Summary

Blue velvet ribbon with 13 war-related Australian fundraising badges attached. The badges all date from the World War I era, 1914-1919. They were purchased and otherwise collected by the donor's great-grandmother, Mrs Lillie Mary Hollinger. The Hollinger family lived at Panton Hill when World War I broke out. They moved to Canterbury, Melbourne, in 1918, and in the 1930s moved to Ferny Creek.

Badges were displayed on ribbons during and after World War I, commemorating involvement in the war effort. Rosalie Triolo notes that children particularly enjoyed displaying badges that they had bought as fund-raisers for the war. One former child, Winifred Grassick, remembered that Red Cross buttons were posted to schools each month by the Education Department. to be sold for a shilling each. 'They surely must have raised a significant sum because they were a regular feature of even our small school. We took an interest and pride in being able to display a ribbon containing the whole sequence', she remembered.

It is not known if Lillie Mary Hollinger added or removed badges from the ribbon, or if this particular ribbon dates from World War I. The badges have been removed from the ribbon by Museum Victoria staff for conservation reasons.

Physical Description

Length of light blue velveteen ribbon with thirteen fundraising badges pinned to it. The first badge on the ribbon is for Children's Flower Day which was an annual event during World War I. It was organised by the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League to support soldiers and their dependents. The second badge is for Remembrance Day 1918. The third badge depicts a map of Australia, a selection of flags and the words 'For Freedom and Life'. The fourth badge is for the Red Cross. It shows a nurse and the words 'Our Day/Nation and...'. The next badge shows a laurel wreath and the word ANZAC 25/4/1915. The next badge is for the French Red Cross. The next badge shows a sprig of wattle and the words 'For Our Own'; it is a blatant attempt to link indigenous plants with nationalism. The slogan on the next badge reads 'Hospital Day for Charity'. The next badge is for the 'Discharged Soldiers Fund for Our Returned Soldiers'. The slogan on the next badge reads 'Our Sailors Day' with a naval flag. The next badge commemorates ANZAC Day. The next badge is for the Italian Red Cross. The final badge is for Wattle Day.

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