Gifts are sure to impress

VALENTINE’S Day in Australia is not a new idea. During the gold rush, miners who were flushed with newfound wealth from the Ballarat mines were willing to pay a pricely sum for elaborate gifts.
Merchants in Australia would send orders of a thousand pounds at a time.
The most extravagant of Valentine’s were made of a satin cushion, perfumed, ornately designed with flowers, coloured shells, and would also have a taxidermied humming bird or bird of paradise adorning it.
This was all contained in a neatly decorated box, which were considered of high standing, fashionable and most expensive.