Busselton Historical Society > Records

Souvenir - WA Sandbag Day 1915

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Sandbag Movement

1915

Subcollections

Military

Overview

Two miniature cream-coloured calico bags, with a coloured ribbon knotted at the top. Black printed text on the front.

Historical information

In Western Australia, "Sandbag Day" was a major community fundraising event held in December 1915 to support Australian soldiers overseas. It was organised by the Sandbag Movement to supply troops with much-needed sandbags, which soldiers were desperately using for cover and defence on the front lines. The primary goal of the movement was to fund the purchase of materials to make sandbags. At Gallipoli, it was widely reported that the demand for cover was so dire that Australian soldiers at times resorted to filling their own shirts with sand before the arrival of proper sandbags.

The Sandbag Movement was a collaborative home front fundraising and manufacturing initiative driven primarily by Australian women, community groups, and local wartime committees during World War I. Ultimately, it was an entirely grassroots, civilian-led network that converted community leisure and volunteer labour into critical defensive infrastructure for troops fighting overseas.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-124-2026.155

Item type

Objects

Souvenirs

Themes

Art and Design

War and Conflict

Material

Calico

Cotton

Ribbon

Height or length

70 mm

Inscriptions and markings

"WA SAND BAG DAY. DEC. 10, 1915"

Contextual information

With the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914, Cottesloe Beach in Western Australia became a focus for community fundraising. (Regional towns like Kalgoorlie and Katanning, also supported this cause by raising funds through entertainment, stalls and collection tins).

In December 1915, the opening of the beach season was designated ‘Cottesloe Sandbag Day’ to raise funds for the Sandbag Movement. The movement aimed to supply the troops with sandbags for their defence.

The funds raised were used to buy material for the sandbags. Boy Scouts and boys from Perth Boys School sewed the bags and later, employees of Joyce Brothers in Fremantle volunteered their labour.

(Reference: https://www.cottesloepast.net/waves-of-change/1914-war-and-the-sandbag-…)

Keywords

Fundraising

World War 1 souvenir

World War 1

Place made

Western Australia, Australia

Year

1915

Primary significance criteria

Artistic or aesthetic significance

Historic significance