Lot 428

Description

Commonwealth of Australia State Banquet, Town Hall, Sydney, 1 January 1901 (Commonwealth Day), two menus with one menu cover and another menu inside section glued to a cardboard backing, this now separated in the middle so the cover is on one half and the inside of the menu is on other half but this needs to be reglued to the board, with the cover featuring many signatures of those in attendance, noted Edmund Barton, Australia's first Prime Minister. Cardboard backing damaged and printing on backing faded, the menu cover and signatures also faded with age but still very legible and the inside of the menu faded, otherwise very good.

Those in attendance and most of whose signatures are on the cover included the Lieutenant-Governor (Sir Frederick Darley) who presided, and supporting him on the right were his Excellency Admiral Pearson, Sir William Lyne, the Hon. E. Barton (Federal Premier), Archbishop Smith, Sir John Forrest, Mr. R. J. Seddon (Premier of New Zealand) Mr. F. B. Suttor (Vice President of the Executive Council of New South Wales), Mr. John See, M. L. A. (New South Wales), Mr. Dickson, Mr. G. H. Reid, M. L. A., Mr. R. E. O'Connor, Q. C., Sir John Downer (South Australia), and Colonel Wyndham, Mr. Henniker Heston, M.P. (England), and Sir Robert Stout. On the left were Sir Samuel Way, Bart. (Chief Justice of South Australia), Sir Samuel Griffith (Chief Justice of Queensland), Mr. Layard (Attorney-General of Ceylon), Hon. R. Philp (Premier of Queensland), Hon. F. W. Holder (Premier of South Australia), Sir George Turner (Premier of Victoria), Mr. C. C. Kingston, Lieutenant-Colonel Peyton, and Major-General French. The vice-chairmen were Mr. E. W. O'Sullivan (Minister for Works), Mr. J. Perry (Minister for Public Instruction), Mr. J. L. Fagan (Minister for Mines and Agriculture), and Mr. W. H. Wood (Minister for Justice).