Wodonga & District Historical Society Inc
Domestic object - Wooden Trousers Hanger
... Chamber of Manufactures and chairman (1887) of the Clothing... by Dunlop. Stuart was president (1885) of the Victorian Chamber ...
Items such as this clothes hanger were widely used throughout Australia from the late 19th Century onwards.
Francis (Frank) Stuart (1844-1910), manufacturer and politician, was born on 21 May 1844 at Penrith, New South. At 13 Frank was apprenticed to a Sydney draper.
In 1866 he moved to Melbourne where Stuart joined the fashionable Collins Street mercery store of Alston & Brown. In 1884 he joined McIvor & Lincoln; on the death of the senior partner, Lincoln Stuart & Co., clothiers, was registered as a limited company in February 1889; when Lincoln retired, Stuart became sole proprietor.
Among the business’ early success was a contract to supply uniforms to the New South Wales Sudan contingent. Stuart recognized possibilities in the rubber industry and joined with Barnet Glass & Sons Co. to manufacture waterproof clothing; he became a director of the company which was later taken over by Dunlop. Stuart was president (1885) of the Victorian Chamber of Manufactures and chairman (1887) of the Clothing and Manufacturers' Association.
In April 1889 he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly serving until 1894. In June 1904 he was returned to the Legislative Council as member for North Melbourne. He resigned in May 1907 to have more time for business.
Frank Stuart died in 1910 and the business was carried on by his son Frank Jr. The company was taken over by John Snow & Co. Ltd in 1926, but continued to trade under Lincoln Stuart & Co. until it was finally deregistered in 1994.This item is representative of a range of clothing items and accessories popular throughout Australia and provided by a renowned Australian clothier. A wooden, leather and metal trouser hanger. It is inscribed with information about the manufacturer on both sides. it is made of two lengths of wood, connected by a leather strap and a metal buckle.Side 1: Lincoln Stuart & Co. Pty. Ltd. Wholesale and Retail Clothier
Side 2: Flinders St. Melbourne Made in Germanydomestic appliances, lincoln stuart & co.