Textile - Bicentennial tapestry, 1. Survey Team, 8th February 1803, 1988

Historical information

This is one of eight embroidered panels, completed during the 1988 Australian Bi-Centennial, and carried out under the auspices of City of Kew Council and the Kew Historical Society. Nearly 600 residents, including many children, participated in their production by adding a few or more stitches. A book records their names and the panels upon which they worked. Artist: Joy Stewart / Co-ordinator: Dorothy Benyei.

Physical description

1. Survey Team. A framed embroidery created by adults and children of the City of Kew as a Bicentennial project, based on a design by the artist Joy Stewart. Five of the six completed embroideries created in the project are/were displayed in the Kew Library. [The five embroidered panels have now been temporarily removed for conservation reasons].

Inscriptions & markings

Inscription: "SURVEY TEAM 8th February 1803 / Grimes, Flemming, Robbins and McCallum explored the river (Yarra) to the falls (Dights), sighting several friendly Aborigines, and were the first Europeans to set foot in the area now known as Kew." Embroidered signature of the artist: "(c) JStewart, 1988"

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