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The festive city: orta recens quam pura nites (recently arisen, how purely you shine)
Citation
Orr, K, The festive city: orta recens quam pura nites (recently arisen, how purely you shine), Celebration: proceedings of the 22nd annual conference of the Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ), 24-27 September 2005, Napier, New Zealand, pp. 285-290. ISBN 0473103494 (2005) [Refereed Conference Paper]
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Coyright the author
Abstract
The Australian international exhibitions in 1879, 1880 and 1888 were the most important public events of the nineteenth
century and transformed Sydney and Melbourne into festive cities. Every detail of their ritual provided a fresh urban
focus-from the pre-exhibition transformation of the host cities, to the exhibits on display, and the exhibition layout with
its city-like structure reflecting a nineteenth century conception of world order. Colonists were tilled with pride at playing
host to the great nations of the world and in seeing their young cities shine. The impact of the international exhibitions was
profound, is largely unrecognised, and lasted through to federation. By placing a new emphasis on the city and Australian
urban culture they stimulated urban growth and influenced its form. More importantly, they linked urban development to
higher ideals of nation building in which people began to think beyond their city towards national objectives. Australian
federation, claims John Hirst in The Sentimental Nation, was not merely a practical business arrangement but a people's
movement and an outcome of national sentiment. I argue that the international exhibitions were forums for engaging with
the same issues of identity, destiny and nationhood. They sowed the seeds of national sentiment and nurtured their growth
through the popular participation of a// levels of society. They were a force for federation. ·
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Conference Paper |
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Keywords: | Australian international exhibitions, Sydney, Melbourne, John Hirst, federation |
Research Division: | Built Environment and Design |
Research Group: | Architecture |
Research Field: | Architectural history, theory and criticism |
Objective Division: | Culture and Society |
Objective Group: | Understanding past societies |
Objective Field: | Understanding Australia's past |
UTAS Author: | Orr, K (Professor Kirsten Orr) |
ID Code: | 107634 |
Year Published: | 2005 |
Deposited By: | Architecture |
Deposited On: | 2016-03-21 |
Last Modified: | 2016-04-13 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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