Bequeathed to the museum in 1975, this dress was reputedly worn by Jane Cartwright when at four years of age she was presented to Governor Macquarie in 1820. Jane Cartwright (1816-1889) was the daughter of Rev Robert Cartwright, who travelled with Macquarie on a number of journeys of exploration in New South Wales.

Jane married Thomas Fowler in 1832. They had two children Ann (b.1835) and William (b.1843), who was the father of Irene Fowler, the donor.

Contrary to this story, the style of this dress tells us that it dates not from 1820 but from around 1843. If it was worn by a member of Jane Cartwright's family, it is more likely to be her daughter Ann, who was born in 1835.

In Australia at this time clothes were made by hand, usually by a mother at home or, for those better off, by the local dressmaker or tailor. In the mid 1800s, well-to-do young girls were dressed in miniature versions of their mothers' clothes. This practice reflected prevailing attitudes to childhood. Children were in some ways still regarded as small adults. They ate adult food, played adult games and wore clothes that followed the ever-changing vagaries of adult fashion.

The girl who wore this short-sleeved dress would have been attired in the same style as her mother. She would have worn layers of constricting undergarments, including a petticoat and a corset, that enforced a fashionable, although quite unnatural shape.

The dress is made from silk -- not the most practical material for children's clothing -- and was unsuited to active play. Well-off girls were expected to keep clean because their rich silk dresses would not have been regularly washed. Only undergarments received a weekly wash.

It was later in the nineteenth century that children's clothing was liberated from the unhealthy constrictions of fashionable dress. Health and education reforms led to the adoption of loose fitting smock dresses, which are still worn by children today.

The appearance and styling of the dress suggests that it dates from around 1843, according to Glynis Jones, Curator Decorative Arts and Design.

According to Fowler family tradition, the dress was worn by Jane Cartwright (b.1816) when at aged four she was presented to Governor Macquarie. However the style of the dress suggests that it dates from c.1843. If it was worn by a member of Jane Cartwright's family, it is more likely to be her daughter Ann Fowler (b.1835).

Bequeathed to the museum in 1975 by Miss Irene Fowler of Eastwood.

Dress, child's, silk / cotton, [used by Ann Fowler], maker unknown, [Australia / England], 1820-1843.

A child's dress made from cream coloured silk with short epaulette-like sleeves and a horizontal-cut neckline.The dress has a tight bodice with tucks running from either shoulder down to the waistline. The centre front of the bodice is trimmed with strips of piped silk that cross over and fasten with small buttons covered with silk thread. The skirt of the dress consists of four panels of silk that have been gathered into two rows of piping at the waist. There is a pocket in the right hand side of the skirt, and the dress is lined with loose weave cotton fabric. The dress fastens down the back with hook and eye fasteners. The satin fabric is fragile and splitting in places and the lining of the dress has deteriorated considerably.

Maker: unknown; 1820 - 1843

A6504

1820 - 1843

700 mm