An article in the Melbourne Age (2 March 1978, p. 25) recorded the retirement of Clare Ralph of Goullet of Melbourne (active 1953-78). "One of Australia's most talented milliners, Clare Ralph, of Goullet, is selling her business because she wants to spend more time in her garden. "I have been in the business for 25 years and last week I turned 60 and so I thought now is the time," Mrs. Ralph said at her Richmond shop yesterday. ... Mrs. Ralph is selling cheaply $10,000 for the label, which also covers sportswear, and tenancy and lease of the premises which have a showroom and workroom. ... Mrs. Ralph is as unpretentious as the relaxed Goullet styling which brought the new concept of millinery to Australia non-hatty hats with none of the "Melbourne Mum" quality so rife at the time. She said she started off making hats rather than dressmaking because she couldn't afford to buy the three yards of material necessary for a dress. "I wanted to get out of the house and so I did millinery night classes at Caulfield Tech." Her first efforts were sun-hats of natural straw which Mrs. Ralph trimmed extravagantly … "gold fishnet and braiding and sparkly jewels all over the crown. "They were ridiculous but a lot of fun," she said. She carted them by train to the city and nervously showed them to a store buyer. After the meeting, she couldn't face taking the samples home again on the train and left them. Before she could collect them, to everyone's amazement particularly Clare Ralph's, they had been sold. "The next thing was people were asking me what I was going to do for winter. I hadn't thought I was in the industry. I just thought I had sold a couple of sun hats and that was marvellous because I needed the money," she said. If the new buyer is interested, Clare Ralph will continue designing hats on a consultancy basis for them, which would be great for all the fans she has collected since those crazy sun-hat days.The Kew Historical Society’s fashion and design collection is comprised of costumes, hats, shoes and personal accessories. Many of these items were purchased or handmade in Victoria; some locally in Kew. The extensive hat collection comprises items dating from the 1860s to the 1970s. Most of the hats in the collection were created by milliners for women. There are however a number of early and important men’s hats in the collection. The headwear collection is particularly significant in that it includes the work of notable Australian and international milliners.Wide brimmed woman’s hat designed by Clare Ralph of Goullet of Melbourne, constructed of white stiffened fabric with a white fabric cord surrounding the crown of the hat.Label: Designed by Goullet of Melbournegoullet of melbourne, clare ralph -- milliner, women's clothing -- hats, headwear

An article in the Melbourne Age (2 March 1978, p. 25) recorded the retirement of Clare Ralph of Goullet of Melbourne (active 1953-78). "One of Australia's most talented milliners, Clare Ralph, of Goullet, is selling her business because she wants to spend more time in her garden. "I have been in the business for 25 years and last week I turned 60 and so I thought now is the time," Mrs. Ralph said at her Richmond shop yesterday. ... Mrs. Ralph is selling cheaply $10,000 for the label, which also covers sportswear, and tenancy and lease of the premises which have a showroom and workroom. ... Mrs. Ralph is as unpretentious as the relaxed Goullet styling which brought the new concept of millinery to Australia non-hatty hats with none of the "Melbourne Mum" quality so rife at the time. She said she started off making hats rather than dressmaking because she couldn't afford to buy the three yards of material necessary for a dress. "I wanted to get out of the house and so I did millinery night classes at Caulfield Tech." Her first efforts were sun-hats of natural straw which Mrs. Ralph trimmed extravagantly … "gold fishnet and braiding and sparkly jewels all over the crown. "They were ridiculous but a lot of fun," she said. She carted them by train to the city and nervously showed them to a store buyer. After the meeting, she couldn't face taking the samples home again on the train and left them. Before she could collect them, to everyone's amazement particularly Clare Ralph's, they had been sold. "The next thing was people were asking me what I was going to do for winter. I hadn't thought I was in the industry. I just thought I had sold a couple of sun hats and that was marvellous because I needed the money," she said. If the new buyer is interested, Clare Ralph will continue designing hats on a consultancy basis for them, which would be great for all the fans she has collected since those crazy sun-hat days.The Kew Historical Society’s fashion and design collection is comprised of costumes, hats, shoes and personal accessories. Many of these items were purchased or handmade in Victoria; some locally in Kew. The extensive hat collection comprises items dating from the 1860s to the 1970s. While most of the hats in the collection were created by milliners for women, there are a number of early and important men’s hats in the collection. The headwear collection is particularly significant in that it includes the work of notable Australian and international milliners.Finely woven straw woman’s hat designed by Clare Ralph for her millinery label Goullet [Melbourne]. The hat features a cream ribbon around the base of the crown. Label: Goulletclare ralph -- goullet -- melbourne (vic.), milliners -- clare ralph, headwear, women's clothing -- hats

The business connected to this ledger, dated from 1904 to 1907, is unknown. There are some local Warrnambool and district names but most refer to other places in Victoria and interstate. The entries mostly deal with the sale of produce - onions, potatoes, barley, oats etc. and the names of ships are usually appended . One can guess that the ledger comes from a Steamship Company, a produce buyer or a cartage contractor.This ledger is of minor interest and is retained for research purposes.This is a ledger of 755 pages. The cover is charcoal-coloured hard board with brown leather on the spine and the edges of the cover. The spine has a red label with gold-coloured lettering. The pages have ruled red lines and handwriting in black ink. The ledger is much stained and tattered at the edges.Day Bookwestern district produce, warrnambool, onions, potatoes, barley, oats

The Ironmonger Diary 1894 is titled on top of the inner pages "The Ironmonger Diary and Text Book". The inner pages contain blank diary pages, two weeks to an opening, with a light weight, blank pink page between the weeks. There are also Cash Book pages. The front and back sections of the diary contain product advertisements for ironmonger's wares, hardware, household goods, farm machinery, bicycles and even some clothing. There are Tables of measurements, a green-aged section called Classified List of Trade Marks and Brands, The Buyer's Guide and a list of Hallmarks on Plate (such as gold) and the years of manufacture.The Ironmonger Diary 1894 is a hard covered book bound book with gold lettering on the front cover and spine. The front cover includes an index to the information inside. It is titled on top of the inner pages "The Ironmonger Diary and Text Book". The inner pages contain blank diary pages, two weeks to an opening, with a light weight, blank pink page between the weeks. There are also Cash Book pages. The front and back sections of the diary contain product advertisements for ironmonger's wares, hardware, household goods, farm machinery, bicycles and even some clothing. There are Tables of measurements, a green-aged section called Classified List of Trade Marks and Brands, The Buyer's Guide and a list of Hallmarks on Plate (such as gold) identifying the years of manufacture.Pencilled letters on the Hallmarks on Plate page beside some of the letters, identifying the letter on the Hallmark. On the cover is also stamped in gold lettering "OFFICES: 42 CANNON ST, LONDON. E.C./MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, ironmonger diary, 1894, hardware catalogue, hardware diary