Ten page typed booklet, white paper, color photos, black spiral binding. On front cover: 'Textile and clothing industries in Bendigo'. Companies described are: Bradford Cotton Spinning Mill The Bernardo and Lorenzo Banfi (BLB) Corporation Bendigo Woollen Mills Alexandra Knitting Mill Australian Consolidated Hosiery Victoria Carpets Strickland Road Perfectfit Hosiery Hitex Fashions Century Weaving Mills Perfectfit Clothing Co. bradford cotton spinning mill, the bernardo and lorenzo banfi (blb) corporation, bendigo woollen mills, alexandra knitting mill, australian consolidated hosiery, victoria carpets strickland road, perfectfit hosiery, hitex fashions, century weaving mills, perfectfit clothing co., manufacturing, textile industry

By the close of the 19th century, colonial children in Australia (especially poorer ones) were expected to work by age 10 or 11. Boys could become apprentices or assistants to trades such as butchers, printers, carpenters, bakers, smiths or services such as delivering newspapers. Girls could work as domestic servants, seamstresses, or in large clothing factories or weaving mills. Girls as young as 6 could work in cities selling stationary or matches to passers-by. In the 1880s workers in matchstick factories, predominantly women and young girls (4-16 years old) from working-class families could work up to 14 hours a day and were exposed to deadly phosphorous vapours on a daily basis. This led to the devastating disease known as “phossy jaw” or “phosphorous necrosis of the jaw” which caused the jawbone to rot. This small rectangular tin matchbox with raised writing on top would once have been gold and brightly coloured. It has a metal striker on the inside as this type of match contains phosphorous which is volatile and can be lit by friction. Duncan's Waterproof Wax vestas