Hannah’s Quilt

History

This quilt is unfinished. Hannah, my Great Great Grandmother came to Australia from Essex in 1857. She brought with her a storage chest which we still have. Family story says she was a seamstress for Queen Victoria, so a sponsored migrant who could read and write, and was presented with a pin cushion from the Royal Household (whereabouts unknown).

Hannah married a pensioned off and much older British Redcoat William Sivewright at Kameruka NSW.

They made their way up the mountain via bullock dray and after living at Candelo, then Bombala Station, belonging to Captain Ronald Campbell, was one of the first white residents of Delegate. Perhaps the military connection to Captain Campbell helped them to relocate to land at Delegate. Hannah sewed the towns clothes, outliving William by decades. When he died she was left with 9 children, including a 1 year old. She lived to 96 or 98 dying in 1931, having spent the last 20 or more years of her life confined to a chair due to a fractured hip. My grandmother Olive Allen nee Murdoch, remembers her sitting in the chair in a black taffeta dress, sewing of course.

This quilt made of clothing scraps, has been handed down through the women.

Quilt historian Annette Gero saw it briefly and felt some of the fabric most likely came with Hannah from Essex in 1857. The bright deep red, at least, was not available in the colony. I wonder if she made any of it on the ship journey to Australia?

I plan on having it professionally photographed and fabric being printed, to give to all the females in the family.

Description

Paper pieced hexagons, many backed with pages from the Hordern Brothers Emporium catalogue which was distributed widely in the Monaro region.
Grandmother's Garden pattern I believe.

Unfinished. Hundreds of finished individual hexagons are being seen slowly together by me with pink cotton. Very soon it will be seen by conservators to advise on long term storage. It may be acquired by or donated to a museum.