Summary

Note: This object includes derogatory slurs and depictions of a particular cultural group. 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.

Yellow plastic figurine depicting a stereotypical representation of a man Indigenous to North America (the terms Native American and American Indian are also used by government and cultural institutions in the USA). The toy was used and owned by Bill Boyd in the 1950s.

The William Boyd Childhood Collection includes most of the childhood possessions of William (Bill) Boyd, who was born in 1947 and raised in the Victorian town of Maryborough. Kept by Lillian Boyd (Bill's mother) for decades, upon her death the Collection was donated by Bill to the former Museum of Childhood at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. When the Museum of Childhood closed it was transferred to Museum Victoria.

Physical Description

Yellow plastic figurine wearing a First Nations ceremonial head-dress and clothing, legs wide to ride a toy horse. He is holding a bow in one hand and reins in the other.

Significance

Encompassing toys, books, clothing and other items, the William Boyd Childhood Collection is rare in its comprehensiveness: even ephemera such as the back of a Cornflakes box are included. The Collection demonstrates a range of prominent themes in the lives of postwar Victorian children, such as the ability to 'make do' under austere circumstances; the shift in toy manufacture towards plastic materials and mass production; the continuing cultural influence of Britain; the increasing embrace of American popular culture, including cultural stereotypical objects; the prominence of gender roles; and the popularity of transport and war themed toys for boys.

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