POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

'Now Jimmy, what is a good school lunch', NSW Health poster

Object No. 2002/101/18

For more than a century posters have given visual expression to the reach of public health. Appropriating the techniques of consumer culture, their messages have advertised everything from hand-washing to hair-nets, from vaccination to X-rays. Produced by government departments and community organisations, posters have had a role in combating infectious disease, drugs, and poor nutrition, and in promoting healthy habits, workplace safety, and sexual health. The 'Now Jimmy, what is a good school lunch?' poster is one of a collection of 17 Australian health and safety posters that have survived from the 1950s. In their range they cover many of the public health issues that concerned government authorities at that time. In this post-World War II period proper nutrition, especially for children, had high priority. Various strategies were used to bring the message of proper eating and food preparation either to mothers or to children themselves. This small collection of posters illustrates the serendipitous way in which important material sometimes finds its way into museum collections. They were found by the vendor when he helped a friend to go through his late mother's possessions. The woman had been a scripture teacher and used the backs of posters like these to write her lessons. Recognising their historic and aesthetic value the vendor saved them and eventually offered them to the Powerhouse Museum.