Bicentennial Banners

The Willoughby Banners were commissioned as part of the 1988 Australian Bicentenary celebrations. The banners were designed and constructed by artist Malcolm King, textile artist Yvonne Line, and many volunteers. The banners are currently hanging in the Civic Centre, and will be moved to Civic Place when construction is complete.

	First, the eternal land: the sea, the earth, the Southern Cross suggest the age of our island continent. Themes of birth and death are linked inextricably with the land itself, suggesting the ability of the Aborigines to live at one with their world. The ‘hands’ design and the positive life spiral (common to many early societies) suggest an ageless continuity. Banner artist, Malcolm King, states that he “wanted to create a time perspective. Our celebration of 200 years is so minuscule in the entire scheme of things.”		The Aborigine’s domain. Fish, snake and kangaroo motifs in the bottom panel are taken from rock carvings in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Beside them, the colours of the Aboriginal flag: red for the earth, gold for the sun, black for the people. The two land masses near the top suggest the heads, entry to Sydney Harbour, which leads on to the waterways which gave early settles access to this strange new land. In the centre section, pink ‘wildflowers’ appear (echoed in The White Man Comes). At the top, the blue sky and the relentless sun dominate all. Strong design elements at top and bottom – the sky motif and the life spiral – provide a link with Under The Southern Cross.
	A background of sky and clouds as seen through an old-fashioned spyglass. The sailing ship entering Sydney Harbour is based on one of the first fleet ships. Below, a scene on Middle Cove or Lane Cove, which were so important to early exploration: two dubious-looking characters take their cargo to a landing in Lane Cove (the early name for the whole North Shore). The Sydney Gazette reported on February 25, 1841 that “Lane Cove has long be notorious for the rest of disreputable people”… and “Sly grog-selling… is carried out so openly, that it can scarcely be said to deserve the name sly.” Europeans found distinctive flora, including the angophera. The wildflowers ‘blooming’ on this banner appear in the Willoughby Council Crest. Across the bottom of the panel, a stylised map, and the convict chains of the early settlers.		A nineteenth century government official commented that, “The timbergetters of old supplied Sydney with blackbutt, mahogany, stringybark, turpentine, and ironbark and others besides. Splendid red gum, blue gum, and apple and on the sandy lower levers white gum, amongst a host of other trees and shrubs.” This banner shows the clearing of Victoria Avenue by the Baldry family. Wattle and daub houses provided scant shelter for the prolific pioneers, such as the family shown here, from a photograph in the Willoughby Archives. Materials in this banner typify the community contributions. The touch of gold-trimmed nineteenth century lace on the mother’s hat was donated.
	A montage of real estate posters, showing the importance of transport in the developing community. Americans who had come to Australia during the gold rush became land developers, hence the American spelling of the ‘Middle Harbor’ poster. Variety of type faces and rich embellishments used on the old posters add design interest. The top cameo features a panoramic view from Gore Hill to the water, glimpses of Sydney Harbour and the city in the distance suggest the isolation of the area. Horses were still important, for vehicles and riders, and the North Shore was lush with strawberry farms and orchards – the trees here bearing sequinned ‘fruit’.		On October 23, 1865, Government Gazette Number 227 announced the incorporation of the Municipality of Willoughby, but it was in the ‘90s that the population soared from 1600 to over 5000. The Suspension Bridge, an imposing sandstone structure, started the development of Gordon’s Estate (Northbridge), with tram service added in 1912. The old stone church still stands at the corner of Mowbray Road and Pacific Highway. In front of ‘Victoria Stores’ is a tanner with his fleshing knife, indicating the importance of the tanneries in early Willoughby. J. Hammond’s meat delivery reflects the increasing commercialism of the area. This banner repeats some of the design motifs from A Prime Piece of Real Estate, with the wheels of the butcher’s cart echoing the wheels of the train engine at the bottom of the panel.
	World War I. The flames of war at the top of the panel, the spiky barbed wire and the jagged ‘explosions’ of bombs suggest the horror of war. But this was a war that also led to a strong sense of national identity, symbolised here by the kangaroo and the emu, the flannel flower and the wattle. Linking the far-distant war with home, the hillside that suggest the Dardanelles and Gallipoli is topped with a cross from a local cemetery.		Homecoming soldiers returned to their wives, their sweethearts, looking to Willoughby for their homes. By 1924, the municipality had 150 miles of streets and roads, a population of 35,000 and an annual rate bill of 60,000 pounds ($120,000!)! At the top, a couple stroll into the moonlight, his cane suggesting a wounded soldier dreaming of a home on The Aussies Estate. (“Exquisite water views. Terms 5 pounds per block deposit, balance over 5 years at 6%”). For the military uniform, a real one was used, re-cut to World War I design. Another design from an old real estate poster is the middle harbour scene. Gumnuts and butterflies add a final touch to the romantic theme of this banner.
	With the ‘30s came The Depression and Willoughby Council provided much-needed employment with public works schemes. Eastern Valley Way, was such a project, which was officially opened September 9th, 1939. Walter Burley Griffin planned Castlecrag as a ‘model community’, its streets following the natural contours of the land, houses designed to blend in with the bush. Here, Griffin’s innovative Incinerator features with a horse-drawn cart ready to unload garbage. Contributing to improved transportation are workers with a pick axe, a steam roller, a bitumen sprayer with a froth of lace giving added dimension to the steam from the bitumen sprayer.		Changes in architecture, changes in living styles, changes in transport. Dominating the top of the panel, the Harbour Bridge, linking Willoughby with the centre of Sydney. ‘Mitchell’s Quality Bread’ boasts motorised delivery. Malcolm King used features from several photographs to show the Californian Bungalow style architecture. Geometric designs reflect the Art Deco style of the ‘30s. A mock-up of a Walter Burley Griffin stage set for the outdoor Castlehaven Theatre, Castlecrag, shows figures in stylised classical poses. Sequinned ‘lights’ appear on the Harbour Bridge and Yvonne Line comments that “We were putting this banner together when the jacarandas were in bloom, so we decided to add some.”
	Once again, the flames of war leap across the top of the panel, echoing the motif atop the World War I banner. The clouds of war gather around the Australian flag, kindly donated to the Banners Project by one of the volunteers, Madge Milston. One of the few silk-screened sections shows faceless, anonymous soldiers in regimented rows and for the first time, the symbol of radioactivity appears, suggesting the potential horror of nuclear war. More symbols of destruction – the loops of barbed wire, broken bones, the skeletal masks – are set against a blood-red background. In gentle contrast are the flowers, symbolic of the Memorial Rose Garden near Chatswood.		The knowledge explosion leads to outer space and, on Earth, sophisticated communications, expanding industry and improved transportation lead to more mobility and isolation. The nuclear family is born prosperous, ambitious, lured by a new world of ‘consumer goods’. Architecture changes to accommodate the smaller family. Above, the night sky, the starts, the satellite dishes suggest the exploration of space and man’s great leap to the moon.
	A symphony of colour and design signifies Willoughby’s cultural growth, with the Band and the Choir noted in musical motifs. In the centre, a golden trumpet heralds the logo of the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, and at the bottom, the conductor’s hands with poised baton underscore the place of music in our municipality. All joyful themes, with scroll embellishments emphasising the sense of celebration.		Willoughby now and in the future. The centre section is a representation of a town planning design, the towering buildings suggest the recent commercial growth, the pedestrian mall thronging with the rich multi-racial mixture of residents. Members of various ethnic groups contributed handiwork for the figures – Maltese lace, a Filipino costume, an Armenian costume. A female hand cradles the globe, showing the urgent need for a human perspective in our technological world. First and last – the first banner and this one span the history of our continent. In the first, the Southern Cross spangles the sky; in this, the multiplicity of stars suggest our exploration of space. The life spiral is replaced with our Earth, with a sequin marking Willoughby – our own tiny place on the globe.