Australian Dress Register

Somewhere between 1857 and 1864 Amelia met Wong Ah Sat, a Chinese migrant who arrived in Australia in 1857.

Although there is no record of their meeting, family legend states that when the couple married in Goulburn on the 19th of March, 1864, they did so with Amelia's brothers in hot pursuit of the couple.

Shortly after they were married, Amelia and Wong Sat settled in the gold mining town of Tuena, where they conducted butchery and general business selling Chinese and European goods to the locals.

In 1875 the Wongs moved south to the Fullerton/Bolong. Wong Sat was naturalised in 1879, which allowed him to purchase several hundred acres in the area were the Wongs raised sheep and built a store to serve the local community.

The store was closed in 1916 after Wong Sat died. Amelia passed away in 1925.

Their children:

William Hackney Wong - b. 22 April 1864, d. 28 August 1954.

Alice Maude Hackney Wong - b. 9 December 1865, d. 21 September 1951.

Thomas Hackney Wong - b. 14 July 1867, d. 21 September 1969.

Amelia Eve Hackney Wong - b. 7 March 1869, d. 15 June, 1959.

Frances Hackney Wong - b. 1 January, 1872, d. 8 May, 1966.

Benjamin Hackney Wong - b. 24 Feburary, 1874, d. 24 April, 1875.

The Hackney family, consisting of Thomas Hackney, his wife Amelia (nee Kenyon), sons George Washington, Henry Hunt and Thomas Paine, and daughter Amelia (aged 13), arrived in Australia in 1853 on the ship "Frederick".

The prosperous and well-educated family from Manchester, England, leased "Walmer", a property near Bathurst New South Wales.

Mrs. Hackney died at "Walmer" in 1857, and in the following year the family moved to Burraga and settled on the land adjoining Mrs. Hackney's brother Robert Kenyon's property "Jeremy".

In 1863, Thomas Hackney and his sons purchased "Buckburraga" where Thomas later opened a store.

This garment is a very good example of dress style from the 1850s.

The long sleeves and high neckline reflect the social expectation of respectable women to dress modestly. The simple cut and lack of adornment also show that the British mourning etiquette was closely followed in Australia.

Mourning in the Victorian period was a very formal affair, and as men generally wore black anyway, the majority of the burden fell on the women and children.

The rules concerning which fabric, and which colour, was to be worn, and for how long, were strict and constantly repeated in publications for women (e.g. Harper's Bazaar).

The mourning etiquette of the Victorian period dictated that a woman mourned the death of her husband for eighteen months to two years; the death of a parent, grandparent or child for one year; and the death of a sibling for six months. Women also had to mourn the death her husband's relatives.

Mourning in each case meant wearing black clothing, and shunning public places and social functions.

Women were also responsible for making or buying mourning clothes upon the death of a relative, because it was considered bad luck to keep old mourning clothes in the house.

Although not as strictly enforced in Australia as in Britain, it is likely that Amelia worn this dress quite often in the months following her mother's death, this is supported by the wear on the skirt hem, the various holes in the bodice and skirt, some of which have been repaired, and the underarm perspiration marks, both internal and external.

Information was obtained from curatorial research and "The Annals of Burraga" by Kevin Tools for the Burraga Public Schools Centenary, Bathurst Cemetery Inscriptions Index.

Yes, this garment has been displayed at the Mint in Sydney.

The Australian Museum (2003) Death-the Last Taboo exhibition.

The Powerhouse Museum (2005) Inspired: Design across time exhibition.

Four vertical knife pleats each side of center-front bodice. Pleats extend from the shoulder seam to the waist seam; they fold towards center of the bodice and are top stitched from under the bust to the waist.

Cartridge pleating at top of skirt at waist seam.

Three rows of black braided trim hand sewn to lower edge of sleeve

The dress is made from black silk satin. The bodice is lined with cream coloured cotton fabric, possibly calico. The skirt is lined with a brown coloured woven fabric that has a slight sheen.

Entire garment and lining has been hand stitched.

The bodice has boning at center-front from the bust line to the lower waist and at side seams (boning at wearer's left is missing).

Bodice is lined with woven fabric, possibly calico.

Skirt is lined with a different woven material.

Three black satin gloves.

Artefacts in the Wong Sat Collection.

General wear and fading to braiding on sleeves.

Some perspiration stains under the arms, on lining and external fabric.

Some evidence of wear and staining at upper center-back lining.

Some evidence of wear at hemline.

All hook and eye closures show signs of corrosion.

The decorative braid on the sleeves has slightly unravelled.

The stitching has faded.

A number of small holes in the satin on the skirt and bodice.

Patches under both armpits external only.

Repairs to stitching at internal center-front lining to hold in boning hand stitched.