Description
I have a few of these ceramic bowls that were likely used in the members lounge of Old Parliament House in Canberra. We have not found any of these for sale, so believe there probably aren’t many still in existence.
The Canberra & District Historic Society has one in their collection https://www.canberrahistory.org.au/resource/23382/fcc-plate-stands.html
My notes from the auction where these were obtained said they were chocolate bowls, but the society says they are plate stands. Either way, they would certainly be a conversation piece whatever they hold!
The bowls have the Federal Capital Commission logo and date back to around 1927 – 1930.
The Federal Capital Commission took over responsibility for the planning and development of Canberra on 1 January 1925. By that time, the Federal Capital Advisory Committee had overseen the partial construction of the Parliament House, the Hotel Canberra and some cottages in the suburbs of Acton, Ainslie, Braddon and Kingston. The government now abandoned the Advisory Committee’s proposal to transfer only key personnel to Canberra and told the Federal Capital Commission to prepare for the transfer of 1,100 officers and their families. In the first two years of operation, the Commission completed the construction of the Parliament House, the Prime Minister’s Lodge, built 500 cottages, several hotels and schools, West Block Offices, the Albert Hall, the Institute of Anatomy, the Australian School of Forestry and an Observatory on Mount Stromlo. Further development included hostels for housing single public servants and construction of the Sydney and Melbourne commercial buildings.
Problems arose for the Federal Capital Commission which both administered and developed the National Capital. Public servants transferred from Melbourne where they had known local government resented the Commission’s often high-handed decision-making on local matters from which there was no appeal. The onset of the Great Depression in 1929 meant that the government cut expenditure on the Capital and disbanded the Commission. Canberra’s development was returned to the divided departmental responsibility which had characterised its stop-start development since 1913. As a sop to residents, a partly elected, partly nominated Advisory Council was established to advise the Minister on all matters pertaining to the Capital.
These item was purchased at a charity auction held in Canberra. Over the years, we supported many charities by attending fund raisers and purchasing memorabilia. Go to the About page for more information.
All items on this site were purchased from reputable charities and we believe all items to be authentic.
CONDITION
As I have a number of these, you may not get the exact item in the photos. All bowls I have are in tact and have wear and tear similar to the one pictured. Given they are nearly 100 years old and they were in regular use during the period, they may have minor defects such as small chips and discolouration.
All items for sale are essentially ‘used’ as they have been handled. In general they are all in good condition unless otherwise stated. Damage is noted if obvious, but minor scratching and marks are not necessarily noted. If a particular item was personally used by the signee, we will note this, otherwise consider the items copies or items specifically purchased for the purpose of signing.
SHIPPING
If you would like us to ship it, please contact us and we’ll get a price for shipping.
You can also pickup this item from our home in Canberra.
