Etched Glass Kangaroo Doors, Melbourne

One of the things about Art Deco around the world it that local flora, fauna and indigenous art were often incorporated into the contemporary designs. So there are Maori decoration in New Zealand, baboons and elephants in South Africa and kangaroos in Australia.

These etched glass doors are in a block of flats in Melbourne. They portray a troop of kangaroos hopping amongst the eucalypts. It is a uniquely Australian scene and could only appear in Australia.

I’ve seen elephants on Art Deco buildings in Ireland and England which seems all right there even though obviously elephants are not native to that part of the world but I can’t imagine any of Australia’s native fauna being used anywhere else.