Summary
Colour slide of Moomba Festival 1959, Alfred Hospital Display
Swanston Street has long been a site for expressions of shared social feeling – celebrations, commemorations and demonstrations. From 1856 to 1952 the Trade Union movement’s annual Labour Day procession passed along this urban artery, commemorating gains made for Australian workers. When Moomba began just three years later on Labour Day weekend, some claimed it was a capitalist plot, especially when extravagant floats showcased the city’s commercial interests. Agendas aside, the absence of the Labour Day procession coupled with a newly flush postwar environment created a space in which Moomba could take root.
While the elaborate themed floats of businesses and government were initially de rigueur, the parade soon shifted gear, with colourful floats and costumed participants representing cultural, social and community groups. Over recent decades, various alternatives to the parade have been tried, but the traditional procession has remained enduring and iconic.
