POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Hat from Australia

Object No. H4581

The cabbage tree hat is characteristic of Australian men's fashion in the nineteenth century. Woven from the fibre of the native cabbage tree palm (Livistona australis), the hats are also historically significant as an early example of Australian dress made entirely from Australian materials. Adapting traditional British skills to the raw materials of the local environment, convicts and first settlers began making hats using the native fibre to protect themselves from the harsh Australian climate. Convicts were also able to earn some money by making the hats in their spare time. This modest trade was continued by shepherds and women, whose labour was also inexpensive. The production of cabbage tree hats didn't develop into a significant industry for a number of reasons including the cost of labour, competition from imported straw and felt hats and the exploitation of the local cabbage tree palm resources. As a result, the cabbage tree hat's widespread use was limited to the nineteenth century. The hat became the emblem of the colony's bush men and later a fashion item for city people with convicts, shepherds, settlers, miners on the goldfields, outback explorers and inner city larrikins all wearing this form of vernacular dress. The local Sydney larrikins, known for causing trouble and encouraging division between native born citizens and English immigrants, developed the label 'cabbage tree mobs' for their association with the hat. This distinctive piece of Australian headwear is important for communicating societal relationships in nineteenth century Australia.