Badges have been popular as a means of raising funds or showing support for particular organisations or causes during and since the First World War. The State History Collection contains a diverse collection of badges, which are a rich source of evidence on the material and cultural history of South Australia, and Australia more broadly, 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.