Wooden jewellery box : Mrs Audrey Norton

Wooden jewellery box lined with pink artificial silk. The hinged lid is carved with the initials 'ABIN' for Audrey Beatrice Ida Norton. Inside the lid are two handwritten cardboard labels reading ' A HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU, DARLING MINE, AND HERE'S TO THE MANY HAPPY ONES WE WILL SPEND TOGETHER IN THE NEAR FUTURE ALL MY LOVE TO YOU - ALWAYS FRANK H.M.A.S. KANIMBLA' and 'To AUDREY from FRANK, CHRISTMAS, 1944, H.M.A.S. KANIMBLA.'. The base of the box is painted black and the names 'AUDREY NORTON' and 'FROM FRANK NORTON' have been scratched into the wood. Also written on the base in black ink is 'AUDREY NORTON a gift from FRANK NORTON Xmas DEC 1944'.

This jewellery box was a gift from official war artist, Frank Norton, to his wife Audrey Beatrice Ida Norton (nee Horn) for Christmas 1944. It was made by a carpenter aboard HMAS Kanimbla.

Audrey Horn was born on 17 May 1914 in Bunbury, WA. She studied art, focusing on painting Western Austrtalian wildflowers. Audrey and Frank met during a Fijian cruise in 1934. With Audrey residing in Bunbury and Frank in Sydney they pursued a long distance courtship for several years before announcing their engagement in November 1938. During their courtship, Frank, who had developed a reputation for producing naval artwork of a very high standard, was appointed guest artist aboard a number of Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships. In mid 1939, with the outbreak of war pending, he travelled to England to further his artistic career.

Frank returned in July 1940 and the pair were married on 30 November at the Church of Christ in Bunbury. Their honeymoon was a cruise from Fremantle to Sydney but the wartime conditions meant that the ship was in 'blackout' to avoid enemy attacks. They also encountered the threat of sea mines en route to Sydney which forced the ship to turn back to Melbourne. Frank was appointed an official war artist in 1941 and served aboard various ships, in the Middle East and the Pacific.

He was later commissioned by the Australian War Memorial to cover the activities of the RAN during the Korean War. Audrey and Frank had three children and Frank often wrote and drew cards for his young family while he was serving overseas. Frank died in 1983, and Audrey in 2007 aged 93.