Surfing Australia - Australian National Travel Association
Publisher
Australian National Travel Association
Printer
Troedel & Cooper Pty Ltd
Date1930s
Object number00015667
NamePoster
MediumPhoto-lithographic print on paper
DimensionsOverall: 500 x 315 mm
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis travel poster advertising surfing Australia features a photolithographic image of one of the most popular and iconic poster themes, the beach. Artists working for the Australian National Travel Association commonly used imagery emotive of beach culture to promote Australia as an exotic and desirable tourist destination.HistoryThroughout the 20th century, posters were used as a relatively inexpensive, eye catching and easily distributed way of marketing - with the beach featuring as one of the most popular and iconic themes. This poster promotes travel to Australia by representing Australian beach culture a popular theme for the artists working for the Australian National Travel Association.
By the 1930s, beach culture was becoming an entrenched and iconic part of the Australian way of life. The ANTA developed posters with striking images and simple slogans to communicate to the world that Australia, a young country largely unknown to the overseas market and unique in resources and senic beauty, was worthy of the world's tourist business. The beach and surfing were popular and iconic themes used by the ANTA to promote desire in their prospective audience by presenting an attractive alternative to reality.
In an effort to place Australia on the world's tourist map the Australian National Travel Association (ANTA) was created in 1929. As part of their marketing campaign ANTA distributed thousands of travel posters specifically targeting British and American audiences. By 1934 during the peak period in Australian poster production, ANTA had printed 140,000 posters of which 3,000 were issued overseas.SignificanceThis poster is a vivid symbol of an era when Australia undertook an aggressive campaign of promotion. This work was commissioned by the Australian National Travel Association and represents Australia as a desirable tourist destination by evoking popular and iconic images of Australian beach culture.
