Summary

Note: This object includes stereotypes of and derogatory references to First Peoples. It also includes misleading historical content which denies First Peoples' sovereignty in Australia for more than 60,000 years.Such representations are not condoned by Museums Victoria which considers them to be racist. Historical distance and context do not excuse or erase this fact.

Collectable card album entitled 'Australia in forty-eight full natural colour cards', part of the Commonwealth Series, produced by the News & Information Bureau of Australia, Australia House London and J. Lyons & Company Ltd in 1959. The book contains cards featuring colour images of Australian flora, fauna, cities, industrial sites and Australian Aboriginal people which have been adhered into designated spaces with text descriptions.

The album was produced for Australia House London which was the primary coordination point for post World War II British migrants. The Foreword by Lady Baden-Powell suggests a connection to the Scout and Guide movement, and illustrates that the album was produced as an educational and promotional tool for prospective British migrants, as well as a commercial promotional tool for Lyons Tea Company.

This album is exactly the same as one owned by Tony Burgoyne, who migrated as a child with his family from England in 196_. He describes how he collected the cards (he no longer owns his actual album) and how it formed his impressions of the Australian landscape, the native animals and cities, and the colour and light of the Australian environment. He also describes that upon arrival, his expectations were not quite matched by the reality.

Physical Description

Full colour album, 16 pages plus cover. 48 cards have been adhered into place, pages have line illustrations and text throughout.

Significance

Statement of Historical Significance:
This album provides an evocative example of the ways British migrants to Australia developed an image of the Australia to which they were coming.

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