Australian Dress Register

The first ancestors of Marjorie Wane's to take up residency in the Balmain area were Irish immigrants Patrick and Honora (nee Scully) Killeen around 1845 in Johnston's Bay, East Balmain. There is still a street in Balmain which connected their property to the main road that was named after the family called Killeen Street.

Their granddaughter, and Marjorie's mother, Louisa Honora Killeen, was born 27th February 1876 to parents Francis and Lydia John Killeen (nee Swannell), and was baptised at St Mary's Church in Balmain.

On the 27 August 1902 Louisa Killeen married George Wane at St Mary's Church East Balmain.

George was the seventh child of English immigrants, Richard and Ann Wane. Richard had come to Australia to the goldfields in Ballarat in 1852 where he met Ann. George was subsequently born at Emerald Hill Victoria on the 1 February 1876.

George Wane was an accomplished flautist and leader of the Philharmonic Orchestra for a number of years. In later years the family moved from Balmain and took up residence in Kenilworth Road, Lindfield in north Sydney.

George died on 23 May 1928 aged 52, and Louisa died on 25 August 1936 aged 60.

They had three children, Doreen, born 21 November 1903 (died 8 August 1982), Marjorie, born 1907 (died 8 July 1998) and Alan, born 6 October 1912 (died 19 January 1915).

Marjorie never married and resided at the family home in Lindfield. In late years she resided at the Milton Nursing home in Roseville until her death in 1998.

This garment is a fine example of a homemade child's fancy dress costume from the early twentieth century. The costume also draws attention to the strong connection that Marjorie Wane and her family had to St Mary's Church Darling St East Balmain.

The Killeen family had strong ties to the Balmain area - Marjorie's mother Louisa was both baptised and married in St Mary's Church in East Balmain, and her parents Francis and Lydia Killeen, were married there as well. Among the family collection of photographs are many which depict members of the Killeen family outside of or pictured with the Rector of St Mary's Church. Her children must have also been closely involved with the church and the area, as this costume was designed to be worn at a Sunday school concert which was hosted by the church.

The daughters, Marjorie and Doreen, were well known figures in the north Sydney area. Marjorie was a Librarian and Committee member of the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society. Whilst Doreen had a career in Education and was principal of Fairfield and Sydney Girls’ High Schools. The Doreen Wane Building still stands on Cleveland St in Moore Park Sydney.

Marjorie Wane, 'Ancestry of Doreen and Marjorie Wane' in The Historian, Volume 13 No 2 (June 1984) - courtesy of the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society.

'Births, Deaths and Marriages', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Thursday 24 May 1928, page 10

'Births, Deaths and Marriages', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 26 August 1936, page 12

Wane Family Collection of Photographs, 1866-1983, The State Library of New South Wales

Many thanks to Ann Barry and members of the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society.

'Glorious Days: Australia 1913', National Museum of Australia in Canberra, 2013

The whole dress is dotted in gold sequins that are thin metal strip of copper covered with silver and gold shelac.

Gold coloured vertical stitching on bodice and horizontal sitiching on waistband and above the skirt hem also decorates the dress.

Attached to the centre of the bodice is a cardboard star covered with gold sequins and trim. The trim consists of a narrow gold coloured wire strip that has been wrapped around a single white coloured cotton yarn, which was then stitched in place.

The wire frame of the wings is covered by a cotton yarn wound around it, the mesh was then stitched into place on the frame with white cotton thread. In some places, extra mesh has been used between the two layers to give a more intense gold coloured appearance.

The neckline and hems of sleeves and skirt are decorated with gold braiding.

Cream muslin for outer dress. Bodice is lined with white cotton. Cotton thread has been used to stitch the dress together.

This costume was made by Marjorie Wane's mother, Louisa Honora Wane (nee Killeen), around 1913.

The dress has a centre back opening that extends to just below the waist and fastens with two press studs and two hooks and eye.

The bodice is lined with white cotton.

Originally the costume and wings were worn with a star worn on the head. A reproduction star was made by the Powerhouse Museum in 1991 from gold wire and sequins.

Overall the dress is in sound condition, however the trims have suffered some deterioration. 

Some of the sequins have tarnished black or brown in places, some dangle loosely and some have been lost completely.

On the fairy wings that accompany the dress, in some places the mesh has discoloured from gold to black. Small areas of exposed metal frame show small signs of corrosion.