1920s

The 1920s brought confidence, creativity and style. Fashion, nightlife and daring aviation set the tone, while suburbs sprawled and cities thrummed with trams and neon. Sport gripped the nation as the audiences for cricket, football and rugby league swelled, and cinema leapt from silent films to talkies. At Coombe Cottage, Dame Nellie Melba sang her farewell. It’s the flappery, flirty decade that brought jazz to the streets, a glow to the cities and a dash of fizz to Australian life.

WARNING: this collection contains names, images or voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.