FOR MEDIA WEDNESDAY, JULY 8 1981
ROYAL WEDDING GIFT
( Statement by Acting Prime Minister, Mr Anthony)
Australia's wedding gift to Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
will be twenty hand-crafted silver platters.
The platters were designed by Mr Hendrik'Forster of Melbourne
and made by him from Australian silver.
They will be presented to Prince Charles and Lady Diana in
a french-polished box hand-made from Australian blackwood.
The gift was commissioned by the Government after ideas
were obtained from leading Australian craftsmen, including
M r F or s e r
There will be an opportunity for the gift to be viewed by the
public in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra before it is
transported to London. The arrangements for exhibition of the
gift are as follows:
Melbourne 9-10 July in the window of the
Qantas office at 283 Bourke Street
( Between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets)
Sydney
Canberra 13-15 July in the window of the
Overseas Telecommunications Commission
o-ffice at 32 Martin Place
16-17 July in King's Hall, Parliament House
Details of the gift are overleaf. 00o---S'Z,. AA
Llj, 7
7 Twenty octagonal platters made from 925/ 000
sterling Ira thick, outside diameter 255mm, bowl diameter
180mm and 16mm depth. The platters are hand-rained and
planished. The platters fit into a french-polished box.
that was hand-made by Mr Bryan F. Poynton of Airey's
Inlet, Victoria, out of blackwood from the Otway Ranges.
The silver hinges, corners, handles and lock-were made
by Mr Porster. The box is lined with padded blue silk
velvet. The following inscription is engraved on a
silver plaque on the lid of the box:
PRESENTED TO
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINICE OF WALES
AND
THE LADY DIANA SPENCER
BY THE
COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT
ON BEHALF OF
THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA
ON THE OCCASION OF THEIR MARRIAGE
29 JULY 1981
In addition, the following inscription is engraved on the back
of each platter: Australia
29 July 1981
The engraving was carried out by Mr Bert Lamohed of Melbourne.