Muriel McPhee’s mourning overdress
This composition conveys a sense of sadness and mourning that is broadly reflective of the experience of death. It was composed on the ukulele to produce a delicate and fragile sound.
The work has a sense of nostalgia that links directly to Muriel McPhee’s trousseau. It imagines Muriel making beautiful objects and preparing for her future wedding and a shared life that never came.
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First World War tragedy
Muriel McPhee grew up on a cattle property near Grafton in northern New South Wales. During the First World War, she worked on the family farm by day and sewed by lamplight in the evening.
An accomplished seamstress, Muriel carefully stitched underwear, nightdresses, pillowcases, tablecloths and doilies. These formed her trousseau, a collection of items made in preparation for married life.
Muriel kept a photograph of a young soldier on her dressing table, but little is known about the man she was to marry. When he was killed, she packed away the trousseau.
This dress is the only black item among Muriel’s trousseau. Worn over everyday clothes, it provided a cost-effective way to acknowledge the death of a loved one.
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