R&M Dower was a major millinery partnership located at 146 High Street, Kew in the 1940s and 1950s. Examples of this millinery firm's hats are in other major public collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria.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.Small brimless woman’s hat retailed by R & M Dower of High Street, Kew. The structure of the hat is made of stiffened net, covered with multicoloured flowers, leaves and a purple ribbon.Label: R & M Dower, 146 High St., Kew. Phone WM 8527.r & m dower, milliners -- kew (vic.), women's clothing -- hats, headwear

Colour photograph. In front of the entrance steps of the QVWC building. Dallas Ambry, fundraising administrative assistant is on a ladder putting up purple bows on the front fence for the grand opening weekend. official events, historic buildings, cultural structures and establishments

Part of a selection of garments knitted by ‘Tina Knitwear’. Tina Knitwear was a successful made to order knitwear business in Brighton from the mid-1960s to around 2010, run by Assunta and Franco Liburti. Daughter Melissa Persi writes: Our parents Assunta (Mum) and Franco (Dad) Liburti ran a successful made to order knitwear business in Brighton from the mid-1960s to around 2010. Assunta was affectionately known to her family as Assuntina, therefore the business was named "Tina Knitwear" after her. Assunta and Franco were born in the beautiful seaside town of Terracina in Italy in 1933 and 1930 respectively. As was so common in Italy in the 1950s, Assunta who was in her late teens and early twenties learnt the intricate skills of machine knitting, dressmaking and pattern making. Franco on the other hand, learnt the building trade with his 2 brothers and specialised in bricklaying and tiling. As was so common after the war, Assunta and Franco yearned for a better life so they decided that they would get engaged and then migrate to Australia to be married and raise their family in Australia, a land of much opportunity which they no longer felt their beloved Italy held for them. Assunta migrated to Australia first in 1957 and later Franco joined her in 1958 where they were married. For the first few years, Franco (also known as Frank) worked as bricklayer /tiler on buildings such as the Robert Menzies building at Monash University in Clayton and various buildings in the Melbourne CBD. Assunta on the other hand put her machine knitting skills to use working in factories doing piece machine knitting for various knitwear companies. The hours were long, the conditions were difficult, and travel was onerous without a car. After their 2 older children were born, it was decided that dad would leave the building trade and they would start their own made to order knitwear business. That way they could work from home and raise their family together. Mum taught dad everything he needed to know so he could operate the knitwear machinery. They purchased COPPO knitting machines from Italy and a Linking machine from Germany. Initially they had a knitwear shopfront in Bay Street Brighton where a store assistant would take the orders and client’s measurements and Assunta would then make the garments from a small workshop in their home. Unfortunately, the assistants were not skilled dressmakers and often measurements and orders were incorrectly taken. Assunta being the perfectionist and highly skilled machinist that she was, decided that she needed to oversee the entire process from meeting the client, to taking their order, right thru to the fittings and completion of the garment. It therefore made sense that they should close the shop front and run their business from their own home in Brighton and hence “Tina Knitwear” was born. Together, for more than 40 years they ran their very respected and successful business and were well known in the Bayside area. They specialised in made to order knitwear for both men and women using mainly pure wool (from Patons, Wangaratta Mills, Japan and Italy) but also lurex and estacel. Over those years, many of their clients became their close friends. It wasn't unusual for clients to come to order garments and then end up in the kitchen chatting over a cup of Italian espresso coffee and homemade biscuits. Some of their clients were especially memorable and became lifelong friends. Mrs Connell was a dear friend of mum’s, each year she would buy tickets for the “Gown of the Year” fashion show. She would insist on taking Assunta and her 2 daughters so that we could see the latest fashions. Then there was their dear friend Ms Griffiths. She had been a Matron nurse at the Queen Victoria Hospital when she met my parents in the 1970s. She returned to live in New Zealand in the 1980s but came back to Melbourne every year to stay for 2 weeks with the sole purpose of visiting my parents (she adored them) and order garments. For those 2 solid weeks, mum and dad would only knit for Ms Griffiths and she would go back to New Zealand with at least 5 or 6 new outfits. I actually think she enjoyed mum’s homemade pasta almost as much as her new clothes! Over the years, my parents learnt to speak English very well given that majority of their clients were not Italian speaking. Their oldest child John born in 1960 learnt to speak English with the help of those clients who were such a big part of our childhood. Mum and dad always went above and beyond to ensure their clients were satisfied. Mum was an absolute perfectionist and it showed in her attention to detail and the quality of their beautiful work. You only need to look at the garments that have stood the test of time or speak to their clients to know that this is true. Their clients would always comment on how well their clothes would last and much of their clients came via word of mouth and recommendations. Occasionally there would be disagreements because mum had found an error in dad's knitting (either a wrong stitch or a sizing mistake mainly) and would ask him to redo a piece, he would argue back saying that it was fine, but we always knew who would win the argument and that the piece would get remade! Similarly, we recall discussions where mum would ask dad to find a particular colour of wool in the garage where the stock was kept. He would try to convince her that they were out of stock of that colour and that the client should choose a different colour. She would insist they had it and then after hours of searching, he would return into the house sheepishly holding the wool! Our childhood is full of beautiful memories of mum and dad always being present, clients coming and going, mum humming her favourite songs as she worked often late into the night and sometimes, we even fell asleep to the hum of the machinery. They put their heart and soul into "Tina Knitwear" and took pride in providing only the best quality garments for their clients. In Italian there is a saying “lei ha le mani d’oro” which literally translated means “she has hands of gold”. Franco enjoyed his work but for Assunta, it was more than just work and there is no better way to describe her skills, passion and dedication to her machine knitting… she truly did have “hands of gold”. We will forever be grateful that our parents’ life journey gave us the opportunity to live in a home filled with creativity, dedication and passion, amazing work ethic and mutual respect, lifelong friendships and a lifetime of love. Red wide ribbed pleated skirt with a plain yoke, navy blue band at bottom edge and elasticated waistband. A purple x is located inside to mark centre back of skirt.knitwear, clothing, italy, migrants, brighton, knitting machine, linking machine, garments, business, family, community

Held in Melbourne from the 22nd November to 8th December, the 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad or the Melbourne Olympics were the first held outside of Europe or the USA. The Olympic torch relay passed through Central Victoria on its way from Cairns to Melbourne. Small book containing 15 pages including map of competition venues and programme on the back cover. Front cover depicts male javelin thrower. Printed in black and purple ink.melbourne olympic games, city of greater bendigo tourism

Round tray, tea pot, sugar bowl with lid, milk jug, 2 cups, 2 saucers. Gold trim, purple daisy, green leaf hand painted design.toy tea sets, toy tableware, toy dinnerware

PBT No 21Collection of 5 badges mounted on purple velvet with metal reinforced corners. 1. Australian Commonwealth Military Forces Badge. 2. Purple/red felt 38th Battalion colour patch. 3. Chevron stripes 3 x blue stripes - Overseas Service, 1 x red stripe for 1914 enlistment. 4. Gold metal Empire Wounded stripe. 5. Gold metal Returned from Active Service Badge. "The Wounded Stripe No 4", stamped on backing of Wounded Stripenumismatics-badges-military, uniforms - badges, passchendaele barracks trust

One slide on a Kodak Ready Mount made from the Association of Railway Enthusiast Provincial Tramways film strip, during December 1971 of Bendigo No. 3 at Eaglehawk terminus with its reflection in a shop window looking through a multi post verandah. Has the Eaglehawk Town Hall in the background."No. 3 and its reflection at Eaglehawk terminus" and "Dec 1971" in purple ink using a hand stamp.tramways, trams, eaglehawk, bendigo, tram 3

Yields information about one of the Museum's tramcars and its condition at the time of the photograph.Colour print of the repainting and repairs to the body of No. 671, 15.3.1992. Photo by Carolyn Dean, printed on Fujichrome paper. Print used in the 1992 Annual Report. Photographed on No. 4 road of the depot.In blue ink "165.6 15.3.92", in black ink "X001", and in purple felt pen "92 ARPT"depot, tramcars, conservation, tram 671

Two acknowledgements of President Don Simonson's attendance at commemoration services in St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. 01360.1 - Remembrance Day Service in November 1970 01360.2 - Annual Commemoration Korean & South-East Asia Forces in February 1971. The Precentor at the time was David Arthur Sankey, 1964-1975. Some of the functions attended by President Simonson.2 x letters, blue letterhead on white paper, black typingSigned in blue biro by the Precentor. 01360(2) stamped in purple 'File with relevant letters or papers'correspondence, events

A photo of a group of young junior legatees in judo or karate outfits. There is one girl and 7 boys, of various ages, and 1 man who could be the instructor. Legacy clubs ran classes for junior legatees for many years such as gymnastics, swimming or, in this case, martial arts classes. It was part of providing for the children of their deceased comrades. The skills they learned were show cased in an annual demonstration usually at the Melbourne Town Hall. It appears to be photo taken professionally, as there are several photos of different classes (see 00862 - 00870) perhaps to record Legacy classes for promotion purposes.A record of a way Legacy provided classes for junior legatees.Black and white photo of children posing in judo outfits.Stamped on the back ' The Property of Melbourne Legacy' in purple ink. Handwritten 'Legacy P4' in blue penjunior legatee, exercise classes

A black and white photo of the girls' classes at Legacy House in the late 1940s being addressed by a Legatee. It was used in the publication to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Legacy in 1948 (see item 00939). The girls are wearing their cotton tunics that were provided by Legacy for each girl in the classes. They appear slightly different colours in the photo - only green ones are currently held in the Legacy collection.The girls appear to be listening to a Legatee and the blackboard behind them says 'A Merry Xmas to all' so it appears to be taken in December. Throughout the year Melbourne Legacy provided classes for Junior Legatees such as dancing, gymnastics and Eurythmics. Melbourne Legacy held Annual Demonstrations to showcase their skills. The photo was donated to Legacy from the family of Marjorie and Jacobina (Jackie) Bristol, sisters who were both junior legatees in the 1930s and 1940s after their father passed away, he was a World War 1 veteran. A note with the photo says Marjorie is 8th from the left. Jacobina later became Jackie Wood who passed away in April 2020, and Marjorie became Marjorie Bachmann and she passed away in 1986. Also donated were girls' green tunic uniform, a souvenir handkerchief, a junior legatee certificate and a $100 Legacy badge. These are catalogued separately at 01948 to 01952.A record of a group of junior legatees at a Girls' Class showing their uniforms.Black and white photo of a group of junior legacy girls in their gymnastics outfits at Christmas.Stamped 'Commonwealth of Australia. Department of Information' in purple ink on reverse. Handwritten '4319/5' in pencil.junior legatee, girls' classes, uniform

Photograph of Legatees receiving recognition of service certificates presented by Sir Edmund Herring at Foundation Day Luncheon on 26 September 1978. From the left: Legatees V (Bert) Doery, Frank Doolan, A N (Kem) Kemsley, D B Carter (Pres 1978), Sir Edmund Herring and Jim G Gillespie on the right. Seated is Harry Anderson. From a caption found with another copy of the photo, other Legatees that had attained 50 years of service at this date were: B Armstrong, J K Anderson, P Mountjoy, E Serman, E Harding, D Joynt, H Driscoll (Qld), R Hall and F Meldrum (NSW)A record of Legatees receiving recognition of their hard work.Black and white photo of 7 Legatees and 50 Year recognition of service certificates.Stamped on back "Melbourne Legacy" in purple ink and 26/9/78 handwritten in blue pen.service award, founding legatee, frank doolan, edmund herring, kem kemsley

Colour photo of horse tram No. 1 on the rear extension of No. 5 at depot, with the first stairway completed and Warren Doubleday standing on it. Front apron has been taken off to facilitate installation of stairway. Tram body has seat on top deck and detail painting is underway. Photo by Carolyn Dean, 24/3/1991. Photo used in the 1991 Annual Report.On rear in blue ink "24-3-91, C. Dean, Photo" and in purple Texta "91ARPT"horse tram no. 1, btps, tramcars, reconstruction, tram 1

Note associated with this photograph, "Removed from Record Book (B91.453) labelled, 'Stock Breeding Record,' Purple and Black [cows.]" Note by T.H. Kneen 8 April 1992, "Jersey cows moving from pastures at west end of property past the Egg-Laying Competition pens, heading for the milking shed."Sepia photograph. 3 jersey cows walking beside a fence with egg laying pens behind. Man walking behind them.stock breeding record, cows, jersey cows, egg-laying competition, dairy, lagoon paddock, milking shed, poultry pens, stockman