Dress - Quaker
Production date
Circa 1840
Country
England
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Object detail
Description
Quaker woman's day dress, grey silk taffeta, same fabric as matching bonnet H223; bodice and sleeves are machine sewn while the skirt and bodice trimmings are hand sewn. There is a white cotton petticoat, also a combination of machine and hand stitching.
Classification
COSTUME Daywear woman
COSTUME Wedding
COSTUME Wedding
Maker
Production date
Circa 1840
Production place
Media/Materials description
Silk (Textiles)
History and use
Mrs Sarah Benson Walker was the daughter of Quaker Robert Mather of Hobart, and later wife of well-known Quaker George Washington Walker, draper, banker and former missionary; remembered as founder of the Hobart Savings Bank, the Friends School, the Tasmanian Temperance Society and other business and charitable institutiions.
The dress was worn by Sarah on the event of her marriage to George Washington Walker on 15 December 1840. Their marriage took place at The Friends Meeting House on Murray Street of Hobart Town and it was the first Quaker wedding to take place in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). The dress is an example of 'plain dress' worn by early Quaker women.
The Walkers' residence from 1852, 'Narryna', Hampden Rd, Hobart, is now owned by the National Trust of Tasmania. George Washington Walker died in 1859, leaving Sarah a widow for much of her life. The couple had 10 children.
The dress was worn by Sarah on the event of her marriage to George Washington Walker on 15 December 1840. Their marriage took place at The Friends Meeting House on Murray Street of Hobart Town and it was the first Quaker wedding to take place in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). The dress is an example of 'plain dress' worn by early Quaker women.
The Walkers' residence from 1852, 'Narryna', Hampden Rd, Hobart, is now owned by the National Trust of Tasmania. George Washington Walker died in 1859, leaving Sarah a widow for much of her life. The couple had 10 children.
Associated person
Registration number
H225.1
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