This pennant was donated to the Mission by June Muirhead (nee Richardson) who visited the Mission on two occasions: on the 13 November 2014 and then in 2016. She lived from age 3 to 8, with her parents, Cuthbert (Bert) Richardson and Jane (Jenny) Richardson, and her sister, Edna, in the Cottage at 717 Flinders Street. Her father, was the caretaker of the Flinders Street building between 1943-1949. . In 1943 her father was hired to work at the Mission as a caretaker. The family moved from Wonthaggi. When she lived in the Mission, she would sometimes sneak into the club to look at books and pictures. Some seafarers would give her badges, tokens. One of them gave her this felt pennant. In 1949, the family moved back to Wonthaggi and June started year 5 over there.A number of souvenir gifts and small boxes were apparently available through the Mission To Seamen in the 1940s. This acquisition adds to the small collection of items from the period which could be used to form the core of an informative exhibition. Similar flags were made in other countries depicting an animal (kiwi bird in New Zealand, springbox in South Africa) and other Australian towns.A triangular felted, dark blue pennant with printed cursive inscription and motifs including: the Mission to Seamen Flying Angel flag, an outline of Australia; a Koala wearing a captain's hat; an insignia emblem for the Merchant Navy. A looped cotton binding along left edge of the triangle to thread the flag on a stick or cord support. The printed inscription reads: Greetings from Australia.pennant, flags, koala, flying angel club, merchant navy, d. june muirhead, marketing, caretaker, cottage, bert richardson, june muirhead nee richardson, edna richardson, ww2

This invitation to a ‘Conversazione’ to celebrate the Federation of the six colonies in Australia into the six States of Australia in 1901 was sent to the invitees after the event to keep as a souvenir of the occasion. The event was hosted by the Government of Victoria. The certificate was designed by George Brougham Austin, a Melbourne architect and artist employed by the Victorian Department of Public Works. He also designed many of the public decorations displayed in Melbourne during the Federation celebrations. Austin’s original work was lithographed by an artist at Sands and McDougall, Melbourne. This particular invitation was sent to George Rolfe and his wife, Annie. George Rolfe (1836-1919), a tea merchant from Melbourne, began buying blocks of land near the mouth of the Hopkins River in Warrnambool in the 1870s. By the early 1880s he owned 50 acres of land in the town and some nearby farming properties. He used the building on the ]and near the mouth of the Hopkins River as holiday accommodation and called the property, Lyndoch. He improved the property with the additions of stables, jetty, boathouse, bone and chaff sheds, reservoir and windmill and extensive gardens. Rolfe spent most of his later life at Lyndoch. Today the property is the site of an Aged Care facility. This certificate is of considerable importance for two reasons: 1. It is an important and attractive memento of a signal event in the history of Australia – the Federation of the States in 1901. 2. The certificate was an invitation to Mr and Mrs George Rolfe. George Rolfe was a prominent Warrnambool person in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This is a multi-coloured certificate printed on a cream-coloured card. The certificate has an image of the Exhibition Building surrounded by an ornate border of heraldic shields, portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, views of the six capital cities of Australia, native flora and fauna, the Royal Crest and the Crest of Australia. The names of the invitees are handwritten in black ink. ‘United Australia 1901 One Flag One Hope One Destiny Australian Commonwealth Celebrations’ ‘The Government of Victoria requests the honor of the presence of Mr & Mrs G. Rolfe at a Conversazione in the Exhibition Building on the Evening of Tuesday 7th May 1901 at 8 p.m.’ george rolfe of lyndoch, warrnambool, federation of australia, history of warrnambool, george rolfe

This certificate was sent to those who had been present at one of the celebrations in connection with the Federation of the six States of Australia in 1901 – The Royal Review at Flemington Racecourse on 10th May 1901. The invitation to attend the event was issued by the Government of Victoria. The certificate was intended to be kept as a souvenir of the event and framed. This particular certificate was issued to George Rolfe and his wife of Warrnambool. George Rolfe (1836-1919), a tea merchant from Melbourne, began buying blocks of land near the mouth of the Hopkins River in Warrnambool in the 1870s. By the early 1880s he had acquired 50 acres of land in the town and several farming properties. He used the buildings on the land near the mouth of the Hopkins River as holiday accommodation and called the property, Lyndoch. He improved the property by adding stables, chaff and bone sheds, jetty, boathouse, reservoir, water well and windmill and extensive gardens and he spent most of his later life in the Warrnambool area. Lyndoch today is the site of an aged care facility. This certificate is of considerable importance for two reasons: 1. It is an important memento of a signal event on Australia’s history – the Federation of the six States in 1901 and the subsequent celebrations. 2. The certificate was issued to a prominent Warrnambool person, George Rolfe and his wife.This is multi-coloured sheet of paper mounted on card. There are four black and white photographs of the Royal Review at Flemington and photographs of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. The images include the Royal Crest, the shields of the six Australian States, a shield of Victoria with a background of flags, cannon and ammunition, two mounted soldiers with a soldier and sailor standing nearby and swords and bayonets. There is also much colour decoration around the edges of the certificate. The names of Mr and Mrs Rolfe are handwritten in black ink. ‘Australian Commonwealth Celebrations’ ‘The Government of Victoria requests the honour of the presence of Mr & Mrs G. Rolfe at the Royal Review at Flemington on Friday the 10th of May 1901’ federation of australian states, george rolfe of lyndoch, history of warrnambool, george rolfe

This certificate is an invitation to the Evening Reception in Melbourne in 1901, an event which was part of the celebrations in Melbourne to commemorate the Federation of the six colonies into the six States of Australia in January 1901. The certificate was sent to the invitees after the event as a souvenir of the occasion. The certificate was designed by the artists Julian and Howard Ashton and lithographed and issued by Sands and McDougall Limited of Melbourne. This particular certificate was sent to George Rolfe and his wife Annie. George Rolfe (1836-1919), a tea merchant from Melbourne, began buying blocks of land near the mouth of the Hopkins River in the 1870s. By the early 1880s he had acquired 50 acres of land in the town and several nearby farming properties. He used the buildings on the land at the mouth of the River Hopkins as holiday accommodation and called this property Lyndoch. Rolfe improved this property adding stables, jetty, boathouse, bone and chaff sheds, reservoir and windmill and extensive gardens. Rolfe spent most of his later life at Lyndoch. Today the property is the site of an Aged Care Facility. This certificate is of considerable importance for two reasons: 1. It is an attractive and valuable memento of a signal event in Australia’s history – the Federation of the States in 1901. 2. The certificate was an invitation to Mr and Mrs George Rolfe. Rolfe was a prominent person in Warrnambool in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This is a multi-coloured certificate mounted on a piece of grey cardboard. The certificate is highly embossed and has a figure of Britannia in a red dress and a mailed vest holding a shield with the Union Jack emblem. Britannia is extending her hand to a figure of a younger woman representing Australia. This figure is dressed in blue and holds a shield which has a blue cross with white stars. The borders have vines and vine leaves and the Royal Crest is at the base of the certificate. The names of the invitees are handwritten in black ink. ‘In Celebration of the Opening of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, To Meet Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, His Majesty’s Ministers of State for Australia have the honor to invite Mr & Mrs G. Rolfe to an Evening Reception at the Exhibition Building, Melbourne on the 9th of May 1901, at 8 0’clock’. george rolfe of lyndoch, warrnambool, federation of australia, history of warrnambool, george rolfe

This is an invitation to George and Annie Rolfe of Lyndoch, Warrnambool, to attend the opening of the first Australian Parliament in Melbourne in May 1901. A smaller invitation card was first sent to the recipients and this larger invitation was sent after the event for the recipients to keep as a souvenir. The six Australian colonies became six Australian States in the newly-formed Commonwealth of Australia in January 1901. George Rolfe (1836-1919), a tea merchant from Melbourne, began buying blocks of land in Warrnambool near the mouth of the Hopkins River in the 1870s. By the early 1880s Rolfe owned 50 acres of land in the town and other nearby pastoral properties. He used the existing building on the land near the mouth of the Hopkins River as holiday accommodation, calling the property Lyndoch and adding stables, bone and chaff sheds, jetty, boathouse, reservoir and windmill and an extensive garden. George Rolfe spent most of his later life at Lyndoch. Today the area is the site of an aged care facility. This certificate is of considerable importance for two reasons: 1. It is an important memento of a signal event in Australia’s history – the Federation of the States in 1901. 2. The certificate was an invitation to George Rolfe of Lyndoch and his wife. Rolfe was a prominent Warrnambool person at that time. This is a piece of cardboard containing an illustration of a young queen in battle dress and on horseback bowing to an image of Britannia. The queen is about to be crowned. There are several lady attendants in the background and two large columns depicted on the sides of the illustration with shields and banners. An extract from Kipling’s poem, The Young Queen, is printed at the bottom of the card. The invitation is coloured in brown, yellow, white and orange tonings. The name of the recipient of the card is handwritten in black ink. The card is slightly scuffed and marked. The card is an invitation to Mr and Mrs Rolfe to attend the Opening of the First Australian Parliament in Melbourne in May 1901. ‘Mr & Mrs G. Rolfe’ federation in australia, george rolfe and family, history of warrnambool, lyndoch warrnambool