An Historic Retrospect on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary Celebrations of the Founding of Australia
Printer
S T Leigh & Co Pty Ltd
Date1938
Object number00050218
NameBooklet
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 243 x 154 x 2 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Penny Crino
DescriptionA souvenir booklet titled 'An Historic Retrospect on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary Celebrations of the Founding of Australia. Produced in 1938 as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations marking the European settlement of Australia, this booklet contains a brief history of Australia. It was given to school children in New South Wales.HistoryThe 150th anniversary of the European colonisation of Australia was marked by re-enactments and a range of commemorative activities. This booklet was produced by the 150th Anniversary Celebrations Council and presented to school children in New South Wales in 1938 to mark the occasion. It includes a brief history of Australia since the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788.
A settlement at Sydney Cove was established by Governor Arthur Phillip when he arrived with the First Fleet on 26 January 1788. The cove was named in honour of the British Home Secretary Thomas Townsend, Lord Sydney and chosen as the site of settlement over Botany Bay because it offered both fresh water and a secure place for ships to anchor.
Phillip described Sydney Cove as having 'the best spring of water, and in which the ships can anchor so close to the shore that at a very small expense quays may be made at which the largest ships may unload'. He aimed to establish a flourishing colony not just a penal site and supported plans to build a structured orderly town plan.
SignificanceThis booklet is significant for the attitudes it represents and for the light these throw on Australian society in 1938. It represents a marker in an evolution of changing attitudes.
