I collect Gold Coast memorabilia. Many items in my collection are ceramics; Studio Anna, Harry Memmott, Scenicware, and there are all sorts of things like glassware, bamboo ware, drink trays, teaspoons, felt pennants, embroidered patches, badges, postcards, shell knick knacks, Gold Coast Barbies.
In many respects, most of the souvenirs I have accumulated are antithetical to my personal values and aesthetics. I shun mass tourism and conspicuous consumption and most of these epitomize exactly that.
When I travel to other places around Queensland, Australia and the world, I don’t collect souvenirs. I travel ‘lite’ and take pride in that. What I collect as personal mementos are photos. When home or away I am a constant photographer and given that these are digital, they don’t take up any physical space to store.
You might, therefore, ask why I bother to collect these Gold Coast things. I started picking up pieces in op shops when I moved here in 1994, mainly for their kitsch value, but then I discovered Studio Anna ceramics, which are hand-painted with lovely glazes and were a little bit upmarket, distributed through Prouds jewelers from the 1960s.
When I discovered eBay around 2003 my collecting increased. I guess that 80% of the items were acquired through eBay. Immediately after receipt and inspection I would tuck the acquisitions away in boxes out of view. It was only as I started to experience storage problems that I realized the collection had become substantial. My Ebay profile indicates that I have made 561 purchases. My purchases are infrequent nowadays because Gold Coast collectables became popular and prices have escalated. My collection strategy has necessarily become focused and I don’t really want to reveal the things I most covet for fear of competition. I also have several friends who are always on the lookout at garage sales and op shops and have supplied some of my finest pieces.
The simple reason why I collect these things is because I regard them as moveable heritage. As time passes, such objects become scarcer. I regard myself a custodian of this future heritage collection.
I’ll probably hang on to some of my favourite Studio Anna pieces, and my cans of sunshine because they give me joy, but I look forward to gifting the lot to a Gold Coast museum someday, except for the Queensland souvenir tea sets which I will give to the State Library for display in the tea cabinets of the Queensland Terrace.
Before I do that though, I’d like to research the history of their origins, design, distribution and diaspora. As a precursor to this I recently started an Instagram feed called Gold Coast Collector.
As time permits, I intend to photograph, describe and post the memorabilia here for all to see.