Trade union banner

item details

NameTrade union banner

ProductionGeorge Tutill & Co., Ltd; manufacturer(s); 1899; London

Classificationbanners, ceremonial objects

Materialssilk, paint, wood, leather, cloth

DimensionsApproximate: 4000mm (width), 4000mm (height)

Registration NumberPC004649/1-7

Credit lineGift of the Central Amalgamated Workers' Union, 2009

Overview

This banner was made for the Westport District Gold Miners' Industrial Union of Workers in 1899, and is one of the oldest surviving trade union banners in New Zealand.

Design
The banner has been painted on the front and back, and was ordered from the London firm of Tutills in 1899 at a cost of £40. Tutills was a trade union institution - it is estimated that during the union movement's heyday, the firm was responsible for three-quarters of the 10,000 banners made for British unions.

Significance
Banners have brought pageantry and pride to the trade union movement since they began appearing in Britain in the early nineteenth century. Banners play a significant role in social movements, protest demonstrations and in the accompanying visual record. Their scale and dramatic qualities provide leadership and a point of focus at the head of demonstrations and rallies.

The Westport District Gold Miners' Industrial Union was re-registered as the Westport General Labourers' and Mechanics' Union in 1908, but their banner was still carried proudly at Labour Day parades in Westport right up until the 1930s.