Historical information

This is the Minute Book of the Executive Committee of Warrnambool's Centenary Celebrations and includes the Minutes of early meetings in 1938-39-40 when the celebrations were originally going to be held in 1939-1940. This celebration was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War Two. The Minutes resume in 1946 and continue to 1947 when the centenary of Warnambool's founding in 1847 was celebrated. The Secretary of the Committee was Frank Grayson, a Warrnambool printer and journalist. Centenary celebrations included a street procession (watched by 20,000 people), bonfires and a fireworks display, a massed bands concert, a choral thanksgiving service in the Botanical Gardens and a local industries Exhibition.

Significance

This Minute Book is of some importance as it documents the activities of the committee that organized Warrnambool's extensive celebrations during its Centenary year of 1947. It is a useful research tool.

Physical description

This is a hardcover ledger of 575 pages. It has a navy-coloured cover with a label pasted on. The label has a crest on it. The spine and the corners of the cover are light brown leather with a label with gold-coloured printing and ornamentation on the spine. The inside of the front cover has some taping tied with string for additional binding. The pages have marbled edging and contain both typed and written material pasted and folded into the book. There are some loose papers and newspaper cuttings included amongst the pages. There is some staining on the cover.

Inscriptions & markings

Minute Book
1847 -1947 Warrnambool Centenary Celebrations March 22nd -30th