Item MM 50913 Glass Stereograph Negative - Federation Celebrations, Independent Order of Oddfellows Float, by G.H. Myers, Melbourne, Victoria, 1901

Summary

Glass negative stereograph showing the Independent Order of Oddfellows Float processing along Collins street on 11 May 1901. It is part of the G. H. Myers Collection which consists of 73 photographs taken by Godfrey Henry Myers, an electrician and amateur photographer, in Melbourne during May 1901. 72 of these photographs depict preparations for the celebrations that surrounded Federation; all but one are glass stereographs. This collection represents Myers' one venture into commercial photography. It is significant for its images of the crowds, which do not feature so prominently in commercial photographs. The remaining photograph is a family portrait.

The opening of the Australian Parliament on May 9 1901 was an occasion for great celebrations in Melbourne. Ten days of festivities (from 6-16 May) were planned to mark the Federation of the new nation and honour the Royal visitors, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. The city was transformed with decorations - flags, bunting, colourful lights and festive arches - and a series of public events were held, including a military tattoo and several street parades. Unprecedented numbers of people arrived in Melbourne from the rest of Victoria and throughout Australia to take part in the celebrations.

Description of Content

Independent Order of Oddfellows Float, Federation Celebrations, Collins Street, Melbourne, 11 May 1901. A young girl is being held aloft to see over the crowd. A mounted policeman with his black helmet rides alongside the Oddfellows Float. It features a large globe of the world with national shields and flags of countries containing lodges of the association. People on the float and in the procession were dressed to represent these countries. Women dressed in white represented the qualities of peace, purity, industry, order and system. The unofficial Australian flag being flown overhead is without the large star of the Commonwealth; this was acquired on 3 September 1901. To the left is the Town Hall clock, to the right is a largely empty fee-paying viewing stand. The German Arch is in the background.