Worn out clothing and repairs

From the beginning of the journey and settlement convict clothing was inadequate.

Read Governor Arthur Phillip’s record in July 1788 noting that the clothing quality was,

very bad, and a great part of it was likewise too small for people of common size.

The plan had been for the colony to produce its own cloth and clothing by growing crops like the flax plant from Norfolk Island, and cotton, from seeds they had brought with them. Machinery had been sent with the Fleet to make the fabric, but the crops did not succeed and the flax was unsuitable for weaving.

Look at the two groups of images of working class clothing in England at this time. You will need to click through the carousels to view all images.

There are no records of what convicts were actually wearing in the early days of the colony. Using these images we can begin to imagine how it might have been for convicts in the early years. Consider the state of their clothing.

Group 1: how the convicts might have looked in 1788

Group 2: how the convicts might have looked in 1790 

Answer these questions:

• What differences do you see between the two groups of images?
• What caused these differences?
• How do you think the people in the images are feeling?

Clothing was repaired by those with the skills and resources to do so, but even this became more and more difficult as no more ships arrived with additional supplies. People had little choice but to ‘make do’ with what they had as there were no other sources of fabric available to them.

Read Captain Watkin Tench’s words in April 1790, two years after the arrival of the First Fleet:

The distress…for clothes was almost equal to their other wants… Nothing more ludicrous can be conceived than…substituting, shifting, and patching, which ingenuity devised, to eke out wretchedness, and preserve the remains of decency.

Discuss the idea preserve the remains of decency.

Answer this question:

• How would you feel if your clothes were so damaged that parts of your body were revealed?

There are no bras on the list of clothing brought out on the First Fleet as bras were not invented until the 1920s. Women did not wear underpants at this time in history! Yikes! [More information on underwear in Additional Information.]

Apart from the normal daily wear and tear on clothes, why did clothing not last very long?

Read one of Surgeon George Worgan’s reasons for his clothes getting damaged:

I have torn almost all my Cloaths to pieces by going into the Woods; and tho' we do not want for Taylors, We do, Woolen Drapers.

Walking in the bush can rip your clothes and working hard at any physical labour can wear holes in your clothes. In fact, many activities can damage your clothing.

Did any of the convicts have skills to repair deteriorating clothing?

Look at this list of some of the jobs that First Fleet convicts had done before they went to prison in England.

• milliner (hat maker)
• tailor
• lace maker
• tambour worker (embroiderer)
• clog maker
• button stamper (button maker)
• silk winder and silk dyer (silk fabric making)
• breeches maker (breeches are men’s trousers to just below the knee)
• stocking weaver (stockings were long socks)
• stay maker (corset maker)
• glove maker
• mantua maker (dressmaker)
• jeweller
• artificial flower maker
• woollen draper (sells woollen fabric)
• furrier (worker, seller or producer of furs)
• hoop maker (petticoat hoop maker)
• shoe binder (stitched the parts of a shoe together before the sole went on)
• shoe maker
• buckle maker

Answer these questions:

• What industry do these trades all belong to?
• Would these convicts’ skills have been useful?

Sewing was a skill that most women and many men would have had in 1788 with varying levels of ability. There was value in having skills from the clothing trade. All clothes were made by hand at this time in history. (Sewing machines were not invented until 1830.) We know the convicts had thread, needles and scissors but no fabric to use. Later on, convicts could draw upon these skills to provide an income to support themselves and their families. It did not take long for many female convicts to run businesses from home taking in sewing work and washing clothes.  Many convicts may have taken up their old trades again and established businesses.

Clothes would also have been wearing out from washing. Clothes were washed in the local stream of fresh water that ran down to the harbour that the colonists later called the Tank Stream. They didn’t have laundry detergents, and would have used rocks to help rub dirt out of clothes. Clothing would have worn out more quickly in the bright sunshine every day, and got mildewy in wet, humid weather. If it had been washed in sea water, fabric would also wear out more quickly.

Did you know? Throughout history and across different cultures, urine has been retained for washing clothes. Left for a few weeks of fermenting, it stops smelling and the ammonia in it acts like bleach.

If some convicts had only one outfit then washing it must have been tricky! Perhaps someone else washed it for them? Or perhaps they never washed their clothes? Or they jumped in the creek water with their clothes on or perhaps they washed their clothes in the nude!

Discuss what it would have been like to wear the same clothes every day, all year through all types of weather.

How’s this for crazy! Whilst convicts were wearing threadbare clothing and the lower ranked soldiers’ uniforms were falling part, Arthur Phillip would use a tablecloth on his table for meals. Imagine how many clothing repairs the convicts could have made with a large tablecloth!

Another factor in the clothes deteriorating was the poor quality of the fabrics they were made from.

Read Judge David Collins diary entry in October 1792:

These articles…of…osnaburgs in particular had always been complained of, for it was a fact, that the frocks and trousers made of them were oftener known to have been worn out within a fortnight.

Answer these questions:

• What is osnaburg? [Answer in Additional Information.]
• Have you ever worn clothing that wore out in two weeks?
• How do you think convicts felt when they were finally given fresh new clothes only for them to fall apart after two weeks?

Set up a scientific experiment to test fabrics. Collect some fabric samples similar to those of the convict clothing. Create a table of actions to do to the sample each day and watch how the fabric changes – eg. rubbing it, spilling something on it, leaving it outside in the sun, rubbing dirt onto it, washing it in water and washing it in saltwater (as they did on the ships out to NSW). Record your observations of the effects of daily wear and tear – see just how long the piece actually lasts before it disintegrates!

In the first two years of the colony 87 babies were born.  That does not include the babies born on the voyage, the young children who accompanied their soldier or convict parents on the First Fleet ships, or the child convicts.  There were lots of babies, toddlers and children living in the colony. No clothing specifically for them appears to have been brought out on the ships of the First Fleet (apart from swaddling for wrapping babies) and it was over two years before further clothing supplies arrived from England.

Read what a female convict wrote in a letter to England.

Port Jackson, 14th November, 1788. …As for the distresses of the women, they are past description…as they are all totally unprovided with clothes, those who have young children are quite wretched.

Define the word wretched.

Look at the images, below, of parents with their young children.

Answer these questions:

• If no clothing for babies and children were brought on the First Fleet, what would they be wearing? [Answer in Additional Information.]
• If there were no clothes for the babies there were no nappies! If you were a parent what would you do about that?
• As the babies and children grew they needed bigger clothes but there was no new clothing and even the old clothing was wearing out for everyone. How do you think the convict parents and growing children were feeling?

Learn to sew! This is a very handy life skill. The convicts used these skills to great effect. Start with a simple task by using needle and thread to sew a button on a scrap of fabric.