Tea service (partial)

The Dawn Waterhouse Collection includes numerous items of china that were originally offered for sale as mementoes of Canberra and the surrounding region from around the 1920s until the end of the 20th century. Many of the items acquired by Dawn Waterhouse between 1988 and 2008 were created and issued specifically in the context of the tourist trade and to cater to a buoyant and nationalistic pride in the ‘bush capital’ in the early years of its development, and at a time when motoring as a leisure activity was becoming popular with travellers.

Promotion of Canberra has served many purposes, from affecting tourism and migration to the development of the local community’s sense of place within the region. Such purpose is evident in the production of souvenirs and guidebooks of the city and its famous icons.