Federation Wool Arch

Federation Wool Arch
I’m a big fan of the Powerhouse Museum’s Photo of the Day blog, and today’s picture was particularly interesting. It’s a stereoscopic view of the “Wool Arch” set up for the big Federation parade. I’d never heard anything about the parade before, so I did some googling. Australian Federation took place on January 1, 1901, and they had a big process that went all the way from the city out to Centennial Park. (I’ve seen the plaque out there to mark the spot where they signed all the relevant documents.) Along the way, there were a whole bunch of gates and arches set up to commemorate important Australian industries and natural resources. The Wool Arch was near the intersection of Bridge and Loftus streets (near where Wagamama is now). Here’s a really good picture of the Wool Arch. (Welcome to the Land of the Golden Fleece!) The ABC site has a wealth of information about the parade, along with a neat digital puzzle of the Wool Arch. And there’s your learnin’ for today!