Colonial Bottle & Collectors Club Of WA

Like-minded people, with a passion and interest in conserving our history, through the collecting and preserving of old bottles and other collectable items.

CBCC Established in 1970

The Colonial Bottle & Collectors Club of WA was formed in 1970 by our founding members who wanted to promote the hobby of old bottle collecting and share their knowledge of Western Australian history of old bottles, jars and containers. The club promotes the study and preservation of historical items - in a friendly and social environment.

Our members collections include but not limited to, Chemist Bottles, Marble Bottles, Demijohns, Ink bottles, Poison bottles, Crown Seals, Ceramic Ginger Beers, Cordial Bottles, Perth Glass Works, Glass Ginger Beers, Milk Bottles, Water Jugs, Pot Lids, Warners Safe Cures, Pickle and Preserving jars, Wembley ware, Darbyshire, Royal Doulton, Glass Insulators, Piro Label bottles, Advertising Bar items (whisky, spirits etc) and much more

The Little Bottler

The Little Bottler has been running since the clubs inception and holds a wealth of WA and Australian historical information and articles (these old issues are available to members to view from our club library)

Our Little Bottler is a quarterly (JAN FEB MAR / APR MAY JUN / JUL AUG SEPT / OCT NOV DEC) newsletter posted out to all our members. It has interesting articles and information – particularly WA history, and is a great way for our country members to keep in touch with all the happenings of the club meetings, it members, committee news and other information.

Club Social Gatherings

Club social gatherings are on the second Sunday of FEB, APR, JUN, AUG. From midday, at an atmospheric location in Perth.

Each gathering provides an opportunity for attendees to bring along items found and acquired over the previous months.

We also have a nominated monthly bottle and collectible special. This can be found in our Little Bottler or via contacting our club.

Members are also encouraged to bring along items to “swap and sell” with each other. This is a great time for us to share our knowledge, recent finds and stories with other collectors.

Visitors are more than welcome to attend these events, just call our president for details.

Auctions & Social Days

We hold auctions for our members & the Public.

NEXT AUCTION will be held in APRIL 2026

This is our opportunity to get together and bid on items of interest, enjoy great food and company.

Items for sale are from some of our long-time members, public who have found items from their parents and others that wish to downsize their collections.

For upcoming auction information please email the club or call our president, Dave on 0429956711.

Annual General Meeting

To all Members,

The Colonial Bottle & Collectors Club of WA held the Annual General Meeting Sunday 9th November 2025 at 1.30pm at the Residence of Kathy Hawser 101 Dalgety Road, Middle Swan.

The Committee presented a summary for the Financial Year of 2024-2025 and part of 2025-2026, overview of the Year Past by President David Stinson, and Secretary Review by Cheryl Stinson. Other Committee Reports, National Show summary, Bi-Monthly club gatherings and general business were discussed.

The new Committee was elected.

David Stinson - President, Brett Gribble - Vice President, Trudi Gribble - Treasurer, Cheryl Stinson Secretary

Committee Members. Steve Panton, Mike & Vicki Vincent, Arpad Pratzky, Mal & Joy Brown.

Little bottler Editor Trudi Gribble.

Regards Cheryl Stinson (Secretary)

Enquiries to Secretary via email. admin@colonialbottleclubofwa.asn.au

2025 National Bottle Show (11-12th October)

Colonial Bottle & Collectors Club of WA was very proud to be the organizers of this year's NATIONAL Bottle show.

This event was held at the Cannington Showgrounds (Agricultural Pavilion) on the weekend of the 11th and 12th October 2025.

Set up of the event occurred on the Friday morning for tables and layout of the event. The club thanks all those involved. Display and sales tables started to be set up from midday. And by 7pm the hall was ready for the event.

The event opened to the public from 9am on Saturday to 3.30pm and opened again on the Sunday from 10am to 3pm. The public attendees were consistent for the whole weekend - over 1000 people.

The weekend event was catered for by the Cannington Lions Club and they had a roaring trade. Meat pies were delicious.

The Saturday additional exciting activities catered for the entire family. Vintage car displays on the lawn area and Curtin Radio broadcasting with interviews of some of our Club Members. {Picture of Curtin Radio team Jenny Seaton & Cheryl)

Saturday night continued at the local Kenwick football club, whereby the mini–National AUCTION was held followed by Club dinner and prize presentation.

What a great weekend !

Sunday the sales continued at the Cannington Showgrounds from 10am. And then finally the doors closed at 3pm, and pack up commenced.

We thank all those that participated in this event. Great displays and over 100 sales tables. Well done everyone. We made WA proud and the rest of Australia and New Zealand really appreciated our event.

Interesting in Joining our Club

Our Club welcomes new members.

If you are interested in joining the club, please contact the secretary via email at admin@colonialbottleclubofwa.asn.au.

Alternatively you can download a membership application form from our website and send to the secretary. All applications shall be presented to the current committee for consideration and approval.

Like minded people who are interested in collecting items are all welcome.

Membership Form

For those collecting people that would like to join our club, please down load this membership form and send to our Secretary via email at admin@colonialbottleclubofwa.asn.au

All applications will be presented to the committee for consideration and approval.

About our Club

Hello from the Colonial Bottle and Collectors Club. We are now over 50 years of age and enjoy the company of some 80+ members.

The club was originally formed in 1970 as the Colonial Bottle Club and adopted its new name in December 1982. The formation of the Club was to promote the collection and study of bottles, jars and other like containers or collectable items. To this end the club committee and members arrange exhibitions and displays as well as undertaking other activities which as a whole promote the general area of collecting.

CBCC History

The Colonial Bottle & Collectors Club of WA was established in 1970 and is the oldest bottle club in Western Australia.

Our members collections, though predominantly WA include; WA Bottles, Interstate and International Bottles such as Chemist Bottles, Marble Bottles, Demijohns, Ink bottles, Poison bottles, Crown Seals, Ceramic Ginger Beers, Cordial Bottles, Perth Glass Works, Glass Ginger Beers, Milk Bottles, Water Jugs, Pot Lids, WarnersSafe Cures, Pickle and Preserving jars, and Water Filters.

Today our club has expanded to Collectables as well as old bottles with members collecting historic items such as Old toys, Old Tins, Australiana, Kitchenware, Lamps, Glassware (Depression Glass, Amethyst Glass, Murano), pottery such as Darbyshire and Wembley Ware, Blue & White China, Figurines, Whiskey Jugs, War memorabilia, Paper Ephemera, Enamel Signs, Garagenalia, Smoking Items, Cart registration plates, Number plates and early West Australian Dog registration tags.

Our members enjoy the benefits of access to our club auctions, research library, quarterly newsletters (The Little Bottler), Annual Christmas Parties, bi-monthly club gatherings, visits to collections and other club functions throughout the year.

Auction 2025 - Next one in APRIL 2026

The Auction held at the National Bottle Show in Oct 2025 was a magnificent success.

CBCC will again be holding another auction in April 2026.

Should you have items that you wish to add to this Auction please contact Dave or Brett ASAP

Alternatively email admin@colonialbottleclubofwa.asn.au if you need any further information about this upcoming Auction event.

Catalogue will be available on our website closer to the event date.

Auction ABSENTEE Bidding FORM

For those enthusiasts that cannot attend our Auctions, you can leave an absentee bid

or arrange a phone bid with us.

Please call Cheryl 0408588512 or complete the form and email to admin@colonialbottleclubofwa.asn.au

This Auction will attract a 10% buyers premium.

Information about Bottles, Auctions, Ect...

Information about Bottles

The CBCC Committee would like to inform WEB prowsers that this part of our website is under construction.

Unfortunately our website of numerous years was disconnected from the World Wide Web, so our Secretary is setting up this new site.

More information about bottles and other items will be added soon.

If you have any questions please call our President.

MINI National Show Auction - 11th October 2025

During the National show weekend, our club hosted a live auction at the Kenwick Football club (Brixton St, Beckenham) on Saturday the 11th October 2025

Viewing of the bottles was well attended by many who had visited the National Show at Cannington. And many people remained to bid on something special for their collection. Absentee Bids were arranged via friends in attendance, and some bottles were shipped to the eastern states, NZ and the UK.

This auction had a range of rare and desirable bottles and other collectable items.

CBCC Committee

All our committee are volounteers, and support our club activities and promotion of our Club. They meet regularly to confirm upcoming events and activities.

President - David Stinson

Dave started collecting at the age of 8 and was influenced by his father Roy Stinson. He spent many a weekend as a child travelling around in a combi van with his Mum & Dad and siblings seeking old bottles. His knowledge of bottle collecting is wide

V-President Brett Gribble

Brett started collecting bottles in Victoria. Brett has served as Treasurer and Committee Member for the club over a number of years. His passion to collect items to add to his collection either via auction or digging them is enthusiastic.

Secretary Cheryl Stinson

Cheryl's passion for collecting has been lifelong and with partner Dave, they are keen for others to enjoy the hobby.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our club members have a numerous amount of knowledge regarding WA and other Australian bottles, as well as European and American.

If you would like to find out more, please contact us via email.

Or give our President Dave a call on 0429956711.

Marble Bottles are a bottle that has a pinched top which retains a marble within the neck of the bottle. The pinch is to prevent the marble from falling to the base of the bottle and to stop the liquid flow from the mouth.

The pinches in the glass can either be two or four. They will appear as a tear drop or round shape.

Often people broke the top of the bottle to attain the marble to play with.

A marble bottle is also known as a codd bottle.

For further information on Marble Bottles of WA the Website FINDERS OF RELICS WESTERN AUSTRALIA (FORWA) can assist until our club provides further information.

Bottles vary in value. From 1 dollar to thousands, it all depends on the bottle and its desirability.

As a club we can provide information on the value of a bottle, but this is only from experience and past knowledge. There are many auction places that sell bottles and these can provide a current market value.

Remember, if the bottle is the one you want there is no current value, just what you are prepared to pay for it.

Good luck finding your desired piece.

The Club hosted the 2025 National Bottle show in October at the Cannington Showgrounds, Agricultural Pavilion.

The 2026 State Show is being scheduled again for October 2026.

Further details will be provided once confirmed.

For information email the club, or call our Secretary on 0408588512