Each year the History Trust of South Australia awards grants that support the preservation and promotion of South Australian history. Our goal is to make important local South Australian stories accessible to all. One such project that we funded through our Museums and Collections (MaC) grant program was the conservation of Helena Dinsdale’s dress from the Bay Discovery Centre Collection.
Helena Dinsdale, known as Ellena, arrived in South Australia as a domestic servant in 1874 before marrying John Crimp. After John died Ellena married his cousin Edward Dinsdale which allowed her to keep her house and lifestyle. Ellena’s dress, which dates to the 1880s and was manufactured in Paris, passed to her brother and his family upon her death in 1935. Remarkably the dress was preserved by generations of Ellena’s family before finally being donated to the Bay Discovery Centre.
While the dress was in a fair condition for its age, some of the deterioration had meant that it was not safe to display. To undertake the essential conservation work recommended by textile conservators at Artlab Australia, the Bay Discovery Centre sought a MaC project grant. The awarding of this grant meant the dress could be stabilised and displayed for visitors to enjoy in the 2023 Sand Castles exhibition. Ellena’s dress came to us in a state of disrepair having been passed down through generations of women who modified the waist to suit and stored it in all sorts of locations. Despite its condition, we all immediately fell in love with the fine craftmanship of the piece and the way in which it brought Ellena to life in front of us. We are incredibly grateful to be able to access grant funding through the Museums and Collections program. The program makes projects like the stabilisation of Ellena’s dress possible for our small organisation, which ultimately allows us to care for the piece and ensure access for our community into the future.”
Julia Garnaut, Curator – History and Exhibitions, City of Holdfast Bay
If you would like to know more about our grants programs head over to our grants page Grants | History Trust of South Australia.
Ellena’s dress on display in Sand Castles exhibition
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