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Tom was 62, in 1954, when Medalta Potteries closed its doors. Until his retirement three years later, he went up the road to work at Hycroft China.

In 1966, a group of local businessmen in the nearby town of Redcliff decided to start a pottery, using much of the equipment that remained after Sunburst Ceramics, the last pottery on the old Medalta site, shut down. They tried to coax Tom out of retirement to join them. He declined but generously gave one of owners, John Matuska, many of his recipes for glazes.

How amazed Tom would be to know, that so many years later, Medalta Potteries would become a National Historic Site. One can almost imagine him, pipe in hand, with a small smile of wry amusement on his face, at the thought that the every day wares produced by him and the decorating department would some day become coveted collectors' items.
*Ruby Hulme passed away April 15,1998 at the age of 93. **Lola died of breast cancer on August 14, 1988 at the age of 53.

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PERSONAL PAINTINGS

When Tom was at home, he was fairly productive with his own art work. which was always done in "the little room", the name given by the family to his studio space. Always very generous with his resulting works, he would often simply give them away to those who showed an interest. The following are just some of the pieces that are still part of the family collection