Paris - Brest - Paris, 1891-1991 [cycling]
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- Type
- Commemorative badges
- Materials
- Metal - non specific
- Collection
- Sir Hubert Opperman collection no. 2
- Accession number
- 2004.0024.0024
Description
A shaped gold coloured metal badge featuring an colour enamelled image of two cyclists in red white and blue, and the text 'Paris - Brest - Paris / 1891 - 1991'. The back has a pin for attachment.
About the collection
The Sir Hubert Opperman Collection No. 2, comprises 181 objects relating to his cycling, political and RAAF careers. Items of note include a silver tray presented to him for duties as Immigration Minister in 1966; Knights Bachelor Medal awarded by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968; and a Basque Beret worn when he was awarded the Gold Medal of Paris in 1991 by Jacques Chirac. Sir Hubert Opperman, or 'Oppy' has he was affectionately known, became a household name in the 1920s and 1930s as a result of his cycling achievements. He set 101 state, national and world records and was the public face of Malvern Star Bicycle Company. From 1949 to1972, Opperman pursued a career in politics, holding several portfolios for the Liberal party, and became Australia's first High Commissioner to Malta in 1966. He was knighted in1968 and retired from politics in 1972. Sir Hubert Opperman died in 1996 at the aged of 92.
Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:50:43 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-17. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.