Dumex White Crockery Collectors' Items 1950's - 1960's

(This tea set is from my cousin's collection - she brought up her children on Dumex)



(Newest packing for Dumex follow up milk formula)




(Collector's item - a pitcher)


Before I write any further I would like to say that I am all for breast feeding and that my article today is not in any way promoting the benefits of any baby milk formula.

When my younger siblings were born my parents decided that they should be given Dumex milk powder instead of breast milk. And this started the family odyssey of our Dumex crockery collection.

My mother (now in her 80's) still has a large collection and for years our Chinese New Years were celebrated with a grand display of the Dumex plates and bowls.The white crockery against green table cloth made by my aunts for my father's 50th birthday were indeed beautiful and gave all of us a sense of deep joy.

It was heart warming for all of us siblings to enjoy watching mum's collection grow. And we were also very careful not to break any of her collection. The white procelain was beautiful. The only drawback was the fact that we never could afford to buy a glass cabinet to display her grand set. But it was a true journey of careful maternal spending and proper saving of the many tokens which were needed to exchange for the plates and bowls. My sisters and I spent a lot of time counting and recounting the tokens and reading the flyers to help mum get the best deal! Losing a token was like losing a large sum of money!

Here are some pictures to show you what mothers and daughters liked to get in exchange for their Dumex tokens. It was memorable indeed while the trend lasted. Or perhaps we did indeed outgrow the almost compulsive collection. Today women have different articles to collect be it Tupperware or AMC items. But nevertheless many families in Sibu would still have a large set of Dumex crockery. If not they would still have a few small pieces. And this little article would bring a smile to Dumex crockery collectors at least.

Enjoy the nostalgia!




And finally we would always remember how disappointed my mum was when my youngest brother was born 10 days earlier instead of being born on the Malaysia Formation Day of 31st August 1963. If he was born on Malaysia day my mum and he could have been awarded 12 large tins of Dumex Milk Powder and other gifts from the Borneo Company which was then the chief sponsor of Malaysia Day Babies.