Two T-shirts commemorating the 25th and 35th anniversary of the 'Australia Party'
 Catalogue Number: 3526 Two T-shirts commemorating the 25th and 35th anniversary of the 'Australia Party' Category: Memorabilia and ephemera Year Of Publication/Manufacture: 2007 and 2017 Time Period: 1940 to 1999 Place Of Publication/Manufacture: Mexico Publisher/Manufacturer: Gildan Active Wear Description Of Item: Two T-shirts commemorating the 25th and 35th anniversary of the 'Australia Party', black cotton, with the words on the front (1) '25 / years of / The Australia Party / The Institute for Eye Research ' , and (2) '35 / years / The Australia Party ' with a yellow silhouette of a kangaroo. On the back of each are the American cities in which the party had been held and the year. The back of the 25 year T-shirt also has a black silhouette of a kangaroo on a white square. The 35 year shirt acknowledges the Brien Holden Vision Institute and the American Academy of Optometry, Historical Significance: The Australia Party is an event at the annual general meeting (and conference) of the American Academy of Optometry. The first was held at Houston, Texas in 1983. The 35th was held in Chicago, Illinois, in 2017. It had its origin at the annual meeting of the Academy in Orlando, Florida, in 1981, when Barry Cole. Professor of Optometry at the University of Melbourne, noticed that many of the schools and colleges of optometry had a suite in which they entertained alumni and guests. He suggested to the other Australian schools that we band together to have an Australia room. Brien Holden, then a senior lecturer at the University of NSW and head of the Cornea and Contact Lens Research Unit later to be Scientia Professor at the same university and founder of the Brien Holden Vision Institute, ran with the idea. Not for him a suite for polite cocktails: instead a ballroom, a band and dancing and a copious supply of Australian beer. Everyone was invited and everyone came on one night of the conference for a riotous time. How Acquired: Donated by Ian Bailey, honorary life member of the College Date Acquired: Mar 2018 Condition: Very good Location: Archive room. West wall. Unit 3 Drawer 3 |