Eureka flag is fixed and back in Ballarat

By Jordan Oliver
Updated November 2 2012 - 6:13pm, first published December 2 2011 - 1:17pm
RETURN: Artlab principal conservator Kristin Phillips inspects the Eureka Flag which is back at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. Picture: Jeremy Bannister
RETURN: Artlab principal conservator Kristin Phillips inspects the Eureka Flag which is back at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. Picture: Jeremy Bannister

“It’s great to welcome home an old familiar friend” was the way Ballarat mayor Craig Fletcher described his feelings at yesterday’s unveiling of one of the city’s greatest treasures — the Eureka Flag.The flag is accessible to the public from today, installed in a purpose-built climate-controlled display case at the Art Gallery of Ballarat following 14 months of conservation work interstate.It will remain at the gallery until it is displayed — on loan — to the Australian Centre for Democracy.In 2010, Adelaide-based conservation experts Artlab assessed the condition of the flag, which had not been comprehensively assessed since Ballarat textile expert Val D’Angri conserved it in 1973. The inspection determined it needed treatment to ensure “long-term stability”. The flag was taken to Adelaide where it underwent extensive conservation works.Yesterday, The Courier revealed the flag was secreted back into the city under armed guard, in preparation for Eureka’s 157th anniversary celebrations.Art Gallery of Ballarat director Gordon Morrison said it was fantastic to see such an important object back in Ballarat.“I can see just by looking at it that the most wonderful conservation job has been carried out,” he said.“I can also tell because I visited whilst it was being worked on (in Adelaide).”Mr Morrison said there were both subtle and obvious changes to the flag since its return yesterday.“I suppose you would say it was somewhat deformed by the fact that many years ago, two separate pieces had been stitched together,” he said. “So the proportions are much more effective (now).”He said the restoration was done using the best materials available today, allowing the flag to be displayed in its best condition in years.“A lot of those things were simply not achievable with the types of materials that existed the last time the flag was installed in 2001,” he said.Cr Fletcher said yesterday was a “red letter day” for Ballarat. “To have our national icon fully restored, looking resplendent and back home in Ballarat is just exceptional,” he said.Weekend Features, page 25

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