The Crimson Thread by Erin Lee

The Crimson Thread investigates the ubiquitous presence of Australia’s British heritage through the lens of Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Tour of Australia in 1954, to better understand the impacts of colonisation and white privilege on contemporary society.

This work explores the enduring impact of British colonialism in Australia by retracing Queen Elizabeth II’s 1954 Royal Tour—the first visit by a reigning monarch. Combining contemporary photography of the tour’s locations, historical research, and archival material from the time, the book reflects on how the continued celebration of colonial history reinforces white privilege in Australia today.

The title is taken from a quote by Henry Parkes, a British-born, Australian colonial politician who described Australia’s connection to the British Motherland as “the crimson thread of kinship, which defined Australia as a bastion of ‘whiteness’ in the Asian region.”

Diary entries and archival material are interwoven throughout the book, deepening the narrative with the sentiment of the time. The diary belongs to Doreen, a fictional wife and mother working as a seamstress on the Royal Tour. Early entries express Doreen’s excitement to be part of such a monumental event, however as the tour goes on, she comes to question the Queen’s role in Australia and becomes increasingly more scathing. Doreen’s nuanced opinions serve as an invitation for viewers to contemplate the ongoing relevance—or irrelevance—of these enduring, archaic institutions.

Each copy of the book is a unique edition with distinct archival material collected from 1954 newspapers and magazines added by hand, bound with a softcover velvet finish. The Crimson Thread is both a fictional reimagining of the time and a wider critique of Australia's colonial legacy.