Hairdressing Festival medal 1974

Summary

In 1974, the late Ronald 'Ron' Walker CBE became lord mayor of Melbourne. He went on to become a prominent figure in Melbourne's sporting pantheon and was instrumental bringing the Australian Grand Prix to Melbourne. But before he was awarded his British Empire CBE in 1976 for service to local government, he was presented with a humbler, if not equally interesting, medallion, which still resides in the collection. The obverse of this medal features a jugate of two women facing right: in the foreground, a well-coiffured lady of the past; behind, a young woman with a more contemporary hairstyle. The reverse has been engraved 'Hairdressing Festival / 1974 / to / The Right Honorable / Ronald Walker / Lord Mayor / of Melbourne'. Pictures of the time reveal the lord mayor did indeed have a fine head of hair and, as was the prevailing style of the time. This text is excerpted from Darren Burgess' essay 'City of Melbourne Numismatic Collection', available in full through the 'Explore' tab above.