Dr Michael Marendy
In April 2001, Michael was awarded the degree Doctor of Philosophy by Griffith University. Using a clothing object from the Applied Arts Collection at the Queensland Museum and material culture methodology, he was able to unpack the story of women involved in the custom made clothing trade in Brisbane from 1859 to 1901. Michael is currently researching the period 1902-1940, in order to publish a biography of the leading fashion designer in Brisbane from 1882 to 1938. The paper he will present today is based on his PhD research findings.
Women in Business in Nineteenth Century Brisbane: Opportunities in the Custom Made Clothing Trade
During the nineteenth century dressmaking provided one of the few avenues for women to use their creative and entrepreneurial skills. The 1886 Queensland census indicated that there were nine hundred and eighty-one dressmakers and milliners operating in Brisbane at that time, and yet accounts of nineteenth century Queensland history have bypassed fashionable dress, and the woman who designed and made it. As this industry was not unionised, or seriously regulated until the twentieth century, the identification and documentation of Brisbane women working in the custom made clothing trade has relied on sources such as census records, business directories, the social and women's pages of colonial newspapers, and a small number of clothing objects in the collections of the Queensland Museum and the Queensland Women's Historical Association. Despite the large number of women involved in this trade, the surviving sources only allow a mere glimpse into the careers of less than half a dozen of these women. Few women matched the skills of Mrs. Janet Walker who successfully operated her dressmaking business in Brisbane from 1883 to 1938. During the early stages of her career, she had not only attracted the attention of the press, but also members of the colonial ruling, professional and managerial classes who were to become regular clients. Her establishment became the largest private dressmaking business in colonial Brisbane, specialising in custom made clothing, especially ball and wedding attire. Although specific business and personal records related to this trade have not survived, this paper will illustrate how a variety of unrelated material and documentary sources can be used to reconstruct women's history. More specifically it will outline the creative and business life of Mrs. Janet Walker "the well known costumier" of colonial Brisbane.
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