Summary

Large metal trophy on a wooden base, consisting of a clown balancing on a drum.

This trophy was made in Melbourne in the early 1960s by Paramount for the Melbourne Moomba Festival for an unknown purpose. It may have been a prototype for later trophies, issued for such events as the Moomba Street Parade (a similar trophy is held by the State Library of Victoria as part of its Coles Myer Collection, given to Myer Melbourne as winner of the Best Float).

Physical Description

Large metal trophy on a wooden base. It consists of a three dimensional Moomba Clown logo figure, whose body is made from two boomerang shapes, balancing on top of a large drum. On top of the drum are two drum sticks. There is a City of Melbourne enamelled crest on top of the clown's hat. Words are engraved on his arms.

Significance

This trophy is significant due to its links to the Melbourne Moomba Festival, one of Melbourne's longest running festivals, is run under the auspices of the City of Melbourne. Moomba is celebrated during the Labour Day long weekend in March, and has been held annually since 1955. In 2003, the event was renamed Melbourne Moomba Waterfest, with most activities centred around the Yarra River.

Its origins date back to 1951, when Melbourne celebrated fifty years of Federation with a parade and the staging of the theatre production "An Aboriginal Moomba: Out of the Dark". The following year, the final Labour Day procession was held in Melbourne after running for almost a century. In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II visited the city in her first appearance as reigning monarch, bringing thousands of people to the CBD. The City Development Association and the Melbourne City Council saw the potential in an annual celebration which could do the same, and proposed the Moomba Festival. The first festival was officially opened in 1955.

A parade through the streets of central Melbourne has been a key part of the Moomba festival since its beginning. The Moomba Parade has proven to be one of the most enduring cultural activities in Melbourne, equalled only by the Anzac Day Parade and Remembrance Day services in importance to the people of the city. The floats have an annual theme, usually an elaboration on "Let's get together and have fun", the avowed mission and vision statement of Moomba. In the beginning he floats are usually promoting a Commercial or Government organisation, but in later years, as business became more reluctant to spend money on elaborate floats, they tended to represent sporting clubs, ethnic groups and other community organisations.

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