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Western Australia for Sunshine and Surf
Western Australia for Sunshine and Surf

Western Australia for Sunshine and Surf

Publisher
Date1940s
Object number00047862
NamePoster
MediumColour lithograph, linen backed paper
DimensionsOverall (linen backing sheet): 1060 x 685 mm
Sheet (poster): 1013 x 642 mm
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection
Collections
DescriptionThe Western Australian Government Tourism Bureau produced this poster as part of a campaign to promote Western Australia as the perfect holiday destination. It presents an imagined beach scene with a woman wearing a fashionable 1940s two-piece swimsuit and man standing on a surf ski as key figures. HistoryState tourism began in Western Australia with specialised organisations such as the Caves Board established in 1900 shortly followed by the State Hotels Department in 1902. By 1910 a more generalised tourism model for Western Australia was adopted and operated as part of a larger bureaucracy based on the New South Wales Intelligence Department. It merged into State Hotels in 1912. The construction of a railway between Perth and the eastern states began in 1913 and was operational four years later. In 1921 the Western Australia Tourist Bureau was established. The trend towards annual leave for all workers gave people more opportunity to travel and in 1929 the Australian National Travel Association was formed. It co-ordinated state tourism and the interests of state railways, shipping companies, motoring organisations, tourist agents, hotel proprietors, retailers and state tourist bureaus. ANTA developed international and Australian tourism strategies. By 1993 the Western Australian Tourism Commission had eleven international offices in Europe, North America and Asia. SignificanceThe poster is part of a resurgance in tourism following World War II.