Separation 1850, Melbourne, Ham Brothers, 1850. Pen lithograph, Pictures Collection, National Library of Australia

William Strutt arrived in Melbourne on 5 July 1850, aged just 24. He spent a dozen years in the Antipodes, a period of extraordinary change when gold was discovered and immigration soared. On 11 November 1850, Port Phillip separated from New South Wales, becoming a self-governing colony. A three-day public holiday was called, culminating in Separation Day on 15 November and the opening of Princes Bridge in Melbourne. Strutt completed several works to mark the occasion, including this commemorative flyer. It was distributed to the crowds by John Pascoe Fawkner, who rode in a horse-drawn trolley loaded with a printing press and printers, which produced the flyers as the trolley made its way through the city streets.