Summary

Copy of a photograph of Isabella (Bella) McEwen (later Mrs Walter Hislop), taken in 1877. When Bella was aged 11 and a student at Collingwood State School, she worked a sampler (SH 96.227) of seam and hem stitching on linen. The sampler was exhibited at the Melbourne International Exhibition.

The photograph was handed down from Isabella Hislop to her daughter Una England (nee Hislop), who kept it in her sewing basket for many years. It was Una's granddaughter, Wendy Brown (thus great-grand-daughter of Bella), who supplied it to the museum.

Description of Content

Formally posed portrait of Isabella McEwen as a young girl. She is dressed in a dark coloured dress which has layers of flounces around the skirt. She wears pale socks and dark shoes. Her hair is held back in a band and she has a wicker basket over her left arm. She is seated on a large stone which is surrounded by leaves and twigs.

Physical Description

Copy of photograph of young girl.

Significance

Reason for Acquisition: Transfer from the Trustees of the Royal Exhibition Building. The Royal Exhibition Building has played an important role in Melbourne's social, commercial and sporting life since it was built for the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880. The international exhibitions staged there from 1880 onwards provided the fledgling Australian colonies with a forum in which to showcase their commercial and industrial progress to the world. School children also took part and these items (96.227-228, 96.1176) relate to a sampler exhibited in the 1880 Exhibition by Miss Isabella McEwen, a pupil at Collingwood State School. It is an example of local community interest and involvement, which spanned generations, in what was the first international exhibition staged in Melbourne.

More Information