Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

A temple tomb in the form of a Greek temple with a triangular pediment. Dark pillars on a flat, paved base support the plinth of the memorial. The memorial is situated on lawn, surrounded by trees and shrubs. Between the pillars, a glass enclosure can be clearly seen. The enclosure was removed at a later date. Harold Desbrowe-Annear designed the Springthorpe Memorial, while Bertram Mackennal sculpted the statuary on the sarcophagus. William Guilfoyle is belived to have advised on the design of the garden.An early black and white postcard of the Springthorpe Memorial in the Boroondara General Cemetery. There are numerous often undated postcards showing the memorial. This example features two women standing at left and a man at right. Based on the women's costumes, the postcard can be dated to 1900-1910.A Temple Tomb / Boroondara springthorpe memorial, boroondara general (kew) cemetery, postcards -- cemeteries, postcards -- kew (vic.)

The Fashion & Design collection of Kew Historical Society includes examples of women’s, men’s, children’s and infants' clothing from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. While the collection includes some examples of international fashion, most items were handmade or purchased in Melbourne. Apricot-coloured cotton apron, hand embroidered with a design of a woman in a garden. The apron has two symmetrically placed embroidered pockets. The apron may be a Semco pattern.clothing - women's, aprons, fashion design, fashion -- 1950s

Two tickets (.1 and .2) to the 1994 Virginia Slims Championships, at Madison Square Garden, for 5:30pm, Tuesday 15 November. This night was Martina Navratilova's farwell to Women's Singles tennis. Whilst retiring from singles tennis, Navratilova continued playing in Women's and Mixed Doubles, until 2006, with continued Grand Slam and circuit success. Materials: Paper, Inktennis

Many of the Henty's of the Western District of Victoria also owned houses in Kew, Victoria. Stephen Henty, referred to on the reverse of the postcard, lived while a member of the Vitoria Parliament at 'Findon' in Kew. Kew Historical Society also holds a nationally significant collection of costumes belonging to three generations of Henty women.Monochrome, blue tinted 'real photo' postcard of Housen's Richmond Hotel, Portland. Two women stand on the steps of the hotel at left, with the rose garden in front of them. Behind them is a church spire. The hotel and its significance is outlined in two columns of blue coloured text on the reverse.Printed reverse: "THE RICHMOND is the most historical building in the State. On the site of today's building Edward Henty, the founder of permanent settlement in Victoria, commenced his first house February 19, 1835, finishing the work in two months. He had landed in Portland on Nov. 19th, 1834, and turned the first plough furrows in Victoria where the Hotel now stands on the 26th of the following month. It was also here that Major Mitchell ended his explorations from Sydney, meeting the Hentys on August 29th, 1836. In December of the same year Mrs S. G. Henty joined her husband, their son Richmond, the first male white child in Portland, being born in the Henty cottage. The present Richmond Hotel was built in 1840, and became the home of Stephen Henty until his departure from Portland in 1869. Though Edward Henty's first house was demolished in 1840, to make room for the new surveyed town streets, part of his wool store remains in the Hotel grounds, and is used as a wood shed. This is about the oldest building in the State : in it was held the first christening service in Portland on September 26th, 1841. On the site of the Richmond Hotel all the early visiting celebrities were entertained - Mitchell, Wedge, La Trobe, Fyans, Sir John Franklin, Capt. Stokes, etc. No other hostelry in Victoria can give you the historical atmosphere of the RICHMOND. / THE ORIGINAL HOME OF THE HENTYS."henty family, richmond hotel -- portland (vic.), stephen henty, edward henty, richmond henty, henty houses -- victoria, portland, postcards

This wedding photograph is an illustration of the intermarriage of notable Victorian (and Kew) families. The parents of the groom were the Hon. James Balfour MP., and his wife, Frances Charlotte (Henty) [the eldest daughter of James Henty] who married at Hawthorn in 1859. The Balfour lived at 'Windella' in Studley Park Road. Henry Rairey (Harry) Balfour was the youngest son of Mr & Mrs Balfour who married Katie Harrison of 'Horley' in Molesworth Street, Kew. Miss Harrison's father was the T.S. Harrison (merchant and importer, b. Banbury, Oxon, 1829, d. Melb 1901). Portrait of the wedding party in the garden of Horley in Molesworth Street, following the marriage of Elizabeth Kate (Katie) Harrison to Henry Rairey (Harry) Balfour at the Kew Presbyterian Church in 1905. The outfits worn by the women were reported in Punch, on 9 February 1905]. The bride wore a frock of ivory white satin, with bertha of duchesse lace and a yoke of ruched chiffon. The bridesmaids … wore white muslin dresses, inserted with Valenciennes, made in early Victorian style. The white straw hats were trimmed with lace and blue hydrangea, and their flowers were blue hydrangea, delphiniums and cornflowers. … The bride’s mother [right] wore a well-cut dress of black silk. The bridegroom’s mother [left] wore a gown of black silk voile, and smart black bonnet grouped with roses. L. to R. Christian Balfour, Jean Mackintosh, Mrs James Balfour (nee Henty), Bridegroom, Bride, Dr. Lewis Balfour, Genevieve Harrison, Hon. James Balfour, Henry Harvey, Marion Harrison (nee Borodin) [Married by Mr Alec Scholes at Kew Presbyterian Church] .Individuals identified in ink on reverse plus donor name and date.balfour, henty, harrison, horley, molesworth street, kew

One of a collection of fourteen items of clothing and household textiles donated by Lisa Sylvan, a long-term resident of Kew, Five of the items are homemade aprons made and worn by her mother. Of the seven pinafores, three identical but differently sized pinafores were made in her parents' factory, while the other three are handmade. The handmade aprons and pinafores are representative samples of women's work, often using commercial or patterns using fabrics originally deigned for dresses. Typically the examples, contrasting fabrics and colours were selected to provide visual interest. The donation also includes a hand embroidered linen hand towel and a commercially produced 'birds of Australia' printed table cloth. Most of the collection derives from the 1950s.Cream linen hand towel, bordered at each end with bands of mustrad yellow linen. The towel is embroidered with a picture of a woman in period dress collecting flowers from a garden.lisa sylvan, household linen, supper cloths, fancy work

Published by the Deaf Committee of the Adult Deaf and Dumb Society of VictoriaThe Victorian Deaf News' Newsletter is a significant publication as an historical record giving and insight into the people, activities and events of the Deaf Community in Victoria.Vol 2 No. 8 April 1938; Size 24.5cmHx19cmW; 12 pagesfrances leila peters, ernest j. d. abraham, principal's garden party, christmas rally, foundation day picnic, george parker, foundation day picnic, women's guild, cricket, basketball, tennis, lacrosse, jack mclean, annual bay trip, mens guild, j. mclaurin, j. hunt, easter rally, william o'keeffe, t. newton, mrs m. briner, egbert pallott, james walters, mona stevens, phyllis johnstone, cliff ellwood, george boyce, monahan, ernest a. reynolds, sutherland, willie elwin, george mcguinness, f. kendall, gertie kinsella, joy tampion, evelyn lloyd, l. treffene, alice smith, paqualin, j. williams, andrew rankine, percy smith, h. williamson, len treffene, t. beard, w. hately, w. a. ross, norma rawlins, a. salmon, arthur hately,

Colour photograph. Interior of level five foyer. Facing east. White painted double doors lead to exterior rooftop garden. Taken after restoration works have been completedhistoric buildings, cultural structures and establishments

The original postcards in this series (2013.002 to 2013.018) were generously loaned to Williamstown Botanic Gardens by a private collector for copying. The postcards are evidence of the interest the gardens held as a subject for postcard publishers. The text and images provide a snapshot into fashions, social interests and concerns of the time. The professionally produced images provide a pictorial history of Gardens including changing planting styles, various structures and features of the Gardens eg the aviary, cannons, the fountain, the second Curator’s Lodge and gates. The images offer an opportunity to compare garden vistas with the present day. This postcard shows the main east-west axial path with a typical Victorian/Edwardian mown grass strip which in turn borders formal shrub beds with herbaceous plantings. The Cordylines which line and avenue in this image were replaced by Mexican Fan Palms (Washingtonia robusta) planted in 1915. They were replaced with the same species in 1987. Black and white postcard of Gardens main path, looking towards a white statue on a plinth. The statue is of Williamstown MLA, A T Clark. There are for people walking towards the camera – two women, a small girl and two men. The women and child are on the right of the path and the men on the left. One woman is pushing a pram. The path is edged with grass and the beds are full of flowers. There are no palms lining the path as there are today in 2013. On front of postcard ‘IN THE GARDENS, WILLIAMSTOWN’.postcard, garden-beds, post-card, williamstown-botanic-gardens, hobsons-bay-city-council, pram, clark

The Gardens were a popular venue for Sunday School picnics for many years. She was aged approximately when the photo was taken and her head can just be seen in the middle of the photo. Alice Weatherhead (Cochran) lived firstly in Newport and then Railway Cres Williamstown. She attended the Newport Baptist Church and the Domestic Arts School. At the time of writing the letter she was 91 years of age. She worked at the aircraft factory in Champion Road, Newport making the rear fuselage for Beaufort Bombers. Her father, Tom Cochran, belonged to the Williamstown Horticultural Society.Alice’s photos and written memories encapsulate the intangible heritage of the Williamstown Botanic Gardens. She recalls: playing in the Gardens; using them as her as a place for solace and thinking; while riding to the beach from Newport; walking in crocodile file past the Gardens from her school to the swimming baths, the ‘air of mystery as you walked through those wonderful wrought iron gates’; a place of courtship with the boy she later married. She wrote about seeing a purple flowering plant in a circular bed that was ‘spectacular and inspired me to grow it in my garden’. Black and white image of people sitting and standing together for the group photo. There are large trees in the background; a young boy standing with his hands behind his back at the back row to the left. There are two crosses (in pen) above the heads of two women in the back row on the left side.On the reverse of the image: Mother and G. M. L. / marked x x / Newport Baptist S.S. / Picnic Williamstown Gardens / Grace Logan / [address is written but not to be published] / No29williamstown botanic gardens, hobsons bay city council, 1930, newport baptist sunday school picnic, alice cochran

Alice Sedgman (nee Percy) – 1873-1945 Alice was born in Maldon in 1873, one of 9 children of William Henry Percy and his wife Unice King. Alice married Francis Sedgman, occupation painter, in 1896 and they went on to have 8 children, all born in Kew or Hawthorn before the family came to Surrey Hills. The electoral roll for 1903 shows the family living in Liddiard Street in Hawthorn and Alice’s occupation is given as home duties. It is the same in 1909 when they are living at 65 Croydon Road, Surrey Hills and continues to be thus listed in all electoral rolls until the 1943 edition, just before her death. However Mrs Sedgman was also an active nurse and midwife who often worked with Dr James Blakie, who had arrived in Surrey Hills in 1905, initially practicing from 171 Union Road and then in 1913 moving across the road to the purpose-built home and practice at 174 Union Road, now Surrey Hills Medical Centre. At this period most babies were born at home. Sometime after 1931 Alice and Francis Sedgman moved from 65 Croydon Road into 10 Grovedale Road and lived with their son Francis William Sedgman and his family for the remainder of their lives. The photo shows Mrs Alice Sedgman in early 1930s with grand-daughter Joy in the garden of her son. Behind her can be seen the fenced 'quarry' which is now parkland. Alice died in 1945 and Francis in 1951. They are buried in Boroondara Cemetery along with an infant son Clarence and daughter Marjorie. Alice Sedgman was one of the area's early midwives when women for the main part delivered their children at home.A black and white photograph of a lady sitting in a cane chair holding a young girl on her knee.mr francis william sedgman, mr francis sedgman, mrs alice sedgman, miss alice percy, miss joy sedgman, mrs joy scanlon, grovedale road park, grovedale road quarry, croydon road, grovedale road, midwife, nurse

Digital black and white portrait of a woman, standing in front of a flowering garden. Ellen Holt in her garden at 9 Beatrice Avenue Surrey Hillswomen's fashion, hats, ellen holt

"Braemar" at 18 Suffolk Road, Surrey Hills - built c1894, demolished in1977 – and home of James Sneddon Snr. and family from 1890 until c1950. We believe it is James is at the gate and his family on the veranda. James was born in Alloa, Clackmannanshire Scotland in 1833, as was his wife Jane. He died in March 1901 and she in March 1911. They are buried in Boroondara Cemetery (Pres B0522) with their daughter Jane (1864-1928). James Sneddon (Snr) was an important man in early Surrey Hills. He established real estate and ironmongery businesses in Union Road – first on the corner of Stirling Crescent and later over the road on the corner of Windsor Crescent. He was chairman of Surrey Hills’ MUIOOF (Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows). James Sneddon Jnr. followed his father in the family real estate business and was an even busier community man. He was a JP and had roles in the Surrey Hills ANA, the Progress Association and the Choral Society. He lived 2 doors from his father. The real estate business continued on the corner of Windsor Crescent and Union Road (north side) until the business was sold to the Doubleday (family) after WW2.The Sneddon family were early settlers and business owners in Surrey Hills and remained over 3 generations. Different family members held many roles in community organisations. This photo is also important in documenting built heritage that has been demolished.Image of a Victorian, weatherboard, block fronted, single storey house with decorative veranda, viewed from the front. The garden in front of the house is well established and a light-coloured picket fence surrounds the property. Four people are in the photograph, three women (two seated and one standing) on the veranda and one male, who is leaning against the gate post.buildings, structures and establishments, houses, timber houses, house names, braemar, architectural styles, victorian style, families, family group, sneddon family, james sneddon (snr), boroondara cemetery, real estate agent, ironmonger