F2 - Coir matting loom is expertly handled by this blind operator. F5 - Machine cold binding of a millet broom. F7 - Final trimming of a special mat. F9 - Checking and packaging of brush ware is easy to this tradesman.4 B/W photographs of workers in the mat and brush shopsF2 - Mat Shop 1 1964 F5 - BFactory 3 F7 - Pic N123, 6846# F9 - Brush Factory 5 6846# 1964royal victorian institute for the blind, employment

A John Deere mat, produced by the RVIB mat shop, sits on the doorway of the RVIB main building. The mat was delivered to Des Byers at John Deere, 300 Bollows Road in Braybrook.1 B/W photograph of mat with jumping stagJO 7007royal victorian institute for the blind, employment

Worker at the loom in the mat shop.1 B/W photograph of man making a matroyal victorian institute for the blind, employment

Images taken later October 1999, of Geoff Melvin signing documents to acquire a mat company.4 col. photographs of Geoff Melvin and an unidentified femaleVision QLD board lawyer Geoff Melvin finalising purchase of mat company Nov 1999vision qld, geoff melvin

The Boyd family recall how Robin Boyd loved gadgets for their beautiful industrial design and their functionality.Juice-O-Mat. Metal handle on right-hand side, metal squeezer on top. Cream coloured body to hold cup. When the handle pulled back the fruit can be inserted.On base: SINGLE-ACTION Juice-O-MAT. US CAT NO 462-C. Rival MFG. CO Kansas City MO. U.S.A.gadget, walsh st appliances, robin boyd, ohm2022, ohm2022_11

This mat making needle was used by visually impaired workers in the mat making workshop at the Royal Victorian for the Blind Institute during the binding of mats in conjunction with a leather sewing palm to protect their palms. 1 long, curved, thick metal needle'Made in England'assistive devices, employment

Images of people working in the mat shop, from a variety of angles. In one of them, Eric Lang is at the loom constructing mats.2 black and white proof sheets181 - BM 3981, 8182, Rough proof only 182 - 8260royal victorian institute for the blind, employment, eric lang

The Boyd family recalls how Robin Boyd loved gadgets for their beautiful industrial design and their functionality.An ice-crusher with a metal handle with plastic black knob on right. Top contains vessel for ice with 5 blades. Metal lid has spokes to hold ice in vessel. Left Hand side has a dial with C, M, F push in buttons. Plastic tray in middle to hold crushed ice, black, removable. White painted metal body. Screw at front. Four rubber stops (one missing)Ice O-Mat TRADEMARK. Made under License to Rival MFG. Manufactured by C.C. Engineering INDS. INDS Sydney Australiagadget, walsh st appliances, robin boyd, ohm2022, ohm2022_11

The fine white linen rectangular mat was possibly used on a side table there the chalice, collection plate and other ceremonial items could be stored. This item is part of the collection of Ecclesiastical Linen once used by St. Andrews Anglican Church on the corner of the Esplanade and 14 Drummond St, Dennington, Victoria. The first Anglican service was conducted on December 22nd, 1907. The church was decommissioned in January 2003. This item is part of the Ecclesiastical Linen collection, which is significant for its examples of handworked embroidery and drawn-thread work from the early 20th century. The items are also examples of a collection used for religious services during this period. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its association with the early development of the local township of Dennington and the importance the the community of setting aside land in the 1850's for the purpose of religious worship. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its connection to St Andrews Anglican Church, Dennington. The church was funded and attended by the local community in the early 1900's and is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Database (VHD 118083) as a building of historical and social significance. Mat, part of a set of Ecclesiastical Linen once used in St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Dennington, Victoria, between the years 1907 and 2003. The hem of the fine white linen rectangle has been hand stitched.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, st andrews anglican church dennington, dennington church, warrnambool church 1907, ecclesiastical linen, communion linen, hand worked linen, religious service, religious ceremony, ceremonial linen, needlework, fine linen, mat

The fine white linen rectangular mat was possibly used on a side table there the chalice, collection plate and other ceremonial items could be stored. This item is part of the collection of Ecclesiastical Linen once used by St. Andrews Anglican Church on the corner of the Esplanade and 14 Drummond St, Dennington, Victoria. The first Anglican service was conducted on December 22nd, 1907. The church was decommissioned in January 2003. This item is part of the Ecclesiastical Linen collection, which is significant for its examples of handworked embroidery and drawn-thread work from the early 20th century. The items are also examples of a collection used for religious services during this period. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its association with the early development of the local township of Dennington and the importance the the community of setting aside land in the 1850's for the purpose of religious worship. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its connection to St Andrews Anglican Church, Dennington. The church was funded and attended by the local community in the early 1900's and is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Database (VHD 118083) as a building of historical and social significance. Mat, part of a set of Ecclesiastical Linen once used in St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Dennington, Victoria, between the years 1907 and 2003. The hem of the fine white linen square has been hand stitched.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, st andrews anglican church dennington, dennington church, warrnambool church 1907, ecclesiastical linen, communion linen, hand worked linen, religious service, religious ceremony, ceremonial linen, needlework, fine linen, mat

The fine white linen rectangular mat was possibly used on a side table there the chalice, collection plate and other ceremonial items could be stored. This item is part of the collection of Ecclesiastical Linen once used by St. Andrews Anglican Church on the corner of the Esplanade and 14 Drummond St, Dennington, Victoria. The first Anglican service was conducted on December 22nd, 1907. The church was decommissioned in January 2003. This item is part of the Ecclesiastical Linen collection, which is significant for its examples of handworked embroidery and drawn-thread work from the early 20th century. The items are also examples of a collection used for religious services during this period. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its association with the early development of the local township of Dennington and the importance the the community of setting aside land in the 1850's for the purpose of religious worship. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its connection to St Andrews Anglican Church, Dennington. The church was funded and attended by the local community in the early 1900's and is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Database (VHD 118083) as a building of historical and social significance. Mat, part of a set of Ecclesiastical Linen once used in St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Dennington, Victoria, between the years 1907 and 2003. The hem of the fine white linen square has been hand stitched.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, st andrews anglican church dennington, dennington church, warrnambool church 1907, ecclesiastical linen, communion linen, hand worked linen, religious service, religious ceremony, ceremonial linen, needlework, fine linen, mat

The fine white linen rectangular mat was possibly used on a side table there the chalice, collection plate and other ceremonial items could be stored. This item is part of the collection of Ecclesiastical Linen once used by St. Andrews Anglican Church on the corner of the Esplanade and 14 Drummond St, Dennington, Victoria. The first Anglican service was conducted on December 22nd, 1907. The church was decommissioned in January 2003. This item is part of the Ecclesiastical Linen collection, which is significant for its examples of handworked embroidery and drawn-thread work from the early 20th century. The items are also examples of a collection used for religious services during this period. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its association with the early development of the local township of Dennington and the importance the the community of setting aside land in the 1850's for the purpose of religious worship. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its connection to St Andrews Anglican Church, Dennington. The church was funded and attended by the local community in the early 1900's and is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Database (VHD 118083) as a building of historical and social significance. Mat, part of a set of Ecclesiastical Linen once used in St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Dennington, Victoria, between the years 1907 and 2003. The hem of the fine white linen square has been hand stitched.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, st andrews anglican church dennington, dennington church, warrnambool church 1907, ecclesiastical linen, communion linen, hand worked linen, religious service, religious ceremony, ceremonial linen, needlework, fine linen, mat

The fine white linen rectangular mat was possibly used on a side table there the chalice, collection plate and other ceremonial items could be stored. This item is part of the collection of Ecclesiastical Linen once used by St. Andrews Anglican Church on the corner of the Esplanade and 14 Drummond St, Dennington, Victoria. The first Anglican service was conducted on December 22nd, 1907. The church was decommissioned in January 2003. This item is part of the Ecclesiastical Linen collection, which is significant for its examples of handworked embroidery and drawn-thread work from the early 20th century. The items are also examples of a collection used for religious services during this period. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its association with the early development of the local township of Dennington and the importance the the community of setting aside land in the 1850's for the purpose of religious worship. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its connection to St Andrews Anglican Church, Dennington. The church was funded and attended by the local community in the early 1900's and is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Database (VHD 118083) as a building of historical and social significance. Mat, part of a set of Ecclesiastical Linen once used in St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Dennington, Victoria, between the years 1907 and 2003. The hem of the fine white linen square has been hand stitched.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, st andrews anglican church dennington, dennington church, warrnambool church 1907, ecclesiastical linen, communion linen, hand worked linen, religious service, religious ceremony, ceremonial linen, needlework, fine linen, mat

This item is part of the collection of Ecclesiastical Linen once used by St. Andrews Anglican Church on the corner of the Esplanade and 14 Drummond St, Dennington, Victoria. The first Anglican service was conducted on December 22nd, 1907. The church was decommissioned in January 2003. This item is part of the Ecclesiastical Linen collection, which is significant for its examples of handworked embroidery and drawn-thread work from the early 20th century. The items are also examples of a collection used for religious services during this period. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its association with the early development of the local township of Dennington and the importance the the community of setting aside land in the 1850's for the purpose of religious worship. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its connection to St Andrews Anglican Church, Dennington. The church was funded and attended by the local community in the early 1900's and is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Database (VHD 118083) as a building of historical and social significance. Mat, part of a set of Ecclesiastical Linen once used in St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Dennington, Victoria, between the years 1907 and 2003. The hem of the fine white linen square has been hand stitched.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, st andrews anglican church dennington, dennington church, warrnambool church 1907, ecclesiastical linen, communion linen, hand worked linen, religious service, religious ceremony, ceremonial linen, needlework, fine linen, mat

This item is part of the collection of Ecclesiastical Linen once used by St. Andrews Anglican Church on the corner of the Esplanade and 14 Drummond St, Dennington, Victoria. The first Anglican service was conducted on December 22nd, 1907. The church was decommissioned in January 2003. This item is part of the Ecclesiastical Linen collection, which is significant for its examples of handworked embroidery and drawn-thread work from the early 20th century. The items are also examples of a collection used for religious services during this period. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its association with the early development of the local township of Dennington and the importance the the community of setting aside land in the 1850's for the purpose of religious worship. The Ecclesiastical Linen is also significant for its connection to St Andrews Anglican Church, Dennington. The church was funded and attended by the local community in the early 1900's and is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Database (VHD 118083) as a building of historical and social significance. Mat, part of a set of Ecclesiastical Linen once used in St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Dennington, Victoria, between the years 1907 and 2003. The hem of the fine white linen square has been hand stitched.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, st andrews anglican church dennington, dennington church, warrnambool church 1907, ecclesiastical linen, communion linen, hand worked linen, religious service, religious ceremony, ceremonial linen, needlework, fine linen, mat

Book non-fictionA feminist critique of post-modernism to create a new discourse in feminist theory.structuralism, deconstructivism, theory, political art, modernism, feminism

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.