Moomba photos from 1960 parade a surprise blast from the past

GIRLS in boats, giant cake floats and a tribute to the wonders of gas. Welcome to Melbourne’s Moomba parade, circa 1960, with these pictures capturing the event in all its retro glory.

PHOTOS found in a shoebox show how Melbourne celebrated the iconic Moomba parade 58 years ago.

Back in 1960 there were no Moomba kings, and Miss Victoria winner Pat Tudor was crowned as the Moomba Queen.

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Rochester man Wayne Park uncovered a trove of photos capturing the 1960 parade’s floats and marching bands.

Celebrating the wonders of gas.

Saying thanks to the Board of Works.

It’s not a parade unless there’s a giant clown float.

A wave for the crowd during the 1960 parade.

Photography, old school.

A real-life cake topper.

“The floats are great and they show businesses from back then, some of which are still around,” Mr Park said.

Women in cocktail dresses ride on top of a float as a tribute to gas, under foam flames saying “hot water”, “cooking” and “heating”. There are also girls in boats, a giant clown and a woman on top of a giant birthday cake celebrating the festival’s 21st birthday.

There is even a float celebrating the barbecue necessity of “briquettes” as a household treasure, with pirates and a ship trying to find them.

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Acknowledging the household treasure that is the briquette.

Paying tribute to the Post Office.

Marching girls entertain the crowd.

The only clue about who took the photos is the name of the person who had the slides processed, a D.L White from South Australia.

“It was really quite an interesting discovery and I’ll just try to and track the family involved and return the pictures to them if they’d like them back,” he said.

The Moomba Festival will start on March 9 and run until March 12.