Photograph, Chatham students support the Empire, Surrey Hills, c 1947, 1947

Historical information

The billycart was possibly decorated for celebrations associated with Empire Day.
Image was originally copied by Chatham Primary School for inclusion in their pictorial history "A Patchwork of People - Chatham Past and Present" [ISBN 0 646 29370 2], by Susan Barnett and Julia Ashby, published in 1996 for the school's 70th anniversary. Copied for the SHNCHC with the school and donor's permission.
There is also a laminated copy of it for display purposes.

Physical description

Black and white image of four boys and their billycart. Two are identified as Bruce Hansen, standing behind the flag and Jimmy Boyd, seated in the billycart, which is decorated with streamers, an English flag and advertising signs promoting Australian sultanas and the export of Australian dried fruit to the [British] Empire. The photo was taken in the grounds of Chatham Primary School. In the background can be seen some of the cypress trees that were planted along the side of the oval, a remnant eucalypt from the time when the land was part of J B Maling's farm and part of the shelter shed.

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