Conservation in Australia, Past Present and Future: Preprints from the AICCM National Conference, 19 – 21 October 2011 Canberra
Abstract
The Eureka Flag wtih its iconic imge of the Southern Cross was flown above the miner’s stockade at Bakery Hill in Ballarat in 1854. After the battle in which the miners were defeated the Flag was torn down and kept by Trooper King and his family until the lage 1800’s when it was placed in the care of the City of Ballarat. It was poorly looked after during the early 1900s until it underwent treatment in 1973. the treatment was carried out by local Ballarat seamstress Val D’Angri and the Flag has subsequently hung in the Art Gallery of Ballarat. in 2010 the Textile Conservation section at Artlab Australia undertook an assessment of the Flag’s condition and recommended that the previous treatment be redone. The Flag travelled to Adelaide in late 2010 and underwent a new treatment including the removal of the 1973 lining, realignment of the remnants and attachment of a new lining using stitching techniques. After lining the Flag was sewn to a new larger backboard made from an aluminum frame with lightweight aluminum honeycomb panel in-fills. Prior to treatment the Flag underwent fadeometer testing and the results of this testing indicated that the Flag was dyed using Prussian Blue. The results of this testing affected the proposed parameters for future display.