Summary

Alternative Name(s): Button

This badge was manufactured for the 1954 May Day parade by A.W.Patrick, a Melbourne business producing badges since the First World War and continuing to do so into the 21st century. As the Sydney Herald noted on the 3rd of May 1954, participation in May Day celebrations at the time was mostly confined to members of unions or Communist parties. An article in the paper claims that 7,000 people marched while 40,000 were just spectators. In the Melbourne March, there was at least a faction who chose to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Eureka Rebellion, as seen in this badge. The Rebellion (or Stockade) of1854 that took place in Eureka, Ballrat. The mine workers, tired of paying a licensing fee to the authorities regardless of the success of their endeavours, revolted against the colonial powers. Indirectly, the Stockade resulted in white male suffrage on a parliamentary level, so it has been seen as an event contributing to the birth of democracy.It has subsequently been absorbed into the Australian socialist thought as an occurrence where the working class managed to rise up against the ruling classes.

Physical Description

This is a circular red button with white printing around the edge, a white border inside this and white horizontal printing at the centre.

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