Queen Victoria, Federation, 1901, Collins Street, Russell Street,
Summary
When the Australian colonies federated in May 1901, several spectacular temporary arches were constructed through central Melbourne, the seat of the newly elected government, to celebrate the founding of the modern nation. The Queen Victoria Arch, shown in this photograph, was one such 'gateway', located at the intersection of Collins and Russell Streets. Shaped like nothing so much as the long-serving monarch’s highly recognisable and absurdly diminutive diamond crown (just 10 centimetres in diameter), the arch rises up over the street; at its apex is a sculptural effigy of the newly deceased Queen, in place of the monde and cross of her own little crown. The arch’s inscription reads ‘God Gave Her Peace’ and ‘Her Land Reposed’, with the wreaths marking her death, on 22 January 1901.
State Library Victoria holds a faded postcard that is compositionally identical to this photograph. Signed N.J. Caire, it suggests the photograph was likely taken by noted late-19th-century photographer Nicholas Caire (1837–1918), though city scenes were not Caire’s typical subject.
