By Neena Bhandari
Braidwood (NSW, Australia): In the historic town of Braidwood, tucked away on leafy Duncan Street is a store with perhaps the largest collection of original oil lamps in the country.
A sloping gravel pathway leads to an opaque door, which slides open into a space every inch occupied by antique oil lamps from around the world. A young couple is intently listening to a tall man in his seventies, relating the story of a large floor-standing Egyptian oil lamp. It’s the owner of The Original Lamp Shop, Robert J. Aernout, who greets us and continues to show the couple his collection of myriad lamps. There are lamps of all shapes, sizes and materials, adorning the shelves, the floor, and some hanging low from the rafters.
One can’t help, but wonder, who would still be buying this medieval source of light in the times of LED (light emitting diode), sensor and automatic internet-operated lights?