It is the Queen’s birthday long weekend and the annual acknowledgement of our Monarch. As a member of the Commonwealth of Nations we, along with other Commonwealth countries and territories, celebrate the Queen’s birthday each year. It is, of course, not the Queen’s actual birthday which is 21 April, which she celebrated as her 94th birthday with her family on that date.
The double birthday tradition was started more than 250 years ago by King George II in 1748. Although he was born in November, he chose to have the public celebration in June – ostensibly because the weather was better and more reliable for an annual military parade. The summer birthday tradition has continued in England since then and is now held on the second Saturday in June.
The Monarch’s birthday was first celebrated in Australia in 1788, the first year of British settlement. In that year, King George III was the Monarch and Governor Arthur Philip declared a holiday on his actual birthday, 4 June, to mark the occasion. This continued until after the death of King George V in 1936. Since then the date has remained close to that of George V’s actual birthday which was 3 June. It is now celebrated in most of Australia (except Western Australia) on the second Monday in June.
While the Queen celebrates the official Monarch’s Birthday with a Trooping of the Colour, public parade and balcony wave (although this will change this year due to the pandemic), in Australia the day is usually spent with family, friends or at a sporting event.
Typically, the Queen does not share with the public the gifts she has been given for her birthday. However, over the years we have learned that when she turned 18 her father gave her a corgi called Susan. Family members – especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren – tend to make things for her. And it has been reported that two of her favourite presents were a washing up apron and a casserole dish. Perhaps there is an ‘inner homemaker’ wanting to unleash itself?
These favourite gifts are a little surprising as being astrologically a ‘Taurus woman on an Aries cusp’, the ‘ZodiacSignGifts’ web advice column suggests that even though she is grounded, reliable and practical, the best gifts for her star sign would be: Extravagant bath items, Luxurious clothing, Exquisite jewellery, or Designer handbags.
The National Gallery of Victoria does not have a ‘birthday gift registry’ but if given the task of finding a suitable Australian gift in the collection, and using the ‘ZodiacSignGifts’ advice, the following could be contenders:
‘The Bath’ by Mt Gambier born artist, Erica McGilchrist, ticks the ‘bath item’ box. While not depicting extravagant bathing, McGilchrist was born only a few weeks before the Queen – and was acknowledged in 1992 with the Medal of the Order of Australia – so she could perhaps tap into the ‘right present for a person of a certain age’. Although McGilchrist died in 2014, her charcoal drawing from 1954 suggests she would know how to relax after a long day of Royal duties.
There are many items which fit the ‘luxurious clothing’ category but my pick would be either Flamingo Park’s ‘Big Fish’ hat and dress (acknowledging the Queen’s role as the ‘big fish’ in the Commonwealth) or Romance Was Born’s ‘Bush magic dress and gumnut cap’ with its Australiana theme. Both outfits have a hat – which is an essential item for the Queen – although I suspect her great grandchildren might enjoy the possibility of dress-ups with the frock by Romance Was Born more.
NGV Collection
The jewellery and handbag possibilities are also numerous. My jewellery choice would be Peter Tully’s brooch as the Queen seems to like a ‘little bit of bling’ and this would pair well with any of Lorraine Connelly-Northey’s ‘one-off’ handbags.
from the Koolimans and string bags series Lorraine Connelly-Northey (R), NGV Collection
Looking further afield, the most obvious present would be some of the exquisite silver and silver-gilt works by Stuart Devlin. Geelong-born Devlin (1931-2018) was one of the most accomplished goldsmiths that has come out of Australia. Completing the three-year training course in one year, he rejected the blandness of 1960s design and devised new goldsmithing techniques.
Devlin spent much of his career in Britain, ultimately receiving a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for ‘Services to Design’ and being appointed ‘Goldsmith and Jeweller to H.M. The Queen’.
Devlin’s designs included the maces for the University of Melbourne and LaTrobe University, the honours system for ‘The Order of Australia’, the ‘Sydney 2000 Olympic coin series’ and, most importantly, Australia’s first decimal currency coins – released in 1966 and still in use today.
Stuart DEVLIN, NGV Collection
There are 61 works by Devlin in the NGV collection. Many of the works are his ‘Surprise eggs’ and ‘Surprise Christmas boxes’ – which are reminiscent of the work of Faberge. For the Queen’s Silver Jubilee he created an egg and an orb. If these are not in the Royal Collection, they would make the perfect birthday gift.
However, I suspect the Queen may already have these and may not wish to be reminded of her Royal duties. Devlin also designed a version of the Wiltshire staysharp knife (MK1) in 1969. This is both an important design icon and … an eminently practical gift (similar to aprons and casserole dishes) which I have no doubt the Queen could find multiple uses for.
Happy Monarch’s Day, Your Majesty!
Lovely, Michael!
Stuart Devlin taught me , clay modelling, at Technical School (Caulfield), in 1951. He was very handy with a piece of wood, which must have been handier than a leather strap.
So sweet Michael and amusing – thank you.