The Operative Painters and Decorators Union of Australia, New South Wales Branch

View this record on the National Museum of Australia's website

Type: Membership certificates
Date: 1930 - 1939
Place: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; New South Wales, Australia
Materials: Paper
Collection: Andrew Reeves collection no. 5
Accession number: 2006.0030.0009

Description

Unissued, colour lithograph, trade union life membership certificate. At the top is a coat-of-arms flanked on both sides by a leopard[?] that is wearing a crown and a chained collar. The arms bear the union's motto "AMOR ET OBEDIENTA". A painter is working from a trestle in the top proper right corner, and a plasterer is working on a cornice in the top left. Below the arms is "THE / OPERATIVE PAINTERS & DECORATORS / UNION OF AUSTRALIA. / NEW SOUTH WALES BRANCH / UNION / FOUNDED / SYDNEY / 1874 / This is to certify that / ... / was granted Life Membership / on... / 19... /". The dedication "In Recognition of / Long & Honorable [sic] Service in the Cause of Unionism" is within the outline of Australia, where New South Wales is shaded, and two painters who are on a platform suspended by ropes, are still in the process of painting it. A vista of Sydney Harbour Bridge above a handshake is below that, surrounded by waratah and wattle blossom, everlasting daisies, and pink flowers. Down the proper right side are vignettes, including; a painter onboard a ship, with a lifebouy labelled "TRADES HALL / SYDNEY" attached to the deck above him; a kangaroo; and a decorative mock wooden panel. Down the proper left side are vignettes, including a man hanging wallpaper; a kookaburra; and a decorative mock marble panel. Maker's mark "ALEX M. BURT" in the bottom proper left corner.

About the collection

The Andrew Reeves collection consists of twenty-three trade union certificates used in Australia from 1860-1970. They are generally in good condition considering their age, use and material (paper based). They cover a range of Australian worker's unions, including a number which either were amalgamated into larger unions or ceased to exist. The period between the 1850s and the 1970s spans a key time in the development, working condition gains and various ebbs and flow of Australian trade unions. Certificates in this collection document achievements including the eight hour work day but also allow reflection on the dwindling support for unions during the 20th century. In addition, as the designs of Australian certificates follow the centuries old British tradition of union emblems they provide examples of links between worker's organisations in Australia and England.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 4:48:06 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-24. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.