Historical information

This sailor's collar is part of a naval uniform. It once belonged to R S Wallace, who served in the RAN (Royal Australian Navy). From January 1857 the Australian Navy uniform was formally established. The uniform, referred to as a 'sailor's suit', includes a blue flap collar such as this one.

Sailors in the Royal Australian Navy wore collars of this design from the early 20th century. The rating personnel of the Royal Canadian Navy were issued with a very similar collar from 1910 to the 1950s. The blue denim collars were buttoned or died inside their tops with the back and the striped portion of the front flaps showing.

Significance

The navy flap collar represents the uniform of a rating sailor in the Royal Australian Navy in the early to mid-20th century, connecting it to the maritime history of Australia and the evolution of the uniform of the navy.
The collar is the only one in this museum's collection.

Physical description

Sailor's collar; a flap collar of blue fabric with three white stripes around the outside edges, apart from the centre flap that has no stripes. The collar is a rectangle with half divided into three flaps or strips. It has an inscription. The underside is lined with blue striped white fabric and there are tapes attached for fastening it. The Royal Australian Navy collar once belonged to R S Wallace.

Inscriptions & markings

"R.S. Wallace"