Colonial Club buttons.
Who knows if any of the following survive? If you have one, please send a photo!
Hunt Clubs
According to ‘Esquire’, traditional English Hunt clubs began in Australia in 1840. However, this club was much earlier. Did the fact it only had dingoes to hunt make it not a proper hunt club?
The Australian (NSW), 10th February 1827 page 4.
However that may be, in 1860 the Melbourne Hunt Club started, along with red coats and club buttons, and the following year the Geelong and Western Hunt Club also.
Cumberland Turf Club
This club started in 1834 as an exclusive gentlemen’s racing club.
The Sydney Times, 28th October 1834 page 3. Editor’s note: ‘Currency’ were people born in Australia (usually of convict parents) as opposed to ‘Sterling’ who were British born.
St Andrew’s Club
In 1826 this was established as a Scottish benevolent society. According to the below, it had long faded by 1870.
Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser, 23rd September 1840 page 3.
Evening News (Sydney), 24th March 1870 page 2.
Amateur Coursing Club
The members of this new club were a little disappointed in the new club button (?badge) …
The Argus (Melbourne), 15th May 1876 page 6. Coursing was an early form of greyhound racing where the dogs chased after rabbits or other live prey.
This button may have been found see http://www.austbuttonhistory.com/21sr-march-2024/
Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Leader (Melbourne), 1st September 1900 page 19.
An example has been found: see http://www.austbuttonhistory.com/11th-february-2022/
The club started in 1891, becoming ‘Royal’ in 1895. The ‘colours’ were not described, but I noticed some players wearing striped tops; perhaps this was the ‘uniform’?
The Australiasian (Melbourne), 23rd October 1897 page 25.
The Australiasian (Melbourne), 30th April 1898 page 32.