Summary

Note: This object includes a derogatory depiction of a First Nations person, as well as elements appropriated from First Peoples culture and heritage. Such depictions are not condoned by Museums Victoria which considers them to be racist. Historical distance and context do not excuse or erase this fact.

This tin matchbox was manufactured as a souvenir to commemorate the centenary of European settlement of Melbourne and Victoria in 1934-35.

The Centenary of Victoria and Melbourne was celebrated by non-First Peoples communities with considerable energy in 1934 - 1935. For many people the celebrations marked the beginnings of better times after the 1930 Depression, while for First Peoples it represented the history of invasion, colonisation and the ongoing struggle for rights and recognition. As well as official souvenirs, patterns for a range of home made domestic souvenirs were available. Often they featured the skyline of Melbourne, and suggested the progress that had occurred in the last century. This commemorative piece emphasises place through the outline of Australia on one side, surmounted by a First Peoples man holding a boomerang in an example of the increasing popularity of appropriating First Peoples culture for nationalistic purposes; the reverse shows a man, gun in hand, looking towards a mythical city (symbolic of Melbourne) rising with the sun.

Physical Description

U-shaped tin case, with transfer image with a cellulose acetate coating. Dark blue ground, with white panels on which are shown full-colour images. Images show outline of Australia, surmounted by a First Peoples man holding a boomerang, and another boomerang above. The reverse shows a man, gun in hand, looking towards a mythical city rising with the sun.

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