Duck trousers, straw bonnets, and bluey: the history of Tasmanian textiles and clothing is filled with colourful and unique garments, characters, and stories. Stories like that of Joseph Bidencope, a skilful tailor and milliner from Poland, whose popular hats made in Battery Point were exhibited to great success at the Philadelphia International Exhibition in 1876. Or the many stories of the female convicts housed in the factories at Cascades and Ross – some of whom were imprisoned for stealing aprons, bonnets, and jackets – who made, embroidered, and laundered clothing.
These stories- and many more- are at the heart of a new free exhibition Duck Trousers, straw bonnets, and Bluey: Stories of Fabrics and Clothing in Tasmania currently on display in the State Library of Tasmania and Tasmanian Archives Reading Room in Hobart. The exhibition has original records and heritage books from the Tasmanian Archive and State Library collection on display, along with information and images in our new exhibition space.
The exhibition tells five intertwined stories. The first story focuses on the history of the Tasmanian Bluey otherwise known as the Miner’s Bluey, a waterproof and durable coat fashioned for the Tasmanian climate. “A Tale of two Woollen Mills” examines a pivotal series of events in the development of the wool industry in Tasmania in the 1860s and 70s, and in particular how two competing woollen companies were established in the north and the south of the state. The techniques used in tanning for the production of leather (and in particular the unique Tasmanian bark used) and shoemaking in Tasmania is the focus of the third story wall, entitled “We all take our shoes very much for granted.” Another story focuses on “Bidencope’s: Hobart’s House of Quality”, telling the story of the tailor Joseph Bidencope and the renowned retail store that he founded on Murray Street. The final story is entitled “A very serious want of cloathing…” and focuses on convicts making and laundering a range of different clothing. It ends with an examination of a riot at the Launceston Female Factory in 1842, in which the women armed themselves with spindles.
State Library of Tasmania: With J. Bidencope’s compliments. [Hobart, Tasmania] : [J. Bidencope & Son], [between 1890 and 1899?]
Over the next few months, the State library and Archive Service team will publish a series of blogs that explore in greater depth some of the fascinating stories that we uncovered during our research. These blogs are designed to complement the exhibition, expanding some elements of the exhibition story walls to provide more context and other perspectives.
Whatever in the world are ‘Duck Trousers’?
No animals were harmed in the making of duck trousers! The name comes from the Dutch word for canvas, which is ‘Doek’. Duck trousers were essentially thick linen canvas trousers, not unlike Moleskins. Duck trousers were the most common type of trousers in the early colony of Hobart Town; they would have been worn by both convicts as well as free men and were prized for their durability.
In the exhibition, duck trousers feature on our convict wall, telling the story of how clothes were made by convicts on their way to Van Diemen’s Land. Our story focuses on the men on board the Pestonjee Bomangee, that arrived in Hobart Town in 1845. Amongst the Tasmanian Archive collection we have a list (CON121/1/1) of the various clothing items that were made during this journey, including a lot of duck trousers.
We are really excited to have on display in this exhibition many wonderful images from our Tasmanian Archive and State Library collections. Many of these images have been placed into a Duck Trousers, Straw Bonnets and Bluey Flickr Album for you to enjoy at anytime.
Duck Trousers, Straw Bonnets, and Bluey: Stories of fabrics and clothing in Tasmania will be on show until the end of August.
Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington is an integral part of the Hobart landscape. For the Muwinina people it is a place of cultural and spiritual significance, and a place of creation. Since the European settlement of Lutruwita/ Tasmania, the mountain has commonly appeared in visual and written descriptions of Hobart, providing a sweeping backdrop that frames the small town nestled along the river below. However, Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington is more than simply an iconic background; it has long been a source of resources for the town itself, including ice, timber and mining, amongst other things. Moreover, the mountain has long been regarded as a place of recreation and leisure, with picnics at the Springs and walks to its many waterfalls amongst its most popular activities. In 1935, Jack Thwaites (1902-1986) – a renowned Tasmanian photographer and conservationist- provided a wonderful description of Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington watching over Hobart, and alludes to the many ways in which the mountain draws people in:
Old Mount Wellington always calls us back with a lure all of her own … Winter or summer, many days can be spent exploring Hobart’s sentinel background; miles and miles of tracks (and now a wonderful scenic road to the Pinnacle nearing completion), leading in every direction, and exploring all the best scenic attractions.
The Tasmanian Tramp was published annually by the Hobart Walking Club from 1933 to 1949, although there was a break in publication between 1936 and 1944. Since 1951, the Tasmanian Tramp has been published biennially. The 1935 edition focused on the extensive network of trails on Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington Park. This included descriptions of the primary walks with notes and a beautifully-presented map of the mountain drawn by renowned Tasmanian artist, Vernon Hodgman (1909-1984).
The Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935) map is important within the history of Lutruwita/ Tasmania, and is a significant item within the Libraries Tasmania historical collection; as such, the map was singled out as a treasure for the 91 Stories campaign. It is easy to see why: the map is a visual feast, bright and artistic in its design, while at the same time practical.
The map’s main purpose was to highlight the main access points to the mountain, and in so doing, to encourage its exploration, particularly for recreation. The depiction of the bushwalkers in the top right-hand corner and a skier at the bottom left point to the main target audience for this map.
The first thing many people notice when viewing the map is the extensive network of red lines marking out the walking trails and roads on the mountain. The Fingerpost Track and the Old Hobartian Track are just some of the many trails that are plotted, as is Pillingers Drive and the main access roads such as Strickland Avenue leading up from Hobart. Black lines mark the main geological and natural features; the Organ Pipes and main rocky outcrops at the summit are usefully marked out using half-circles with intersecting lines to show gradient; these look like a series of fluttering eyelashes, and have the lovely effect of personifying the mountain. Other natural features include Crocodile Rock, the Octopus Tree, as well as the many rivulets and waterfalls, such as Gentle Annie Falls. Black is also used to mark out the many huts and log cabins that are dotted all over the mountain, and other points of interest too, such as the historic Rocky Whelan’s cave. At the summit of Kunayni/ Mount Wellington, the ski fields on Mount Arthur and the front ski drift near the Pinnacle are marked to show the direction of the ski run (see the image ‘close up of the “unfinished part of road”’ below for these ski fields).
For its cartography, the Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935) drew upon the prior work of J.A.B. Forster, who in November 1931 produced a map of the tracks and main features of Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington. However, Vernon Hodgman’s artistry and creativity marks this map as extraordinary: it is not only practical, but artistic in its design, and creative; the cartographic information is presented in a circle framed by a border, with the images of the walkers and skier around the outside. The circular design is not unlike the mappa mundi produced in Medieval Europe in terms of its circular arrangement and people drawn in the border, such as the renowned Hereford Mappa Mundi from around the year 1300.
When the Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935) was drawn, the map’s creator, Vernon Hodgman, worked as a commercial artist and industrial designer at Cadbury’s Claremont. Currently, in the State Library and Tasmanian Archive Reading Room (on the second floor of the Hobart Libraries Tasmania building) we have a display entitled ‘By Mountain and Sea: 100 years of Cadbury’s at Claremont’. This display includes original mock-ups and sketches by Vernon Hodgman, and includes the original sketch of the skier and the two bushwalkers from the map.
From the private collection of the Hodgman Family: original mock-up of bushwalkers and skiers for the The Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks map (c. 1930-1941)
Within wider historical contexts, the Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935) is important within the history of the Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington park, and the various ways in which people have interacted with this landscape over time. The map provides a snapshot in time of the infrastructure and significant points of intertest as they existed in 1935, at a time when there had been a flurry of track construction. From the 1870s, maps and descriptions of how to access the mountain appeared in a range of guidebooks (Buckman, Mt Wellington: its history, walks and facilities, p.11); visitors would traverse the mountain via a series of very rough tracks, with the Springs a popular destination. It was in the 1920s and 1930s when a majority of the tracks were constructed, and many of the existing tracks were upgraded. As Maria Grist has explored, there were, for instance, improvements made to the Zig-Zag Track in 1927. The Old Hobartian track, which starts at Lenah Valley, was constructed between 1932 and 1934 by the Old Hobartian Association, who raised money to finance its completion. (Grist, A timeline for the track network of Kunanyi/Mount Wellington, p.56).
When the map was published in 1935, the road to the pinnacle had been started but was another two years off completion (it was opened on the 23rd January 1937), and so the unfinished road and its future projection is plotted on the map. In the early 1930s, Pillingers Drive went as far as the Springs, and this was expanded in the 1930s through a depression works program instigated by the Tasmanian Premier Albert Ogilvie, to provide employment. (Grist, A timeline for Pillinger Drive and Pinnacle Road : Kunanyi/Mount Wellington, Tasmania, pp.14-25)
In many ways, the Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935) is not only about detailing the tracks and roads to enable access to the mountain, but is also a celebration of achievements – the building of the road to the Pinnacle and many of the tracks were constructed during a really difficult economic time around the world. These tracks and the roads allowed for more recreation and leisure, a luxury for many at this time.
The Hobart Walking Club was founded in November 1929, making it contemporary to the flurry of track-building activity on Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington. Organisation of the club was led by E.T. Emmett, Director of the State Tourism Board (who served as the club’s first president), along with Jack Thwaites, who was the Secretary of the Scenery Preservation Board. The aim of the Hobart Walking Club was ‘to encourage walking, skiing and similar outdoor activities, and to promote an interest in the preservation of flora, fauna and natural scenery” (Kearsley ed., Hobart Walking Club Inc: a record of eighty-one years, p.3). Not just limited to Hobart and surrounds, club members participated in outdoor activities all over Tasmania, with organised excursions, picnics and multiple day hikes. For instance, in 1930, nine members of the Hobart Walking Club led by Jack Thwaites, hiked along the Linda Track from Derwent Bridge to the West Coast (Kearsley ed., Hobart Walking Club Inc: a record of eighty-one years, pp.6-7).
The Hobart Walking Club was at the forefront of both the promotion of walking as a recreational pastime in Tasmania, and in the conservation of wilderness areas. The Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935) is an important heritage item both within the context of the early history of the Hobart Walking Club, and the expansion of bushwalking and the opening of walking trails in wilderness areas in Tasmania more broadly.
Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington was a key place for the Hobart Walking Club, with members participating in regular busy-bees to look after the tracks. There were also regular weekend visits to Mount Wellington to walk or to ski (Kearsley ed., Hobart Walking Club Inc: a record of eighty-one years, p.9), with many of the early members of the Hobart Walking Club interested in skiing. Two separate ski runs are plotted on the Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935), one at Mt Arthur and another to the south-west of the pinnacle, called the ‘Front Ski Drift’. In the Tasmanian Archive collection are many photographs and negatives taken by Jack Thwaites, several of them capturing his family or members of the Hobart Walking Club skiing on Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington.
Amongst the group in the photograph above (with Jack Thwaites most likely behind the lens), is Vernon Hodgman, taken in 1936 one year after his Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935) was published. Vernon was involved in the Hobart Walking Club from its early days, and was a keen and skilled skier, serving in the A. I. F. in the Second World War as a ski instructor in the mountains of Lebanon.
Vernon Hodgman was a noted Tasmanian artist and the Keeper of the Art Gallery at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). Born in Burnie, he attended Burnie High School and then Trinity Grammar Kew in Victoria. He received his training in art at the Hobart Technical College, where he studied with Lucien Dechaineux and Mildred Lovett. Vernon Hodgman taught art at the Hobart Technical College, and then the Launceston Technical College as Head teacher between 1947 and 1960.
Vernon Hodgman’s early career was spent at Cadbury Fry Pascall Pty Ltd at Claremont. He worked as a commercial artist and industrial designer here between 1928 and 1940, and in 1945 became the Head of the Design Studio. He designed the advertising and packaging for a range of products, including Old Jamaica and Energy chocolates, several of which are currently in the ‘By Mountain and Sea: 100 years of Cadbury’s at Claremont’ display that is on in the State Library and Tasmanian Archive Reading Room.
It was during Vernon Hodgman’s time at Cadbury’s that he created the Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935). The bushwalker motif located in the top right-hand corner of the map is echoed through imagery on other items held within the State Library collection. The two bushwalkers appear on the label of the Cadbury Energy Bar, although their positions are reversed. Advertising for the Cadbury Energy Bar appears in the many pamphlets on Cadbury’s held within the State Library collection, and also in the Tasmanian Tramp publications. In a similar fashion, a bushwalker with a backpack and a staff appears on the cover of Hobart Walking Club publications, with the name ‘V.W. Hodgman’ located on the bottom right. However, this time it is a lone bushwalker.
Vernon Hodgman’s Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935) is a fascinating item within the Libraries Tasmania collection. It maps a landscape of tremendous cultural and natural significance, and does so in a beautiful and artistic way. The map is itself an important artwork by an eminent Tasmanian artist, Vernon Hodgman. Moreover, analysis of other contemporary artwork produced by Vernon Hodgman, such as that produced during his time at Cadbury’s, add another dimension of understanding to the art motifs in the Mt. Wellington Park, map of roads tracks (1935). The map’s significance is further highlighted when considered within the context of the histories of human engagement with Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington, as well as the history of the Hobart Walking Club, and recreation in Tasmania more generally, particularly walking and skiing.
Bibliography
My sincere thanks to the Hodgman family for their generosity in sharing stories of Vernon Hodgman, and for loaning Items to Libraries Tasmania that are currently on display in the ‘By Mountain and Sea: 100 years of Cadbury’s at Claremont’.
A single item, sitting on a library shelf, can be the thread of a story that weaves through locations and generations. This one is a ‘musical score’ – the sheets of music notes used for a performance – owned by a notable (but little known) Tasmanian woman.
every available tree of this type has been taken over in Gt Britain for War Purposes, the chief item being aircraft construction, the timber being the best substitute for spruce, which is all tied up now in countries occupied by the enemy … The other uses for this willow is artificial limbs for which no other timber is suitable, and recently has [been found to have] the quickest, and most powerful detonation as a component in high explosive fuses for shells … So you can see that none of the tree is not of high commercial value.
This blog features some of the recently digitised items from the Tasmanian Archives and the State Library of Tasmania. Each year, we place items online to help promote and preserve our rare and special collections. These images and films are just a tiny sample of an amazing treasure trove of Tasmania’s heritage. From colonial artwork to convict records, fragile glass plate negatives to rare films, private letters to government records, our collections (including the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts and the W L Crowther Collection) tell millions of stories from Tasmania and around the world.
Read on to find out more about our new additions to our digital collections! To discover even more, you can also search our catalogue or visit us on Flickr, YouTube and Instagram.
In this blog:
Photographs related to the history of Tasmanian trams, buses, equipment and staff – Ref: AG184/1/1 to 33
Glass plate negatives of Hobart and Surrounds by William James Little (c1870 – 1920s) – Ref: NS526/1/1 to 49
Photographs collected by the Cox Family (c1850-1929) – Ref: NS6904/1/1 to 87
Photographs of Launceston sent to Overseas Pen-Friends – Ref: NS5622/1/1 to 15
Photographs of Hobart and surrounds taken by James Chandler (c1920s) – Ref: NS1231/2/1 to 22
Small collection of glass plate negatives from the Black family (c1930s) – Ref: NS5583/1/1 to 13
Album of Thomas Midwood – Ref: NS6759/1/1
Port Arthur Circuit – Baptism Register (1828-43) – Ref: NS499/1/531
Port Arthur Circuit – Burial Register (1832-43) – Ref: NS499/1/532
Wills from AD960/1/1, AD960/1/2, AD960/1/3 and AD960/1/4
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this post contains images and voices of deceased persons.
This blog features some of the recently digitised items from the Tasmanian Archives and the State Library of Tasmania. Each year, we place items online to help promote and preserve our rare and special collections. These images and films are just a tiny sample of an amazing treasure trove of Tasmania’s heritage. From colonial artwork to convict records, fragile glass plate negatives to rare films, private letters to government records, our collections (including the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts and the W L Crowther Collection) tell millions of stories from Tasmania and around the world.
Read on to find out more about our new additions to our digital collections! To discover even more, you can also search our catalogue or visit us on Flickr and YouTube.
In this blog:
Peter Laurie Reid Carte-De-Visite Collection, c1860 – Ref: NS1442/1/1 to 53
Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 – Ref: NS6607/1/1 to 14
Stereoscopic Photographs of Emu Bay Burnie, c1890 – Ref: NS6664/1/1 to 5
Stereoscopic photographs taken by George Benjamin Davies for submission to the Postal Stereoscopic Society of Australia, c1921 – Ref: NS6538/1/1 to 33
Tasmanian Government Tourist Bureau photographs – AA375
Photograph of Fanny Cochrane Smith and Horace Watson recording Tasmanian Aboriginal Songs: NS1553/1/1798
Illustrated Travelogue July 1919 – Ref: NS6853
Fountain in Governor’s garden, Port Arthur – Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts
Drawing of George Meredith, Senior – Ref: LMSS12/1/72
Photographs from the Trustees of the Tasmanian Public Library – Ref: SLT23
Wills Image Replacement Project: AD960/1/1
Diary of Police Duties kept by Charles H. Brown, District Constable, Coal Mines, Tasman Peninsula 1853 – Ref: CON129/1/1
Index to General Correspondence, 1836-7 – Ref: CSO4
This blog features some of the recently digitised items from the Tasmanian Archives and the State Library of Tasmania. Each year, we place items online to help promote and preserve our rare and special collections. These images and films are just a tiny sample of an amazing treasure trove of Tasmania’s heritage. From colonial artwork to convict records, from fragile glass plate negatives to rare films, from private letters to government records, our collections (including the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts and the W L Crowther Collection) tell literally millions of stories from Tasmania and around the world.
Read on to find out more about our new additions to our digital collections! To discover even more, you can also search our catalogue or visit us on Flickr and YouTube.
In this blog:
Glass Plate Negatives of Sea Captains, c1920 – Ref: NS6192
Stereoscopic Views of the ‘Franklin Relics,’ 1860 – Ref: NS1155
Mt Biscoff Tin Mine Photographs – Ref: NS6719
Gentleman Jim, 1942 – Reference: Ref: NS4264/1/5
Hobart High School Photos – Ref: AG162/1/6
Charles Street School Register 1902-08 – Ref: AB753/1/1
Return of Convicts Embarked for Port Arthur by the Ships Tamar, Isabella, Shamrock, and Lady Franklin (1834-1855). Ref: CON126/1/1
Return of Money Forfeited by Prisoners at Port Arthur (1864). Ref: CON132/1/1
Letter from the Colonial Secretary to the Commandant, Port Arthur (1834). Ref: CON86/1/2
Film: Timber Makes News, 1947 – Ref: AC672/1/219
Film: Les Skelly talking about Tiger Hill, 1986-9 – Ref: NS1391/1/1
In the 1930’s, in the aftermath of the Great Depression, Tasmanian educators came up with a bold new vision to transform rural schools. They wanted to teach the latest in agricultural science, to instil a lifelong love of learning, and to help Tasmanian rural children develop into informed citizens of a modern democracy. They ended up creating a model that was admired around Australia and the world: the Tasmanian Area School.
Firstly, a confession. I have struggled to write this blog, to gather references and to find a quiet space to write an intelligent, interesting, engaging and informative piece on the history of early childhood education in Tasmania. My first effort was informative, but it seemed to lack something, and I wasn’t happy with it.
Then, one day, I had an epiphany while walking after work. I feel an immense pride in the public education system in Tasmania. I send both my boys to public schools on the Eastern Shore in Southern Tasmania. My father was a well-loved, enthusiastic and dedicated Physics and Maths teacher in both public and private schools in Northern Tasmania. I still recall him enthusiastically telling me, “Tasmania has the best public education system in Australia.” When I studied at University, I was constantly meeting his past students whose choices were in some way inspired by his teaching methods.
This is how education began in Tasmania – with inspired, talented people dedicated to improving the lives of Tasmanian children.
While researching this blog, I discovered one such person, Joseph Benson Mather, who was determined to provide an education to Tasmania’s poorest children. I and my colleagues went on to find dozens of stories of devoted parents, dedicated teachers, and generous communities who believed that young Tasmanian children deserved high quality early childhood education. Together, they laid the groundwork for early childhood education in Tasmania today, where amazing teachers encourage little children to learn through play, to be curious, and to love school.
We can only imagine what it must have been like to be the first teacher in Tasmania. Jane Noel was a Sydney schoolmistress who began a private school in a hut in a lane off the lower end of Collins Street in Hobart Town in 1806. What follows is a brief look at the lives of three of Jane’s successors between 1868 and 1945. It is also a research journey, investigating the sometimes dark nooks and crannies of the collections of the Tasmanian State Library and Archives. What you think you will find on these journeys is sometimes very different than what you begin looking for, but it is always illuminating.
