Australian Dress Register

Sixteen-year-old Robert Kilby (1839 – 1915) and his 45 year-old widowed father William Kilby (1812? – 1903) arrived in Australia from England in 1856. William Kilby lived to be 91 and is buried in Weetangera Cemetery (Campbell, Four Pioneers of the Limestone Plains, pp. 39-41). William Kilby’s sister, Mary Smith (1818 – 1907), had previously migrated to Australia with her husband and settled at Ginninderra, and the Kilbys joined them there after reaching Sydney. Robert, a blacksmith, and his father, a bricklayer, selected adjoining land at Weetangera, the whole property later becoming Land’s End.

The first homestead at Land’s End, in which the Kilby family was raised, was built by Robert and Jane. Edith lived at Land’s End continuously from her birth until a few weeks before her death in 1957 (Canberra Times, 10/05/1957, p.4); though in 1926 Edith and Evan built a new house on the property, one mile closer to Canberra (Canberra Times, 01/06/1926, p.2).

Edith Kilby’s grandfather (William Kilby) and Evan Cameron’s grandmother (Mary Smith) were siblings. Mary had migrated to Australia with her husband Edward Smith in 1852. Edward was assigned to work at Duntroon before transferring to William Davis’ property at Ginninderra. Later he selected land at Weetangera, the homestead becoming known as The House, where he and Mary raised their family. Their daughter, Anne Smith, married Ewan Cameron, later the first teacher at Weetangera School (1875 – 1884) in 1865 and amongst their children was the aforementioned Evan Cameron who married Edith Kilby.

In the book Four Pioneers of the Limestone Plains, Campbell recounted the prevailing wisdom regarding the naming of Land’s End. Apparently, a local named John Coppin expressed his surprise that Robert and Jane Kilby had not heard some recent news to which Jane replied, “How would we hear anything, living in this land’s end of a place?” Robert liked the name and decided to apply it to his property (p.51).

Edith Lavinia Kilby was born on 11 September 1875 at Weetangera to Robert Kilby and his wife Jane Webster, whom he married in 1864. Edith was their fourth child and second daughter. She married Evan Cameron (1868 – 1956) in 1905 and they had five children: Twin daughters Freda Annie (1908 – 2001) and Thelma Jane (1908 – 1957), Heather Gladys (1909 – 2008), Selwyn Evan Robert (1911 - 1985) and Ewan Kinloch.

The Limestone Plains were the name given by the early settlers to the floodplains of the Molonglo River. Originally a farming/pastoralist community, they were later redeveloped as the site of the nation's capital, Canberra.

Information supplied by the donor, Miss Heather Shakespeare (daughter of Edith Cameron) from the research undertaken by her, her father Evan and her uncle Ernest Cameron on the history of their family and the local district, with the river dammed, forming Lake Burley Griffith.

Exhibited as part of 'The Women Who Made Canberra", Canberra Museum and Art Gallery, 24 November 2012 - 17 March 2013.

White ribbon has been woven through the lace edging on the camisole

Camisole has been extensively decorated with lace.

All pieces are decorated with broderie anglais inserts, in a floral design.

Cloth is undyed. Fabric appears to be a white cotton poplin. 

Combination of machine and hand stitching. The structural seams of the skirt, underblouse and camisole have all been machine-sewn, The lace on the camisole also appears to have been attached by machine. The detail of the embroidery work on all the garments suggests that it was completed by hand. 

No label - most likely home-made garments. 

Underblouse has scalloped edges on the cuffs and around the neck. 

Petticoat is fastened with two buttons at the rear.

Camisole has four buttons down the back and tape; two buttons are missing.

Underblouse has no fastenings. 

No padding in garments. The underblouse has been stiffened, (with starch possibly) around the hem. Where the camisole fastens at the back, both sides have been stiffened in the same manner. Bottom half of the skirt has been lined in cotton poplin, with the embroided fabric laying over the top. 

Camisole: Ribbon around the neck has torn and come loose, also two buttons down the back are missing. Otherwise the garment is in good condition. 

Undershirt has been torn from the neck down at the rear; alternatively was cut deliberately but never repaired. 

Petticoat: slight discolouration in spots around the hem of the garment. 

Undershirt: Extensive mould damge around the hem of the garment, resulting in brown discolouration.