Historical information
This Venezuelan 1956 Olympic pennant was souvenired by Marlene Austin, nee Trenberth in 1956 when she was working as an official driver for the Melbourne Olympic Games. Marlene, who was living with her parents in Brighton at the time, took leave from her job as a stenographer to work as a driver at the Olympics. She drove officials and dignitaries from a variety of nations (including Thailand, Italy, Cuba and Sweden) to and from events, collecting a number of souvenirs.
Marlene's family have lived in Brighton since 1941, when her parents moved into a house at 15 Moffat Street. The house remained in the family for more than 75 years, before it was sold in 2018.
Physical description
White triangular pennant with a blue border. The pennant features the image of the Olympic rings, with the central ring replaced by the image of the Olympic flame burning in a cauldron atop a Grecian pillar. Inside each of the four remaining rings are images of athletes competing in sporting events: a hurdler, a shooter, two boxers and a cyclist.
Inscriptions & markings
Above the Olympic flame, the word "MELBOURNE" is printed in black.
To the right of the image, printed in yellow, red and blue, is the text "VENEZUELA A LOS / XVI / JUEGOS OLIMPICOS"
At the far right is the year "1956" in yellow text on a black background.
Subjects
References
- Museums Victoria - Photo of Marlene Trenberth Photo of Marlene in her driver's uniform, outside her family's Brighton home. Museums Victoria holds digital copies of a number of photos from the Trenberth family, including several photos taken of and by Marlene during the 1956 Olympics.
