Summary

Brown leather handmade wallet for holding union paperwork related to the Port Phillip Stevedores Association, used by James Saunders circa 1925-1960.

Part of a collection of objects, documents and photographs from the Saunders family home in Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne. Elizabeth Jane Taylor Saunders (nee Elliott) (1894-1971) and James (Jimmy) Farr Saunders (1888-1974) bought the house in 1928, financed by the State Savings Bank of Victoria. James was a stevedore, working on the Melbourne docks, notably Station Pier, and was actively involved in the Port Phillip Stevedores Association and later the Waterside Workers' Federation. Elizabeth Jane was a skilled seamstress, making clothing for her family, mending, creating soft furnishings such as cushions and blankets, and doing decorative needlework. They had five children, of whom four survived to adulthood. After Elizabeth and James passed away their daughter Elizabeth Euphemia, a dental nurse and later language teacher, became the sole occupant of the house, carefully preserving its contents as decades passed. Her niece proposed the donation of the household contents to Museum Victoria, a rare and significant record of 20th century family life in Melbourne.

Physical Description

Square, brown leather wallet. Has a semicircular fold over flap covering top opening. The bottom and right side edges sewn together with light brown, uneven hand stitching. Top left, front corner has two vertical cuts, underneath the flap. Corners and flap front show discolouration and wear. Bottom left corner slightly folded over.

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