AUSTRALIAN DOLLS

Dolls were brought to Australia by the first settlers. However, many did not survive the long journey by sea from England. Many of the early Australian dolls were crude wooden dolls made by parents to satisfy the desires of their children. Most locally made dolls were made from whatever materials were at hand. There is no information recorded regarding dolls used by the original inhabitants of Australia, the Aborigines. The Aboriginal children probably did not need to play with dolls, as they had their own 'living' dolls to play with and help look after.

Although they were loved by their small owners, Australian dolls certainly could not be compared with the French, German, Japanese, American and Canadian dolls prior to 1940. There was a naivety about them. They were heavily painted, sometimes ugly, with murky eyes lacking definition, often simple cotton outfits without buttons, just a small safety pin keeping everything together. They were made for children to play with and they were. No sitting them in a chair, only to be looked at on Sunday! They were dropped and dragged all over the place and, to the makers credit, they survived quite well.

Of course, there were the exceptions, in particular Joy Toys and Jolli Dolls, who both made very attractive dolls.

Later German and French dolls were imported and sold through trade fairs. There were no attempts to set up doll making factories in Australia in the 19th century. When the First World War cut off supplies form Europe, Japan flooded the world with cheaply made celluloid dolls to satisfy demand. At the same time, Australian dolls makers appeared. The first doll registered in Australia was a composition headed doll made by Daniel Keily and recorded in 1916.

The depression years also created opportunities for Australian doll makers. The heavy customs duty imposed on complete dolls led companies to import doll pieces and assemble them here. Hoffnung's, a Sydney department store, imported parts from Germany, Japan, Canada and America. Some Australian parts were included, usually it was only the body, which was made from calico or like material, and the doll's outfit.

There was really nothing here to make the dolls from - materials were short and anyone who could make a doll could sell it. Many Australian women, unable to find work, were industrious and innovative and made cloth dolls at home, with their attempts quite passable, with many surviving to this day.

The Second World War again saw Australia cut off from the traditional European market. Germany and Britain were too busy fighting the war to worry about making dolls. The Americans took over supplying Australian children with dolls until they too were drawn into the war. Once stores of overseas supplied parts dried up, doll wholesalers had to look to local manufacturers. Migrants, who had fled Europe immediately prior to the war, turned their hands to making dolls' heads from whatever materials they could find. Up until 1942 , the Australian War Department banned the production of dolls. Later the government relented and companies, who could prove that they would not use materials needed for the war effort, were licensed to make dolls.

The black market flourished for a time, which is why many Australian dolls found today do not have any maker's marking. Parents were forced to buy poorly made dolls to keep up the morale of children, many of whom had family members fighting overseas. Again, as in the early settlers' years, parents and relatives came to the rescue, making dolls out of calico, felt and any other materials that could be obtained during those years of shortages. In some cases, dolls were dressed as brides, using mosquito netting. Teddy bears were made out of sugar bag material.

Sawdust composition heads being made at S W Petersen's, of Hamilton, New Zealand, were sent to Australia to be assembled in small factories into beautiful dolls.

Until the 1950's, Australian dolls were made of composition, but the introduction of injection-moulded plastics soon put an end to this practice. Australian makers found it difficult to compete with high-volume/low cost producers from overseas.

The industry made a comeback, of sorts, when large overseas firms decided it was cheaper to produce dolls in Australia than it was to import them into the country. In 1956, when trade sanctions were finally lifted, a flood of cheap overseas dolls virtually ended the Australian doll making industry.

Watsons's Dolls were known as "Watson Wunda Babes" on their box labels. The Vera Kent doll with a "Shirley" wig was advertised by Grace Bros in 1948.  Shirley wigs became available after WWII. This doll was made with New Zealand manufactured limbs brought into Australia when doll parts were scarce. 

Verna Dolls made during the  war years until 1948 of composition and soft bodied parts, were produced by Eve Barnett and named after her husband Vern.   Verna hard plastic dolls, in non-original clothes, were made between 1952-1956 when Arthur Easton was at the helm.  His wife sewed all the costumes.  Acetate (hard plastic) dolls came into their own during the 1950's. 

Today most dolls in Australia are imported. The only firm still making dolls in Australia is Netta of South Australia.

The standard of the modern Australian doll artist is now comparable with the rest of the world, e.g. Dana and Natalie Bergstrom, Liz Jones, Suzie McMahon, Vicki Barker and Jennifer Estaban to name just a few.

Recommended reading - The Encyclopaedia of Australian Dolls by Marjory Fainges - Kangaroo Press, ISBN NO 0-86417-549-3

The Club would like to acknowledge and thank Marjory Fainges for her contribution and input to the information on this page.