When my Mum went into aged-care some 9 years ago, I was charged with responsibility of packing the house and her belongings.  Tucked in a suitcase on the top of a wardrobe I found a dress which I immediately recognised as being  of significant importance in my mother’s history. The photo is a picture of Mum in the dress.

As a child I can remember seeing this dress and its accessories and wishing I had an event in my life where I could parade in the costume.  Even though I longed to try on the dress I was never given the opportunity.  The dress always raised a feeling of happy, fascinating times.  

The costume was made and utilised at the time Australia was experiencing the Great Depression and by the end of the decade would be at war with Germany. This period of Australian history was seen as a time of great hardship.  With the unemployment rate of 40%  many were affected.  However,  when I spoke to Mum about this she recants that “the depression” really did not have a huge impact on her family as her father retained his employment with the railways. Her family even managed to purchase a home during this time. Mum was an only child.

In the 1900s children were often involved in the activity of a Fancy-Dress Frolic.  The children were outfitted in fancy dress and were taken to a school or church hall to “parade” before the nominated adult judges. The parents would pay a nominal entry fee, which was generally only a few-pence, making the event affordable for as many as possible.   The Frolic was used as a fundraiser for different organisations.  

In a big frolic there may have been several categories such as overall  best senior and junior costume, best paper costume, best pair, best character costume, best national costume to name just a few.   Prizes were awarded in each category and were perhaps a certificate, hair ribbons or a handkerchief, often donated by a member of the organising group.   The parade of costumes was followed by games, songs and dancing for the children.  From searching Trove, I have found that my maternal grandfather was often called upon to be Master of Ceremonies  and my mother won many prizes  and was an avid frolic attendee.

 Before Mum’s passing  I was able to encourage her to tell me about the dress and its role in frolics. She recalls she won many prizes in her costume and said they were  fun events.  In researching the history of frolics, I also found reference to my father winning a prize in such an event.  His costume “Wait here for Trams”.  Unfortunately, this costume has not survived. 

I had made the assumption that the costume had been made by my grandmother but Mum was able to tell me, quite indignantly,  she had made the outfit herself.  She said the accessories had been purchased by my grandmother.  My mother had a successful career as a seamstress, when she left school, after studying pattern drafting and dressmaking and to quote her reminiscence “I could always sew."  The costume was made, in her home, using as Singer treadle sewing machine.   The skill exhibited in the construction of the dress is of a high quality leading to my assumption that it had been made by an adult.