AT Ballarat Girls\u2019 High School in 1973, needlework teacher Valda D’Angri was approached by Ballarat mayor Jack Chisolm.<\/p>\n
The City had a special flag in their library archives, and requested Mrs D\u2019Angri stich and conserve it for display.<\/p>\n
That Saturday, she visited the Art Gallery of Ballarat, where two men brought out a large, wrapped piece of fabric within another sheet.<\/p>\n
When rolled out, the original Eureka Flag of 1854 was revealed, about 13.5 feet by 8.5 feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t bear the thought of it not being preserved. I looked at Jack and said, we better do something about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
During the May school holidays, Mrs D\u2019Angri\u2019s project to preserve the Eureka Flag began. She was provided with a board and brought backing fabric with her that she\u2019d stitched with the help of her students and daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe gently picked up, and laid on that fabric, the very precious flag.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trusted with the keys to the gallery, Mrs D\u2019Angri stitched it quarter by quarter all day, each day of the holidays, until 11pm, with technical support from her husband Norman.<\/p>\n
It was displayed at the Gallery for many years, before finding its home at the Eureka Centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen men came around the corner and saw it, they\u2019d take their hats off… I felt that the reverence towards it was wonderful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so close to nearly being lost. How great it is that the next generations can see it and know about it. I am so proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For that conservation work, the creation of a replica flag for a touring Eureka Exhibition in 1988, and keeping history alive through the Eureka Stockade Memorial Association and Ballarat Historical Society, Mrs D\u2019Angri has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AT Ballarat Girls\u2019 High School in 1973, needlework teacher Valda D’Angri was approached by Ballarat mayor Jack Chisolm. The City had a special flag in their library archives, and requested Mrs D\u2019Angri stich and conserve it for display. That Saturday, she visited the Art Gallery of Ballarat, where two men brought out a large, wrapped […]<\/p>\n