Dr Lorinda Cramer unravels the Australian wool industry in her history of clothing manufacturer and retailer, Fletcher Jones. From its base in Warrnambool, Fletcher Jones shaped Australian style for generations. In this presentation, Lorinda explores the significance of Fletcher Jones, suggesting new ways for thinking about a worn history of Australian wool.
Fletcher Jones used wool extensively, becoming the largest consumer of Australian wool. Its Warrnambool factory sat in the heart of the rich western Victorian wool-growing district. Fletcher Jones himself was known by the moniker ‘Mr Merino’ as he championed the natural fibre. In this presentation, Lorinda Cramer explores the significance of Fletcher Jones and his clothes manufacturing and retailing to Australia’s dress history, suggesting new ways for thinking about a worn history of Australian wool.
Dr Lorinda Cramer is a lecturer in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies at Deakin University. Her current research centres on Australian wool – its gendered, worn and material history. She has published extensively in Australia and internationally, including ‘Needlework and Women's Identity in Colonial Australia’ (Bloomsbury) in 2020, as well as articles in leading history, dress history, gender history and heritage journals.
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Image: Rose Stereograph Co., ‘Fletcher Jones Factory, Warrnambool, Vic.’, 1920/1954. State Library of Victoria, H32492/8559.
