The beginning of my collection

My dolls house collection started when I was a baby. My grandmother, who lived in England, had many collections - fans, miniature ivory figurines, Japanese prints, antique dolls, dolls from around the world, and vintage and antique dolls houses. She named one house Redfern, where we lived when I was a baby; one Roseville, where we lived when my sister was a baby; and one for where my only girl cousin lived when she was a baby. These were 'our' houses, but they stayed at my grandmother's house, where one room housed the dolls and dolls houses. When we visited, my grandmother carefully showed us through this room. A wooden jumping jack hung on the door, and we had to pull the string to make his legs and arms move before we went in. My grandmother carried a small lamp with a shade on one side so that we could see inside the dolls houses.
After our visit in 1972, my grandmother bought another dolls house for me. Both this house and the two named Redfern and Roseville were freighted to Australia, with their furniture and inhabitants, before my grandmother died. Although we set them up, and enjoyed looking at them, it was some years before I really became interested in finding out more about the houses, furniture and dolls, and adding more contents to those houses, and eventually more houses. Those three original houses are still in my mother's house - she lives in temperate NSW. The others are squeezed into the main bedroom of my terrace house in Darwin - although there's also one in the living room, and others in their boxes in cupboards.
I enjoy looking at websites of other collectors' dolls houses, so I am going to gradually post pictures of my dolls houses - as they are now, and as I furnish and decorate them. I hope you enjoy seeing them.