Summary

Alternative name(s): Button

Part of collection of badges collected by Jim Cooper, a veteran member of the Building Workers' Industrial Union (NSW Branch) and Union and political activist before his death in 1984. His daughter passed the badges on to Alf Zeeno, ex-secretary of the BWIU, with a request that they be donated to the museum.

The badge, originating from New Zealand, has a Maori hei-tiki figure on it. The hei-tiki is usually worn around the neck like an amulet. The figure is supposed to link back to Tiki, or the first man and is usually seen as a fertility symbol. The hei-tiki is an emblem of Polynesian cultures in general, not only representative of the Maori.

Physical Description

Square/ diamond-shaped metal pin. In the centre there is a black statue with big eyes (known as tiki), its tongue sticking out and crossed legs. On either side, there are two stylised figures of a man and a woman printed in blue ink. Above the statue there is a dove carrying an olive branch. The background is made up of geometric shaps.

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