A time when local women had the rag trade all stitched up

There was a time when Australia had rationing of basic needs. Rationing of clothing, sugar, tea, butter and meat was part of government restrictions in World War II (1939-45).

The war effort was vital. As well, the government wished to decentralise industries, and the Nambour Chamber of Commerce lobbied for a clothing factory.

Alf Frost owned a clothing factory in Brisbane and was willing to set up one in Nambour in 1944.

His first factory opened next to the Diggers’ Hall in Howard Street where he expected to employ up to 10 girls.

His Brisbane contracts were for army clothing and he expected to continue with ‘wholesale-only’ contracts in Nambour.

He was prepared to train staff to operate the machines. The factory would be a great asset to Nambour.

The following year, he opened a new factory in Ann Street, described as a two-storey building: 50’ x 30’ (15.2 x 9.1m).

The local newspaper reported that dignitaries from the council and town were among guests who danced the night away in the poinsettia-decorated building.

Advertisements for staff were placed in the Nambour Chronicle: “Wanted: 15-20 girls from 14-18 years to learn the clothing trade. No experience. Good wages: £1 to start with. Music while you work.”

The factory again relocated, to a building that is now the RSL car park.

Advertisements in the late 1940s  show that the factory would do hemstitching, make buttonholes and undertake embroidery.

George Parmenter, an employee, advertised that he would service home sewing machines. These tasks were a boon to the home dressmaker.

In the late 1950s, the clothing factory was sold to Mr Parmenter, who relocated it to Kulangoor. Many young women who worked there are still able to recall their workmates, who became lifelong friends.

They can also recall their experiences (24 worked at the Ann Street factory and about 50 at the Kulangoor factory).

Dianne worked at the Kulangoor clothing factory from when she left school at 15 in 1962. Her family lived on the Maroochy River. So, she boarded in Yandina and travelled by bus each day  to work.

She says the fabrics arrived from Brisbane already cut out and ready to sew.

New girls learned to trim threads and do clippings and then moved on to specialist jobs such as inserting side pockets. All sizes of work shorts with the Yakka brand were made and Dianne thought the work was boring, the factory grubby and the wages poor.

June has many memories of the Kulangoor clothing factory. She began work there in 1970. The factory closed in 1975 because the Australian government lifted the tariffs on Chinese imports. Staff who lost their jobs were paid 12 months of wages in advance. She was one of the lucky ones to receive this. At the time, the factory was producing Stubbies clothing.

“I was asked to return to work after 12 months as they were preparing to make women’s clothing but I refused as I was planning a family,” June says. “An older staff member, known as ‘Weedy’, used to hold bridal showers for the girls getting married. Two of the owners’ sons married girls who worked at the factory. Brian married Hilda and Kevin married Heather.”

June recorded the names of the female staff with their married names – now the grandmothers and great-grandmothers we may see around Nambour.

The Kulangoor clothing factory was next to the old garage. After it closed, it became a morgue and funeral chapel, then a winery and an op shop. It burnt down in January 2024. The caved-in roof can still be seen from Nambour Connection Road.

 Audienne Blyth is a member of the Nambour Historical Museum, open 1-4pm Wednesdays to Fridays, and 10am-3pm Saturdays.