Mysteries- please help! | Australian Button History

Table of Contents

Here are some mysterious buttons and button makers. Please contact me if you know more.

Who were these button manufacturers?

Ceramic-like buttons

What was the material used, and who were the firm that made them?

Weekly Times (Melbourne), 26th April 1950 page 37.

Herald (Melbourne) 19th April 1950 page 18.

They may have been sold on Beauclaire cards:

The colour underneath differs to that on top. I scratched at the coloured surface on one button; the colour came off to reveal a hard white material underneath.

The crimson example looks like the button at the far left in the newspaper article. Although General Plastics Ltd did not have a factory in Victoria, they did have, at least from 1948 -1956, a warehouse in Flinders Street, and then Flinders Lane. They may well have sourced buttons from other manufacturers. It would still be interesting to find out who the Melbourne firm was.

Prahran

The Argus, 22nd January 1955, page 32.

Melbourne

The Argus, 22nd January 1955, page 32.

Sydney

Sydney Morning Herald, 27th August, 1947 page 18.

Australian Made, by whom?

Are these Australian products?

Flair

Update: The black plastic buttons are also seen on General Plastic cards. ‘Flair’ is probably a brand name for a distributor.

Colortone

The cards look like Beauclaire cards. Dating from approx 1966.

Who were Ecebee, “Renowned for quality”?

The buttons look like Beutron style, and the card has a small number (?style number of the button) in the middle of the bottom of the card, as did other large Beutron cards. Perhaps Ecebee, like Richall’s, were clothing manufacturers that source there buttons from G. Herring in the 1940 or 50s.

Mystery Buttons

It shows a horse and rider jumping a barrier. The banner is hard to read, perhaps ‘HAIL AUSTRALIA’.

This button is made from cast magnetic white metal (?steel). Is it a fashion button or a uniform button?

Is this a fashion or a uniform button?

I’m guessing this button is a fashion button. It appears to be copy of a Greek or Roman coin, right down to the irregular shape, but the “Made in Australia” map has a pointed, modern look.

Some glass buttons with an Australian feel:

Please contact me if you know who the manufacturer is/was. They may have come from Queensland, but that is not confirmed.

Top left: Koala in branch of tree right: waratah flower Bottom left: waves? right: tide marks in the sand?

Carol’s example of the waratah.

Unknown Uniform Buttons

Possible NZ buttons

Civilian Brass Bands?

Stokes & Sons Melbourne

Stokes & Sons Melbourne

A button of this type appears in Don King’s book on Australian civilian uniform buttons as belonging to civilian brass bands. However, this design of the “strung bugle” with three loops at the top appears, albeit topped with the Monarch’s crown, on buttons for rifle brigades and light infantry brigades. These troops had their own bands, certainly, so perhaps the design became associated with bands, but when I ‘google’ brass band uniform buttons, I come up with buttons depicting a harp or lyre, not a bugle.

Unknown

Miller Sydney

Google “pursuit of excellence” and you come up with school mottos, sports psychology, books, TV shows and even a music score. There are also awards associated with Rotary, the National Funeral Directors Association and schools and sporting clubs! Does anyone wish to claim this button?

W.A.P.L.

Backmark Sheridan Perth. From Cam.

Possibly the West Australian Patriotic League.

This league existed from 1914 to ? 1918 to centralise the raising of war funds. Many people felt there were simply too many funds, especially for areas that were not wealthy.

The West Australian, 26th September 1914 page 8.

Are these Queensland Government House buttons?

Maestro

Does anyone recognise this logo? There is a electronics manufacturing firm based in the ACT called Maestro Pty. Ltd. since the 1980s, but their current logo does not match the button.

Mystery Button

Stokes & Sons

This monogram button has the letters B,Y and P under a King’s crown, which would hint at a government department.

If the order is YPB, it could be the Youth Peoples’ Brigade of the Salvation Army … but I really have no idea? Does anyone know?

Unknown Queensland button

From Carol. Stokes Melb.

Queensland Coat of Arms.

It has the Queensland Coat of Arms, but with the wrong supporters; i.e. the animals are the kangaroo and emu as on the Australian Coat of Arms, not the red deer and brolga as they should be. I contacted the Brisbane Government House, but it is not theirs. Is it in error?

UPDATE:

Leigh has informed me these were worn by Queensland Prison Department staff in the 1970-80s, with a larger size on the tunics and smaller on shirt and caps.

What ( probably) South Australian schools do these belong to?