Banners added to Victorian Heritage Register
Three trade union banners were added to the Victorian Heritage Register in April.
They are the Amalgamated Miners’ Association of Australasia banner in Maldon, the Stawell Miners’ banner in Stawell and the Waterside Workers’ Union banner in Melbourne.
These banners were all considered to be significant to the State due to their historical value. Many workers banners no longer exist and these three examples are rare surviving ones.
They demonstrate the rise of the union movement and they reflect the social and political aspirations for unions. They were often taken out on parade for significant events.
One of the banners registered in April, the banner of the Amalgamated Miners’ Association of Australasia, Maldon No. 14 Branch, located in Maldon, is the earliest known surviving trade union banner in
Victoria.
An estimated 200 union banners were created between 1856 and 1950 and there are now only twelve union banners known to survive in Victoria.
More information on these registrations can be found here.