A Display of Victorian Nationalism? The Melbourne International Exhibition, 1880-1881

I

It is Friday, October 1st, in

the year 1880. The streets of

Melbourne are crowded

with great throngs of people,

lining the route from

Queen’s Wharf on the Yarra

before Customs House (now

the Immigration Museum),

along Market Street to

Collins Street, then along to

Spring Street, and then

along Spring Street into the

Carlton Gardens, and up to

the main doorway of the

newly built Exhibition

Building. This crowd,

estimated to be 70,000

strong, had been growing

since 8 o’clock in the

morning despite the weather

threatening rain, and the

wind bringing the potential

of dust stormsi. The crowd

was not to be dissuaded by

any means from watching

the parade to mark the

opening of the Melbourne

International Exhibition.

Flags from every nation

were said to be present, with

the British and Victorian

flags especially represented

amongst the crowdii.

The parade itself was a

display of national pride

from the host nation,

Victoria (A nation in and of

itself until federation in

1901), as well as shows of

pride from several of the

other nations represented at

the Exhibition. The parade

to the Exhibition building

was lead by the crew and

marching band of the

Victorian navy’s flagship

Cerberus, joined by the

crews of the various other

foreign naval vessels in the

harbour at the timeiii. They

The Melbourne

International Exhibition,

running from October 1st,

1880 until April 30th 1881

was one of the city of

Melbourne’s first big events,

with almost 1.5 million

visitors, more than five

times the population of

Melbourne at the time,

seeing the exhibition during

its 8 month run. 29 nations

set up displays within the

purpose built International

Exhibition Building (now the

Royal Exhibition Building).

On the surface the event

seems to have been born

purely from nationalist

sentiment, designed to

showcase the colony of

Victoria to the world.

Christopher E. Orrell

discusses the extent to

which this assertion is true…

A Display of Victorian Nationalism?

The Melbourne International Exhibition, 1880-1881

Architect Joseph Reed’s

watercolour design for

the Exhibition Building,

as would be seen from

the City end of

Nicholson Street. Source: Museum Victoria, Item

SH 194

II

were joined at Melbourne’s

town hall by the assembled

representatives of the

various trade union

movementsiv. Following

behind were several key

political figures of the state,

including the Governor of

Victoria, the Marquis of

Normanby; and the premier

of Victoria, and key figure

in the organisation of the

Exhibition, Graham Berryv.

The level of nationalistic

fever spread even into the

opening ceremony, with

everything, down to the

official opening cantata

extolling the virtues of

Victoria, and giving her a

place in the worldvi. This

show of nationalism defined

the opening day of the

Melbourne International

Exhibition, if not the entire

event itself. The extent to

which these feelings of

national pride influenced the

organisation and even the

very genesis of the event

itself is up for debate. The

influence of nationalism

upon the organisation of the

first World’s Fair hosted in

Melbourne will be herein

examined and contrasted

with the other influences

that resulted in this grand

event.

The World’s Fair movement

was an 19th Century bastion

of nationalism, with each

host nation building grand

structures, known as

‘palaces of industry’, to

house all the great industrial

innovations from around the

world, and to display the

finery of the nationvii

.

Melbourne’s World’s Fair,

the Melbourne International

Exhibition, was no different.

In addition to the pomp and

ceremony that the opening

provided, the Exhibition

Building itself was also a

show of nationalismviii

.

The building, with its

temporary annexes was the

biggest building in the

Southern Hemisphere at the

time of the exhibition, and it

stood imposingly against the

Melbourne skyline, dwarfed

only by the city’s many

churches. The highest point

of the building, the smaller

dome atop the main dome

was clad in gold as a

conspicuous display of the

young colonies wealth

brought by the gold rush of

the 1850six.

The allocation of space

inside the building, too,

drew on nationalistic

sentiment, with more than

half of the almost 900,000

feet of space being devoted

to parts of the British

Empire, with most of this

space being filled by either

British or Victorian

displaysx. The allocation of

the display floor was very

heavily skewed in the

favour of the British Empire,

with other nations losing out

on the allocation of the

available floor space, with

some nations, such as the

United States, being

Left: A map of the pavilions for the

Melbourne International Exhibition. The

coloured portions denote members of the

British Empire. Blue: Victoria, Red:

Great Britain, Purple: British colonies

inside Australia, Green: British colonies

outside Australia. Source: State Library of

Victoria IAN09/10/80/191 Colours added by author

Below: A Portrait of the Premier of

Victoria, Graham Berry. Source: State Library

of Victoria A/S07/07/77/60

III

allocated less than half of

the floor space that they had

requestedxi.

Even the furnishings of the

building had inspired

nationalistic sentiment in the

Victorians. In the lead up to

the Exhibition the

commissioners desired ‘500

Dozen’ chairsxii

for seating

guests during the course of

the Exhibition. The

commissioners desired that

these chairs all be sourced

from Victoria, and gave the

stipulation that the chairs

were not to have had any

Chinese labour involved in

their constructionxiii

. This,

however, was even in the

19th Century seen as a poor

political move, and was

widely criticised in the

papers as having been

influenced by the lobbying

of the local manufacturersxiv

,

and was seen as favouring

the Melburnian

manufacturers over those in

regional Victoriaxv

. After

months of heavy criticism in

the papers, with no amount

of defence from

commissionersxvi

or trade

union officialsxvii

able to

sway the opinion of the

public, nor the papers, the

decision was eventually

overturned at the end of

Julyxviii

. It is clear from this

episode with the chairs that

the organisation of the


Exhibition was not entirely

smooth sailing for the

commissioners. In fact,

quite the opposite, as the

idea of having an

International Exhibition in

Victoria was resisted by the

conservative Legislative

Assembly and in the

conservative papers such as

The Argus from the time the

Exhibition was first

proposed up until the

opening day.

Politics played a large role

in the organisation of the


Exhibition. From its

inception through to the day

it closed, the Melbourne

International Exhibition was

seen in certain quarters as

the brainchild of the

politician Graham Berry,

and cursed as the ‘blight of

“Berryism”’xix

. Berry was a

divisive figure, falling

firmly on the ‘Protectionist’

as opposed to the ‘Free

Trade’ side of the political

spectrum of the time,

putting him at odds with the

majorly Free Trade

favouring Legislative

Assembly. Berry was seen

as pushing for higher taxes

on those who owned large

tracts of land, and

supporting large tariffs upon

imports to provide support

for Victorian traders and

manufacturers, as well as

smaller farmers. As such he

was portrayed as a cancer on

societyxx

or as a monster of

all consuming greedxxi

by

the conservative media.

Berryism and the Melbourne

International Exhibition

became linked through his

relentless pursuing of the

idea. It was Berry who first

presented the idea of having

an international exhibition

in Melbourne to

parliamentxxii

in 1877. It was

not until after the Paris

exhibition in 1878 that the

idea of having an

international exhibition in

Melbourne had started to

look attractive to the rest of

the Victorian parliament,

especially after the reports

of the commission for the

Victorian representation at

Right: The Mining display in the Victorian

court. The large rhomboid represents all the

gold mined in Victoria until June 30, 1880. It

lists the total value as £196,393,632 in the

currency of the day. Source: Museum Victoria, Item

107808

IV

the Paris exhibitionxxiii

. The

success of the Paris

exhibition, especially in the

eyes of the working class

Victorians was a political

miracle for Berry, as it

helped change the tune of

his opposition, and allowed

him to get the legislation for

the Melbourne International

Exhibition through both

houses of Victorian

parliament when he next

presented this idea in

February 1879. This was all

according to Berry’s plan, as

he was the one who

appointed the

commissioners to the Paris

exhibition, and decided that

Victoria would hold a place

there. It has been suggested

that this was all done with

the intent of gathering

international interest in an

international exhibition in

Melbourne.xxiv

It certainly

worked to inspire interest in

the colony of Victoria,

although it has also been

suggested that the sudden

acceptance of the idea of

having an international

exhibition in Melbourne had

more to do with the fact that

Sydney was to host one in

1879.xxv

Some have cynically

suggested that the entire

purpose of the Melbourne

International Exhibition, and

as such the reason why

Berry was perusing it so

relentlessly, was that it was

supposed to alleviate

political tension in Victoria

at the time, and sway public

opinion into Berry’s

favourxxvi

, while it has also

been suggested that the

Exhibition was mounted by

Berry as an economic

stimulus to bring tourism

and trade into a slowing

economyxxviixxviii

, or to show

the public the benefits of his

ideals of protectionismxxix

.

It was not just Berry,

however, who was

campaigning for the


Above: Crowds around

the British court. Source:

Page LXXIX of the Official

Record Containing Introduction,

History Of Exhibition, Description

Of Exhibition And Exhibits,

Official Awards Of Commissioners

And Catalogue Of Exhibits,

(Melbourne: Mason, Firth &

M'Cutcheon, 1882)

Left: The view down the

main aisle of the

temporary annexe. Source:

Museum Victoria, Item MM

107804

V

Exhibition to be created, and

not just Berry who stood to

gain from the holding of an

International Exhibition in

Melbourne. Some of the

biggest groups that were

campaigning for the

exhibition to go ahead were

the manufacturers and

traders. Were the exhibition

to go ahead they stood to

gain on multiple fronts. Not

only would those who were

able to show their wares in

the exhibition gain exposure

to people within Victoria,

but they also had the

prospects of gaining

international notice for their

improvements. Not only this,

but many stood to gain

prestige that accompanied

the awarding of prizes to the

best examples of products

exhibitedxxx

, and the

possibility of learning new

manufacturing techniques

from around the world. On

top of these other reasons,

there also stood the chance

to gain a permanent

exhibition hall in which they

could showcase the best

locally made goods, which

they believed would allow

them to compete with the

importers, tariffs or no

tariffs. It was with this in

mind that they first

approached Graham Berry

with their idea during a

deputation in June 1877xxxi

.

The National Reform and

Protection League was the

main driver of the idea, and

they had constant

communication with Berry

about the idea. When the

idea was being pushed

through, and Berry

appointed his first

commissioners to oversee

the running of the


Exhibition, which at the

time was no more than a

dream, several of the

commissioners appointed by

Berry were prominent

traders and manufacturers

from Melbournexxxiixxxiii

.

Though later moves by the

Victorian parliament

attempted to reduce the

influence of the

commissioners from

manufacturing and trading

backgrounds, the plans were

in motion for the most part

by the time they attempted

to take control.

In the end, the Melbourne

International Exhibition

seems to have been born

more out of political

manoeuvring than any other

cause. Graham Berry drew

much of his political support

from traders and

manufacturers, and was

elected to represent their

interests against the

landholder dominated

Legislative Assembly, so it

was in his best interests to

listen to their suggestion of

hosting a World’s Fair.

While this may be the case,

however, nationalism played

no small part in gaining the

support of the working class,

which in turn gave the

Legislative Assembly, who

were hostile to Berry, reason

to allow the Exhibition to go

ahead. While nationalism

was not a key player in the

creation of the Melbourne

International Exhibition, it

did finally allow it to go

ahead, and ultimately the

Exhibition proved to be an

outlet for the expression of

the nationalist sentiment of

the colony of Victoria.

Bibliography

Primary

‘Berryism’, Melbourne Punch, Aug. 12,

1880, in Trove [Online database], date

accessed: 17 Oct. 2015

‘Berryism!’, Melbourne Punch, Dec.

18, 1879, in Trove [Online database],

date accessed: 17 Oct. 2015’

Chairs for the Exhibition’, Bendigo

Advertiser, May 7, 1880, in Trove

[Online database], date accessed: 25

Sept. 2015

The Exhibition Chair Question’,

Bendigo Advertiser, May 6, 1880, in

Trove [Online database], date accessed:

25 Sept. 2015

‘The Exhibition Chairs’, The Age,

May 11, 1880, in Trove [Online

database], date accessed: 25 Sept. 2015

‘The Exhibition Commission’, The Age,

May 6, 1880, in Trove [Online


‘The Inaugural Ceremonies’, Argus

Exhibition Supplement, 2 Oct. 1880,

p.4, in Trove [Online Database], date

accessed 2 Oct. 2015

‘The Procession’, Age, 2 Oct. 1880, p.5,

in Trove [Online Database], date

accessed 29 Sept. 2015

‘Thursday, June 21, 1877’, Argus, June

21, 1877, p.4, in Trove [Online


International Exhibition (1880-81:

Melbourne, Vic.), Official Record

Containing Introduction, History Of

Exhibition, Description Of Exhibition

And Exhibits, Official Awards Of

Commissioners And Catalogue Of

Exhibits, (Melbourne: Mason, Firth &

M'Cutcheon, 1882)

Kennedy, J., ‘The Exhibition Chairs’,

The Age, May 8, 1880, in Trove


Sept. 2015

Reid, J. A., ‘The Exhibition Chairs’,

The Age, July 27, 1880, in Trove


Sept. 2015

Victoria, Parliament, Paris Universal

Exhibition : despatches, regulations,

correspondence, etc., respecting the

Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878,

Parl. Paper 45, Melbourne, 1878

Secondary

‘A Grand Opening… Amid Grand

Words’, The Centenary Exhibition

1880-1980 Official Souvenir Program,

(Richmond: Norman J. Field and Co.,

1980), pp.14-15

VI

Dunstan, D., ‘Countdown to the

Exhibition’, Victorian Icon: A History

of the Royal Exhibition Building,

Dunstan, D. (ed.), (Melbourne:

Exhibition Trustees, 1996), pp.99-106

Dunstan, D., ‘Graham Berry and

Politics in Victoria’, Victorian Icon: A

History of the Royal Exhibition

Building, Dunstan, D. (ed.),

(Melbourne: Exhibition Trustees,

1996), p.19-22

Dunstan, D., ‘The Providence of Paris’,

Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal

Exhibition Building, Dunstan, D. (ed.),


1996), p.33-38

Dunstan, D., Colligan, M., ‘A Musical

Opening’, Victorian Icon: A History of

the Royal Exhibition Building, Dunstan,

D. (ed.), (Melbourne: Exhibition

Trustees, 1996), pp.107-114

Morrison, I., ‘”The Accompaniments

of European Civilization”: Melbourne

Exhibitions 1854-1888’, La Trobe

Journal, no.56, Spring 1995, pp.6-10

Parris, J., Shaw, A. G. L., ‘Melbourne

International Exhibition, 1880-1881’,

Victorian Historical Journal, Vol. 51,

No. 4, Nov. 1980, pp.237-254

Smith, F.B., ‘Festivals of Nationhood’,

Australian Cultural History, Goldberg,

S. L. & Smith, F. B. (eds), (Melbourne:

Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp.

158-176

Willingham, A., ‘A Permanent and

Extensive Exhibition Building’,

Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal

Exhibition Building, Dunstan, D. (ed.),


1996), pp. 51-67

VII

i ‘The Inaugural Ceremonies’, Argus Exhibition Supplement, 2 Oct. 1880, p.4, in Trove [Online Database], date accessed 2 Oct. 2015 ii ‘A Grand Opening… Amid Grand Words’, The Centenary Exhibition 1880-1980 Official Souvenir Program,

(Richmond: Norman J. Field and Co., 1980), p.15 iii ibid.

iv ‘The Procession’, Age, 2 Oct. 1880, p.5, in Trove [Online Database], date accessed 29 Sept. 2015

v Dunstan, D., Colligan, M., ‘A Musical Opening’, Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal Exhibition Building,

Dunstan, D. (ed.), (Melbourne: Exhibition Trustees, 1996), p. 107 vi Meaden, J. W., ‘Victoria: Cantata Poem’, The Poetical Works of J. W. Meaden, (Melbourne: Victorian Alliance,

1899), pp. 35-39 vii

Smith, F.B., ‘Festivals of Nationhood’, Australian Cultural History, Goldberg, S. L. & Smith, F. B. (eds), (Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 158-176 viii

For a comprehensive history of the Royal Exhibition Building, see Dunstan, D., Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal Exhibition Building, (Melbourne: Exhibition Trustees, 1996) ix Willingham, A., ‘A Permanent and Extensive Exhibition Building’, Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal

Exhibition Building, Dunstan, D. (ed.), (Melbourne: Exhibition Trustees, 1996), pp. 51-67 x See the accompanying map of the exhibition for a breakdown of the allocation of the space.

xi Dunstan, D., ‘Countdown to the Exhibition’, Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal Exhibition Building, Dunstan,

D. (ed.), (Melbourne: Exhibition Trustees, 1996), p.99 xii

‘Chairs for the Exhibition’, Bendigo Advertiser, May 7, 1880, in Trove [Online database], date accessed: 25 Sept. 2015 xiii

ibid. xiv

‘The Exhibition Commission’, The Age, May 6, 1880, in Trove [Online database], date accessed: 22 Sept. 2015 xv

‘The Exhibition Chair Question’, Bendigo Advertiser, May 6, 1880, in Trove [Online database], date accessed: 25 Sept. 2015 xvi

‘The Exhibition Chairs’, The Age, May 11, 1880, in Trove [Online database], date accessed: 25 Sept. 2015 xvii

Kennedy, J., ‘The Exhibition Chairs’, The Age, May 8, 1880, in Trove [Online database], date accessed: 25 Sept. 2015 xviii

Reid, J. A., ‘The Exhibition Chairs’, The Age, July 27, 1880, in Trove [Online database], date accessed: 26 Sept. 2015 xix

Dunstan, D., ‘Graham Berry and Politics in Victoria’, Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal Exhibition Building, Dunstan, D. (ed.), (Melbourne: Exhibition Trustees, 1996), p.19-22 xx

‘Berryism’, Melbourne Punch, Aug. 12, 1880, in Trove [Online database], date accessed: 17 Oct. 2015 xxi

‘Berryism!’, Melbourne Punch, Dec. 18, 1879, in Trove [Online database], date accessed: 17 Oct. 2015 xxii

Dunstan, D., ‘The Paris Commission’, Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal Exhibition Building, Dunstan, D. (ed.), (Melbourne: Exhibition Trustees, 1996), p.29-31 xxiii

Victoria, Parliament, Paris Universal Exhibition : despatches, regulations, correspondence, etc., respecting the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878, Parl. Paper 45, Melbourne, 1878 xxiv

Dunstan, D., ‘The Providence of Paris’, Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal Exhibition Building, Dunstan, D. (ed.), (Melbourne: Exhibition Trustees, 1996), p.33-38 xxv

‘A Grand Opening… Amid Grand Words’, The Centenary Exhibition 1880-1980 Official Souvenir Program, (Richmond: Norman J. Field and Co., 1980), p.14 xxvi

Morrison, I., ‘”The Accompaniments of European Civilization”: Melbourne Exhibitions 1854-1888’, La Trobe Journal, no.56, Spring 1995, pp.8-9 xxvii

Parris, J., Shaw, A. G. L., ‘Melbourne International Exhibition, 1880-1881’, Victorian Historical Journal, Vol. 51, No. 4, Nov. 1980, pp.237-254 xxviii

Davison, G., ‘The Culture of International Exhibitions’, Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal Exhibition Building, Dunstan, D. (ed.), (Melbourne: Exhibition Trustees, 1996), pp.11-18 xxix

Morrison, I., ‘”The Accompaniments of European Civilization”: Melbourne Exhibitions 1854-1888’, La Trobe Journal, no.56, Spring 1995, pp.8-9 xxx

For a comprehensive list of all exhibitors, all items exhibited, and all the prizes awarded, see: International Exhibition (1880-81: Melbourne, Vic.), Official Record Containing Introduction, History Of Exhibition, Description Of Exhibition And Exhibits, Official Awards Of Commissioners And Catalogue Of Exhibits, (Melbourne: Mason, Firth & M'Cutcheon, 1882) xxxi

‘Thursday, June 21, 1877’, Argus, June 21, 1877, p.4, in Trove [Online database], date accessed: 25 Sept. 2015 xxxii

International Exhibition (1880-81: Melbourne, Vic.), Official Record Containing Introduction, History Of Exhibition, Description Of Exhibition And Exhibits, Official Awards Of Commissioners And Catalogue Of Exhibits, (Melbourne: Mason, Firth & M'Cutcheon, 1882)

Notes

VIII

xxxiii

Dunstan, D., ‘The Providence of Paris’, Victorian Icon: A History of the Royal Exhibition Building, Dunstan, D. (ed.), (Melbourne: Exhibition Trustees, 1996), p.33-38

A Display of Victorian Nationalism? The Melbourne International Exhibition, 1880-1881

Documents

Transcript of A Display of Victorian Nationalism? The Melbourne International Exhibition, 1880-1881