REGALIA and other artefacts will go on public display after a donation from a Portland man once judged the “world’s loudest town crier”.
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Glenelg Shire has secured more than 200 items from the estate of Portland identity Syd Cuffe, who served as town crier for three decades until his death last month.
The donation includes replica colonial coats and hats, scrolls, medallions and trophies, as well as Mr Cuffe’s trademark bell, all of which have been presented to the shire’s cultural collection.
Glenelg Shire mayor John Northcott said Mr Cuffe was a regular fixture at community events and always presented himself in full town crier costume.
“Syd was well known within not only the Portland community, but across the shire, as a talented town crier,” he said.
It’s not the first substantial donation made by the war veteran.
The Portland retiree bestowed a number of photographs from his war service in Darwin during the early 1940s to the Northern Territory government.
Mr Cuffe participated in a number of Town Crying World Championships across the globe, winning awards for best scroll and loudest cry.
A selection of his items will be displayed in the foyer of the shire’s main office early next year and will also form part of an exhibition commemorating Portland’s graduation to city status in 1985.