Summary

Round medal with an enamelled shield and engraving on one side, and a blank scroll on the other.

It is an unawarded example of a medal issued to contestants in the 1962 Miss Moomba International Quest by the Moomba Festival Board. Held among members of various ethnic groups, the competition was discontinued the next year, after the Moomba chairman. Mr T.A. Pettigrew, questioned the need to have a second competition as well as the Moomba Queen Quest. He said `When girls born in Europe land here, they become Australians. I can see no reason why we should have a separate Miss Moomba International Quest for the sake of girls from Holland, Italy, Germany or any other country.'.

Physical Description

Gold coloured metal disc with moulded wreath design around the edge. Central gold, blue, red and white enamel logo of a clown head and neck ruff with three boomerangs over the top of a map of Australia. With loop at top. Reverse is plain execpt for floral design along left edge and blank rectangular scroll at base.

Obverse Description

In centre, raised enamel Moomba logo with blue map of Australia, and on three boomerangs, 'MOOMBA / FESTIVAL / MELBOURNE . Around logo, Miss Moomba International Quest 1962'.

Reverse Description

Wreath around left side. Blank scroll for engraving with maker's name 'K.G. LUKE' in tiny letters beneath.

Significance

This medal 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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