Abstract
Until Federation in 1901, the colonies of Australia each had their own military forces, more often than not boasting flamboyantly colourful uniforms. A major reorganisation took place when Major-General Hutton introduced the Dress Regulations in 1903 and transformed the colonial units into a national defence force, incorporating new uniforms and other innovations. Descriptions are provided of various colonial uniforms and their design prototypes of regiments in the UK. Hutton’s innovative reorganisation plans provided an impetus for another innovator, Senator Pearce, who eventually succeeded, by using the terms of the Defence Act of 1909, in obtaining parliamentary approval for the construction of a dedicated government factory for uniform production. The policy debates leading up to the birth of the Australian Government Clothing Factory provide insight into the attitudes at the time, looking towards the Royal Army Clothing Factory of Pimlico, UK, to provide guidance for the construction and layout of such a factory.
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Notes
- 1.
The Volunteer Regulation Act, passed in 1867, served as an inducement for enlisting as a volunteer, who, after five years of continuous efficient service, would be granted up to 50 acres of land. However, the act was revoked in 1874 and was replaced by a system of partial payment, usually including the cost of uniforms, accoutrements and arms.
- 2.
Monty Wedd, Australian Military Uniforms, 1800–1982, Kenthurst, 1982, p. 16.
- 3.
Colonial Forces Study Group (Qld), ‘Clothing the Military’, http://www.qldcolonialforces.org (accessed 10 February, 2014).
- 4.
Colonial Forces Study Group (Qld), ‘Clothing the Military’, http://www.qldcolonialforces.org (accessed 10 February 2014).
- 5.
A sealed pattern is the protected, registered and numbered design of a military garment. The producers of the uniforms were required to adhere strictly to the design when making up the garments. The process of sealing patterns is explained in more detail in Chap. 9—Military Control over Intellectual Property.
- 6.
NAA: A1194, 05.80/3180, Report of the Committee Appointed to Enquire into the Question of the Supply of Uniform Clothing for the Commonwealth Services and the Establishment of a Government Clothing Factory, 18 May 1909, p. 1.
- 7.
NAA: A1194, 05.80/3180, Report of the Committee Appointed to Enquire into the Question of the Supply of Uniform Clothing for the Commonwealth Services and the Establishment of a Government Clothing Factory, 18 May 1909, p. 2.
- 8.
NAA: A1194, 05.80/3180, Report of the Committee Appointed to Enquire into the Question of the Supply of Uniform Clothing for the Commonwealth Services and the Establishment of a Government Clothing Factory, 18 May 1909, Appendix B, pp. 6–7.
- 9.
Jeffrey Grey, The Australian Army: A History, South Melbourne, 2001, pp. 9–13. For an interpretation of the role Hutton played in the organisation of an Australian Federal defence system, see Craig Stockings, ‘A “Trojan Horse” in the Colony? Federal & Imperial Defence in the Australian Colonies, 1893–1896’, Journal of Australian Colonial History, 17, July 2015, pp. 159–184.
- 10.
NAA: B168/0 1905/10010, Clothing and Dress Regulations—Item 4 of 5. This is one of several copies of the document scattered in archival records.
- 11.
NAA: B168/0 1905/10010, Clothing and Dress Regulations—Item 4 of 5.
- 12.
C.E.W. Bean (ed.), Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, 11th edn, 12 vols, 1941, i, pp. 60–61.
- 13.
Dress Regulations for Officers of the Military Forces of the Commonwealth, 1903, Melbourne, 1903, paragraph 3, p. 6.
- 14.
Dress Regulations for Officers of the Military Forces of the Commonwealth, 1903, Melbourne, 1903, paragraph 14, p. 10.
- 15.
Dress Regulations for Officers of the Military Forces of the Commonwealth, 1903, Melbourne, 1903, pp. 28–29.
- 16.
NAA: B168, 1905/10010, Item 2 of 5, John Forrest, Minister of State for Defence, General Instructions, 16 May 1903, p. 1.
- 17.
Tailors would still make special Ceremonial or Full Dress Uniforms where the drab mixture khaki jacket was not prescribed. This is still the case today and an allowance is paid to Officers and above for these types of uniforms.
- 18.
The Minister for Defence would make his decisions following the presentation of a summary of the subjects discussed and the recommendations made by the Board at each meeting. Refer NAA: MP153/9, Decisions of the Military Board (13 items in this series).
- 19.
Peter Dennis, Jeffrey Grey, Ewan Morris, Robin Prior and Jean Bou, The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History, 2nd edn, electronic version, 2009 (accessed 13 February, 2014).
- 20.
John Connor, Anzac and Empire: George Foster Pearce and the Foundation of Australian Defence, Cambridge, 2011, p. 11.
- 21.
NAA: A1194, 05.80/3180, Report of the Committee, 1909, Appendix B: Statements of Witnesses Examined, p. 6.
- 22.
NAA: A1194, 05.80/3180, Report of the Committee, 1909, Appendix B: Statements of Witnesses Examined, pp. 5–11.
- 23.
NAA: A1194, 05.80/3180, Report of the Committee, 1909, Appendix B: Statements of Witnesses Examined, p. 2.
- 24.
NAA: A2023, 1872/3/244, Memorandum from Minister G.F. Pearce Endorsing the Report on Establishing a Government Clothing Factory, 28 May 1909.
- 25.
For a brief online description of the history of the Royal Army Clothing Factory, see http://davidshistoryblog.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/development-of-army-clothing-factory.html A more in-depth description of the Factory as it was in 1901 is provided by F.G. Engelbach, ‘The Royal Army Clothing Factory (in 2 parts)’, The Navy and Army Illustrated, XI, 205, 5 January 1901, pp. 385–387 and XII, 206, 19 January 1901, pp. 433–435. The Factory was closed down in 1933 and is currently a serviced apartment block with the name ‘Dolphin Square’ for long and short stays. The original central hall has been demolished and turned into a large courtyard.
- 26.
‘The Army Clothing Factory at Pimlico’, The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, Saturday, 15 December 1866, p. 3. Electronic version viewed via the National Library of Australia’s Trove site (accessed 24 February 2014).
- 27.
See, for example, the question asked by James Page to the Minister for Defence in the House of Representatives: ‘Whether it is the intention of the Government to initiate a clothing factory on similar lines to those on which the institution at Pimlico, England, is conducted?’, Commonwealth of Australia, Parliamentary Debates—House of Representatives, 25 September 1901.
- 28.
Commonwealth of Australia, Parliamentary Debates—House of Representatives, Defence Bill, Second Reading, 24 July 1901.
- 29.
‘Proposed Federal Clothing Factory’, The Advertiser (Adelaide), Monday, 29 June 1903, p. 5. Electronic version viewed via the National Library of Australia’s Trove site (accessed 24 February 2014).
- 30.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (hereinafter referred to as ABS), Catalogue No. 1301.0, Year Book Australia, No. 3, 1910, p. 1059.
- 31.
According to Pearce, a committee consisting of the Secretary to the Department of Defence, the Quartermaster-General and Scott of the Postal Department investigated the question of the factory’s establishment, ‘having before them a report on the Pimlico Clothing Factory in England’ and visiting the State Clothing Factory in Sydney as well as several private clothing factories. Commonwealth of Australia, Parliamentary Debates—Senate, Budget, 25 August 1909.
- 32.
As described in NAA: A5799, 247/1951: C.K. Davies (Chair), Interim Report of the Working Party Set Up by the Defence Supply Committee to Investigate Commonwealth Government Clothing Factory Operations, 10 May 1951, p. 4.
- 33.
NAA: A1952, 474/10/26, Clothing Factory Statement of Accounts 1919–1920. One horsepower equates to about 745 Watts.
- 34.
NAA: MP392/10, 589/502/56, Munitions Supply Board Annual Reports, 9 August 1923.
- 35.
NAA: A1952, 474/9/71, Commonwealth Government Factories Reports for Year Ended 30th June 1918.
- 36.
NAA: A1952, 474/9/57, Department of Defence Clothing Factory Annual Report and Certified Statements, 30 June 1918.
- 37.
ABS, Catalogue 1301.0, Year Book Australia, 1914, p. 454. The ABS industry classification include woollen and tweed mills, boots and shoes, slop clothing, tailoring, dressmakers and milliners, dye works and cleaning, furriers, hat and caps, waterproof and oilskins, shirts, ties and scarfs, rope and cordage, tents and tarpaulins. Therefore, the figures given above must be seen as a general indication of differences between the Clothing Factory and the Australian clothing and textile industry.
- 38.
Calculation of average Australian clothing and textile workers per factory is derived from ABS, Catalogue 1301.0, Year Book Australia, 1914, p. 457.
- 39.
See, for example, the statement by H.A. Slade in his covering letter to the Secretary of the Department of Defence, dated 18 November 1918. NAA: A1952, 474/9/71, Commonwealth Government Factories Reports for Year Ended 30th June 1918.
- 40.
Raelene Frances, The Policy of Work: Gender and Labour in Victoria, 1880–1939, p. 29.
- 41.
For an overview and analysis of Taylorism, see Anne M. Blake and James L. Moseley, ‘Frederick Winslow Taylor: One Hundred Years of Managerial Insight’, International Journal of Management, 28, No. 4, Part 2, December 2011, pp. 346–353. For a comparative analysis of the impact of scientific management on developments in vocational training, see Lucy Taksa, ‘The Cultural Diffusion of Scientific Management: the United States and New South Wales, The Journal of Industrial Relations, 37, September 1995, pp. 427–461.
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van Mosseveld, A. (2018). Military Uniforms and the Making of a National Industry. In: The Australian Army Uniform and the Government Clothing Factory. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71425-7_2
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