential of clay discoveries. .

At the 1866 Melbourne Exhibition, Guthrie was a medal winner for his collection of stonewares, particularly brown ginger-beer bottles.

Domestic and table wares were added to the range of pots and bottles. Brown ‘Rockingham' teapots, cups and saucers, decorated cream-ware jugs and basins, white parian ware ornaments, majolica vases and artistic water filters were amongst the products.

In the early 1880s Guthrie sold the pottery and returned to Scotland . He returned after a year or so, later, became managing director and then with a partner re-purchased the pottery.

He remained the driving force behind the pottery until his death in 1910.

Many of the early Bendigo wares are unmarked, one reason for this being that the public preferred to purchase imported goods.

The pottery at Epsom is still in production today, and there is a museum at the pottery that displays a selection of the early wares