Page revised 23 August 2001

EDWARD LAW

ARMS, CRESTS & MONOGRAMS

AUSTRALIA GENERAL.

Because of the few albums identified as Australian it is difficult to speak authoritatively of the availability of crest material to the Australian collector in the nineteenth century. From the evidence available to the author it would seem that crested stationery was much scarcer than in Britain, a state of affairs which would have been expected in a young country where the class system and its means of expression did not have a deep foothold and where the majority of the population would not have favoured the system.

Crested material was, of course, widely used in government and this is dealt with under a separate heading (Australia Government). Elsewhere small amounts of crested material are found for commercial concerns, private individuals and clubs. Among the author's collection the commonest class of crests are those of educational establishments.

Private crests are seldom identifiable so it is useful when the collector has added details to the album. The coat of arms to the right is identified in a contemporary hand as 'Dr. J Cooke, Melbourne'. We do not, unfortunately have a name to go with the attractive crested letter head from Prahran.

The relevance of the handsome armorial letterhead for The White Knights at South Yarra is not clear. The arms are those of Fitzgibbon, the head of one line of which was styled the White Knight. Obviously a reference to that, but whether as the White Knight himself or merely pointing out a connection to the line is not clear.

Melbourne Town Hall is a noted building, both architecturally and socially. It was completed in 1870, with the impressive portico being added in 1887. Melbourne's City Council chamber is housed in the building which has been the venue for major concerts ranging from Nellie Melba to the Beatles.

The Victoria Amateur Turf Club was founded in 1875 to promote horse racing chiefly for amateur riders. Their first meeting was at Ballarat in 1876. Later that year they created their own track at Caulfield. The club is one of the most prestigious in Australia: their Caulfield Cup is the world's richest 2,400m handicap.

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