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Simon Ephemera Collection |
When this pamphlet was issued for the All-Australian Exhibition in 1951 it provided a table of outstanding events since European settlement.
The list read : 1788, First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay;1797, Merino sheep introduced ; 1808, Deposition of Governor Bligh ; 1851, First discovery of payable gold in Australia; 1854, Southern Cross flag flown for first time at Eureka Stockade , Ballarat; 1885, Australia's first taste of war-contingent sent to Sudan ;1899, Troops sent to Boer War in South Africa.
1900 , Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed ; 1901, The first Commonwealth Parliament opened in Melbourne in May, 1901, by the Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V; 1914, Australia at war with Germany ; 1915, Landing at Gallipoli.
1900 , Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed ; 1901, The first Commonwealth Parliament opened in Melbourne in May, 1901, by the Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V; 1914, Australia at war with Germany ; 1915, Landing at Gallipoli.
1918, War ended. Population reached 5,000,000; 1919, Ross and Keith Smith made first flight from Britain ; 1921 ,Commonwealth received mandate for New Guinea ;1926, Population reached 6,000,000 ; 1927,The Duke of York, now George V1 , opened the first the first session of parliament held in in Canberra ; 1928, Kingsford Smith and Ulm made first trans-Pacific flight ; 1932, Sydney harbour Bridge opened ; 1934, Scott and Black flew from Britain in record of 71 hours ; 1935, First regular England-Australia air mail ;1937-8, New South Wales sesqui-centenary ; 1938 , Australian militia forces raised to 70,000 ; 1939,War with Germany ; 1940 , First Foreign Minister to Commonwealth arrived from USA . Population reached 7,000,000.
1941, War with Japan ; 1944, Australia-New Zealand pact signed at Canberra ; 1945, Defeat of Germany (May ),and of Japan ( August). Australia announced large scale immigration plan. Captain Cook Graving Dock opened by the Duke of Gloucester, then Governor-General of the Commonwealth ; 1946, Immigration agreements signed with Britain. Australian Minister, Norman Makin , made first President of the Security Council of United Nations ; 1947, Mr W. J. McKell appointed Governor-General of the Commonwealth in succession to H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester .
1948, Australian nationality , as distinct from British nationality, created.The first All-Australian car, the Holden, marketed in Australia. Dr H. V. Evatt, Minister for External Affairs , elected Chairman of the United Nations Organisation; 1949, HMAS Sydney, Australia's first aircraft carrier , joined the Royal Australian Navy . First sod turned in the Snowy River Dam project. Population reached 8,000,000. R.G.Menzies became Prime Minister; 1950 , Australian Navy, Army and Air Forces fighting in Korea . Record wool cheque of 288,628,911 pound.
The 8pp catalogue and guide opens with lines from Dorothy Mackellar's "My Country " and strangely includes a photograph of prominent British actor , Tommy Trinder , in the Pylon Studio. Wonder of wonders, souvenirs sold were all Australian-made .
And if you wanted to rest while walking up the various levels , you could read the latest copy of the Australian Women's Weekly ... [Our troops in Vietnam were also given this same dubious treat , instead of eyeballing free copies of the saucy Kings Cross Whisper , as will be revealed in the ongoing " Big Jim" Bowditch biography .]
On the walls between the 209 and 251 feet level were original cartoon strips by black and white artists depicting with subtlety and humour every shade of the Australian character. There were also photographs covering theatre , concert and champions of the Australian turf.
At 300 feet above the harbour, on the rooftop recreational area, the flat roof added during the war to carry an ack-ack gun, you could spy out the city with giant Japanese binoculars captured from Japanese naval vessels near Nagasaki . The products of the nation were also covered-chocolates, wine, minerals , Jantzen sportswear, carpets , forestry , Holden cars .
