Great Seal heist: Queen Victoria’s gift to Norfolk Islanders stolen, with rebellious motives suspected

When museum staff opened a supposedly secured container holding one of their most treasured items last Friday afternoon, they discovered the Great Seal of Norfolk Island had been stolen. The brazen theft of an artefact symbolising Norfolk Island’s identity may have sparked a locked-room mystery in the South Pacific, but it has also exposed the Read More …

Queen Victoria & Her Letters Patent creating the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Australia

On 29 October 1900, Queen Victoria signed two constitutional documents: Letters Patent constituting the Office of Governor-General, and Instructions to the Governor‑General. Some commentators writing at the time thought that the Letters Patent and the Instructions were superfluous, or even of doubtful legality. However, between 1902 and 1920, King Edward VII and King George V Read More …