Swimming Gala poster featuring Beatrice Kerr

This poster advertises a Ladies Swimming Gala on August 27 featuring Beatrice Kerr. A picture of Beatrice Kerr diving into the ocean is displayed in the centre of the poster.

Beatrice Maude Kerr (like rival Annette Kellerman and contemporaries Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie) was an exemplar of the fit modern woman in the early 1900s at a time when physical culture movement was just being established. Kerr had a fastest swimming time of 1 minute 21.4 seconds for the 100 yds (91.4 m) and 27.5 minutes for the mile (1.6 km). Although Kerr did not hold world records or swim at the Olympics like Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie, she was highly regarded as a swimmer and entertainer and inspired many young women to take to the water.