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The two proprietors of Bygone Beautys are Mr Maurice Cooper OAM, often referred
to as "The Teapot Man" and Mr Ronald Hooper. Mr Hooper began the teapot collection
in 1974. Mr Cooper joined forces in 1991 to create Bygone Beautys. Both directors
decided for impact and ambience to display the teapots within the tearoom area of
the complex. Mr Cooper quickly matched Mr Hooper’s collection to give equality to
the partnership and since then the collection has grown to more than 3,800 teapots,
with 3,000 on display.
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Recently negotiations evolved to declare the collection as The Treasured Teapot
Museum. This enabled permission to be given to place a “brown” tourist sign on the
Great Western
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Highway. Customers and patrons are able to view the collection at no cost whilst
browsing the antiques and collectables or partaking in a selection of teas, Devonshire
Tea, Traditional Tea, light lunches or snacks. Bygone Beautys also serves a great
cup of coffee.
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As Bygone Beautys is located so close to the famous Leura Village Mall, the teapot
collection serves as a major draw card to attract customers to both the retail shop
and tearoom. In response to demand the business is open 7 days a week, excluding
Good Friday, Christmas Day and New Years Day.
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Such is the appeal of Bygone Beautys that both major tourist bus operators have
made Bygone Beautys an official stop for all their passengers.
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International and domestic visitors are always amazed when they enter Bygone Beautys,
an antique emporium and tearoom which is also home to the World’s Largest Private
Collection of Teapots. Ninety percent of all items in the collection were acquired
within Australia. Bygone Beautys is committed to honouring and preserving Australian
culture and traditions in relation to both tea drinking and traditional teas. Australia’s
eclectic culture stems largely from Anglo Saxon heritage but also a wide range of
multicultural influences. This is preserved for future generations of Australians.
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Located in the picturesque Blue Mountains at 20 - 22 Grose Street in the village
of Leura, the original 1917 building presents well, especially the grounds facing
the street that have recently been extensively landscaped. The most common statements
from visitors to Bygone Beautys, after experiencing the rooms filled from floor
to ceiling with antiques, collectables, jewellery, gifts, teapots and much more
are; "its a treasure trove", "its like stepping back in time", "its like Aladdin’s
Cave", and "what an unexpected surprise".
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