Signed Pre-Release Edition for the Australian Market
Sir Robert Menzies
Issued in 1977
This model was created to commemorate the Australian Premiere and Statesman, and was issued as a Signed Pre-Release Edition for members of the “Peggy Nisbet Doll Collectors’ Club of Australia”.
This doll is from the "Portrait" Series
Sir Robert is shown here wearing the robes of the Order of the Thistle. This is a chivalric order representing the highest honour in Scotland, and is second only in precedence to the Order of the Garter.
Sir Robert was extremely proud of his Scottish Ancestry, and this was recognised when he was admitted to the Order of the Thistle in 1963
At the time this doll was made, in 1977, Sir Robert was the twelfth and longest serving Prime Minister of Australia, an office he filled for a total of eighteen and a half years, over two terms.
Menzies was born in Jeparit, a small town in western Victoria, the son of a storekeeper of Scottish descent, who was also a state Member of Parliament. Menzies's uncle and father-in-law were also politicians. Robert was inordinately proud of his Highland ancestry.
He was renowned as a brilliant speaker, and his imperious manner led to him being nicknamed “Ming”. This nickname came from "Mingus, or Mingies" the Scots pronunciation of "Menzies," although it was also a reference to the evil emperor “Ming The Merciless” in the “Flash Gordon” serials!
Sir Robert died in Melbourne in 1978, and was accorded a State Funeral.