Historical information

Kathryn Knitwear, founded by Robert Blake, manufactured high quality children’s knitwear in Melbourne from the 1940s – 1980s. Robert Blake began manufacturing children’s knitwear in his bedroom in Strathmore using a hand powered machine in the late 1940s. The operation moved to Ascot Vale and Essendon, before eventually establishing a factory in Moonee Ponds in the early 1950s. The business continued to expand, necessitating a move to a new factory in Broadmeadows. By 1962, the Broadmeadows factory was producing an average of 20,000 garments per month, which increased to 24,000 by 1964.
Robert Blake’s Son, Brendan recalls that “The Kathryn brand was famous around Australia, anywhere children needed to keep warm and dress smartly. It also won a number of wool fashion awards”, including the 1969 Wool Awards, which was held by the Australian Wool Bureau and published in Women’s Weekly.

The Kathryn range was designed for durability, comfort and care, without sacrificing style. They used patterning techniques that increase stretchiness, comfort and fit, as well as integrating decorative elements into the fabric to prevent them from being bulky, uncomfortable or tight. Making longevity of style a priority, Brendan Blake remembers that “there was one particular garment that was in the range for at least thirty years”.
He also recalls “In the past, when women have found out that I was associated with Kathryn Knitwear, they would often relate to me the story of a garment they had purchased or received as a gift and, when their child had grown out of it, they would hand it on to another child. Several ladies have told me of purchasing garments for their daughters’ glory box, or saving a particular garment after their daughter had grown out of it.

Brendan Blake: “At the peak of their operation they employed approximately two hundred people, mainly women and girls. A family would often seek to send their daughter to work in this company because they knew they would be looked after and safe.
One lady wrote to me telling me that working at the Moonee Ponds Factory prior to getting married was the happiest time of her life.”

In 1963, workers at the Kathryn factory earned £13 per week, which was 8 shillings and 8 pence higher than the minimum weekly wage for female workers in the textile manufacturing industry (£12 11s 4d).
By 1970, the Kathryn Knitwear brand expanded from children’s knitwear into womenswear under the brand name ‘Lady Kathryn’, and for boys and men under ‘Robert Blake’. Continuing to diversify their distribution, they also began exporting ‘Kathryn’ garments to New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and Japan.

‘Kathryn Knitwear’ was well-known for their early adoption of modern materials and techniques that had broad appeal to their customer base. This is shown in their early use of the acrylic fibre ‘Orlon’ in the 50s and 60s and ‘Superwash’ wool in the 1970s. Many of Kathryn Knitwear’s styles, particularly those that were long running staples of the brand, were available in both wool and Orlon to suit the consumer’s preference.

Far from the humble origins of one man in his bedroom with a hand-cranked machine; at its closure in 1980, the Broadmeadows factory of ‘Kathryn’ housed more than 100 machines, including 53 sewing machines and 45 knitting machines. Robert Blake was “a passionate advocate for wool and Australian Made” throughout his whole life. A strong thread that ties through the lifespan of Robert Blake and Kathryn Knitwear is a balance between adopting new innovations without sacrificing the core values of durability, comfort, care and style that had made the brand so well known. Their legacy forms an integral part of both Australian social and manufacturing history.

Physical description

Black and white photograph of two children. The boy on the right wears a dark short sleeve polo shirt. The inscription on the reverse indicates that his shirt is navy blue and has metal buttons. The girl on the left wears a pale crew neck shirt and cardigan with long sleeves and a pair of checked trousers. The inscription indicates that her shirt and cardigan are a matching pink set. The children have their heads resting together and smile looking toward the left of the picture.
The back of the image has a slip of typewritten paper taped onto it that features the proposed marketing inscription. The name and address of the marketing firm is stamped to the bottom right of the reverse, and a reference rumber (M582-13) is written in greylead below it

Inscriptions & markings

[reverse]
Worth smiling about! A trio of Kathryn’s
‘BRI-NYLON’ garments, made from a fabric
that is soft, springy. Does not pull and
has an attractive lustre, They young man
wears a navy blue shirt with collar, short
raglan sleeves, and metal button trim at
the neckline. They young lady wear a pink
crew neck pullover with short raglan sleeves
topped by a matching button through
cardigan with long raglan sleeves. Retail price of
the 3 garments vary according to size, from
approx. £1.9.6 to approx. £3 gns. Sizes range
from 22” to 34”, and colours include pale blue,
lemon, white, acqua and botany blue.

DAVID FRANKLIN ASSOCIATES PTY. LTD.
16 GEORGE PARADE, MELBOURNE. 63-2141

[handwritten]
M582-13