ProvenanceBadge produced by the Children’s Patriotic Fund to raise funds for the Red Cross to aid the sick and prisoners of war.
The state Children’s Patriotic Fund (SACPF or CPF) was set up in 1915 after teachers approached the Director of Education to set up a charity that would combine the fundraising efforts of different schools in order to coordinate these efforts towards larger and targeted goals. The funds raised by the SAPCF were distributed to various organisations including the Cheer-Up Huts, hospitals, trench comforts, repatriation funds and the Red Cross. Campaigns run by the SAPCF included selling badges and sweets, collecting tins and paper, knitting socks for soldiers and organising Christmas Boxes. The fund also hoped to instil patriotic pride in the students. It was run by a volunteer committee, which coordinated groups across the entire state for the duration of the war.SignificanceIllustrative of the badges that were popular as a means of raising funds or showing support for particular organisations or causes during and after World War I. This and other associated badges are a rich source of evidence on the material and cultural history of Australia, particularly during wartime. The symbols, colours and mottoes used on the badges themselves also express ideas about the values and identity that Australians held in the early to mid-twentieth century.DescriptionCircular badge; printed paper between tin base and celluloid cover. Gold rim with red band marked 'For the Sick & Prisoners of War' 'C.P.F. 1918' in white text.The centre features a red cross with the black and white photograph of the head of a young girl placed in the centre of the cross.Creator (person)Creator (organisation)AcknowledgementDate of Creation1918Date of Usage1918MaterialTin
|paper
|celluloid Accession NumberHT 1986.0047
