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Vassily Grigorievich Voskresensky (16 September 1888 – 27 July 1951), usually referred to as Colonel Wassily de Basil, was a Russian ballet impresario. De Basil brought the Original Ballet Russe on a tour of Australia in 1939–1940,[6] travelling there aboard the P&O ocean liner RMS Maloja in September 1938. He had earlier organised tours to Australia in 1936–1937 and 1938–1939, although he did not travel with the company. During his visit to Australia, de Basil commissioned work from Australians, especially from designers, who included Sidney Nolan and Kathleen and Florence Martin. He also instigated a design competition for an original Australian ballet, which was won by Donald Friend with designs for a ballet based on a fictitious event in the life of Ned Kelly. Source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_de_Basil

The writing is in Cyrillic alphabet meaning: "God Save Russia".

This woman gave birth to her eighth child 27 july 1943 She lost 2 children 21 and 24 September 1943, then in December 1943 she lost her husband. My grandmother was a brave woman.

This church, built in 1935, is the oldest purpose-built Orthodox Russian Church within the oldest Russian Orthodox parish in Australia. The small community who were the original members were refugees fleeing from totalitarianism and war in Russia, Europe, and China. With the Gabba becoming the settling place for Russian immigrants in the early 20th century (except for the civil war from 1918-22 when practically all Russian migration was halted), two other places of worship sprang up including the Russian Orthodox Church of St Seraphim in Hawthorne St and in the 1970’s the English language Holy Annunciation Church in Park Rd. The church was consecrated by a Greek archbishop as there was still not a Russian one in Australia and the royal gates and internal iconostasis (timber screen) were built by Russian immigrants while the icons and chandeliers came from Russia or China. Inside there can also be found a shrine to Tsar Nicholas II. There are no pews or chairs inside the cathedral and the congregation stands, as they have since it opened, while the smell of incense wafts through the air. Candles burn before the icons and on the altar and worship here is still conducted in the liturgical language, Church Slavonic. Source: www.mustdobrisbane.com/visitor-info-arts-culture-history/...