Community
14 May, 2025
Cookbook display opens at Historical Society
COBDEN and District Historical Society is unveiling a new pop-up display this weekend dedicated to showcasing cookbooks through the ages, some as recent as the 2000s and others dating back to the 1910s.
Tables will be packed with cookbooks on display, with each table presenting a different theme, and many cookbooks also coming with their own unique stories reflective of the time and circumstances in which they were created.
Cobden and District Historical Society secretary Delia Kerr said they decided to put together a cookbook display when they realised they have more cookbooks than could even fit on the tables.
“We have a huge collection of cookbooks ourselves and people keep donating them,” she said.
“There are a few stories I’d love to get into with these displays.
“The Cobden Kindergarten, for example, was put together through the sale of a cookbook.
“It was Cobden Playgroup – they sold a cookbook and they raised money which was how they were able to start the Cobden Kindergarten back in the early 60s.
“Everyone that was involved has sadly now passed on, but I’m still looking into it to get the full story.”
In the process of setting up the displays, Mrs Kerr said she had found out many interesting things about cookbooks from the past.
“I’ve found a lot of cookbooks have been written as fundraisers because people just needed to raise funds for some small or medium-sized project,” she said.
“I’ve even found a Methodist reprint from 1915.
“It’s just amazing that it’s somehow managed to get here.
“The recipes were so different back in the day.
“Even old appliances used to come with cookbooks, which we’ve forgotten – we have a Kelvinator cookbook from the 50s, which is hard to believe it’s even survived that long.”
Mrs Kerr said it can be hard to change all the displays in the hall with so few members of the society.
“We’re such a small society – we really only have five active members,” she said.
“It’s too hard to change all these displays every time.
“It’s much easier to just set up these tables and do pop up displays – our last one was embroidery.”
The Historical Society can be found at the Old Chocolyn Hall on Grayland Street, next to the Pioneer Park in Cobden, and is open every third Sunday of the month as well as every Sunday of the school holidays, depending on staffing availability.
The new display celebrating cookbooks through the ages will officially be available to the public on Sunday, May 18.
Read More: Cobden