Australian Dress Register

The Gillett sisters, Daintry (b.1905) and Eveline (b.1907) were born at the family property near Shepparton to Harry Gillett and his wife Eveline. The family later moved to Mt. Moriac where Beatrice was born in 1911. The sisters had a governess and later attended school at The Hermitage, Geelong.

While on holiday at Point Lonsdale Beatrice first met Phil Webb when, as a small boy he threw a handful of beach sand in her face. Several years later Beatrice and Daintry visited the Webb family at Culcairn. It was 'love at first sight' for Beatrice and Phil. During this visit Daintry met her future husband, Phil Heywood of Hawksview.

After leaving school Daintry returned home to the farm and started a local girl guides unit, Eveline trained as a nurse and Beatrice as a kindergarten teacher.

In 1942 Beatrice married Phil Webb and moved to Hawksview and in 1943 Daintry married his uncle, Phil Heywood and joined her sister.

Their mother, Eveline, died in 1949 and in the 1950s their father Harry moved in with Daintry and Phil Heywood. He died in Albury in 1964.

Daintry continued her association with the Girl Guides and served as Divisional and District Commissioner. After a long and varied life Daintry died in 2001.

Due to Eveline's ill health her sisters moved her to Albury where she died in 1981.

Beatrice had 4 children, several grandchildren and great grandchildren. She died in 2008.

When one of Beatrice Webb's granddaughters came to view some items in the Hawksview Collection she related that as a child when visiting her grandmother a cane trunk would be brought out and the children were allowed to dress up. These objects were later donated to the Albury Library Museum.

The Charleston became a popular dance during the 1920s. The dance is most frequently associated with flappers and the Charleston was then considered quite immoral and provocative. The dance was named after the town in South Carolina, where it began as a fast fox trot. Dancers wore short, simple dresses which became known as Charlestons.

After World War 1 people wanted to have fun and the entertainment industry grew. This had an effect on fashion. The clothing industry discovered the potential buying power of a broad spectrum of people and began to direct production towards them. People of all walks of life dressed more fashionably than had been the case before the war and they also spent more time and money in music halls, movie theatres and cabarets.

People felt they were beginning a new life, free of pre-war constraints and released from the corset.

Information about Hawksview and the Gillett family was provided by the Michael and Ros Webb of Hawksview and the Albury and District Historical Society.

This dress was displayed at the Albury Art Gallery as part of the 'Albury Delightfully Deco' exhibition held at the Albury Library Museum and the Albury Art Gallery from 8 July 2011 - 9 October 2011. It was also displayed at the Museum of the Riverina in Wagga Wagga from 17 February - 25 March 2012 for their 'Deco' exhibition.

The embellishments on this very simple dress makes it unique. The skirt is embroidered with flowers and leaves highlighted with beading. The padded cherries at the shoulder and on the skirt are attached with olive green embroidery thread allowing the fruit to swing freely.

Black piping in the same fabic as the dress at the dropped waist and front bodice panels.

Black machine made lace with gold highlighting.

Stem stitch pink flowers with gold and silver beads at the centre and green leaves leaves on shoulder and skirt.

Black silk taffeta

The dress is both machine and hand sewn.

The inside seams are hand finished. The skirt is hand gathered but machine sewn to the bodice.

The lace at the hem is hand stitched to the dress.

Dorita 71 Bishops Rd Bayswater W2

There aren't any fastenings on the dress.

Layers of gathered stiffened organza are attached on the inside of the garment at the hip to give some shape to the drop waist. A smaller version of the panniers that were often used in the 'robe de style' or picture dresses of the 1920s.

The Hawksview Collection is a vital part of Albury City's costume collection. Donations were made to the collection by sisters Daintry Heywood, Eveline Gillett and Beatrice Webb from the 1960s until 2000. The Hawksview Collection, of about 90 objects, consists mainly of clothes and accessories from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with some items belonging to their mother and grandmother.

The collection consists of dresses up to 1920s, night dresses and underwear from the late 19th and early 20th century, accessories such as fans, stockings and shoes, a wedding dress and several items of baby clothes.

This dress is in very good condition considering its age. As it is an evening dress it has had limited wear evidenced by its condition.

There are some very small holes in the fabric of the skirt. Possibly insect damage.