Skip to main content
Advanced Search
June Hammond's baby dress and slip
June Hammond's baby dress and slip

June Hammond's baby dress and slip

Date1940s
Object number00054427
NameDress
MediumSilk
DimensionsOverall: 400 x 210 mm, 120 g
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from June Hammond
DescriptionJapanese war bride Sadako Morris bought this dress for her baby daughter June when the CHANGTE docked in Hong Kong en route from Japan to Australia in 1953. Sadako wanted her family to look its best for their arrival in Adelaide, where they attracted much media attention.HistoryMore than 600 Japanese women migrated to Australia as war brides after World War II. Their husbands had served with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) after the surrender of Japan in 1945. At first marriage between Australian soldiers and Japanese women was prohibited. But many men fell in love and lobbied the Australian Government for change. When Sadako Kikuchi’s family discovered that she was secretly seeing Australian Army officer John Morris, they threatened to disown her. Strong-willed, Sadako chose to leave, moving into an apartment with John. Sadako met John when she was a seamstress in a Kure department store. There was still much bitterness between ex-enemies. ‘Morrisan’ and Sadako had to keep their meetings secret, using Sadako’s brother Yasuo as a go-between. In 1952, after intense lobbying, the Australian Government eventually gave permission for soldiers to marry Japanese nationals. Sadako and John had a church wedding in 1952. Most of Sadako’s family attended, despite their earlier opposition. Finally, in December 1953, Sadako and her two baby daughters boarded Changte bound for Adelaide. They were among the first group of non-Europeans officially permitted under the White Australia policy. While many immigrants experienced displacement, culture shock and homesickness, Japanese brides also had to endure bigotry in both Japan and Australia.SignificanceThis dress relates to a highly significant period in Australia’s immigration history, when Immigration Minister Harold Holt overturned the ban on entry for wives of Australian servicemen in 1952, thereby permitting the first group of non-European immigrants under the White Australia policy. However beyond the policy perspective, the collection also illustrates a powerful and intensely personal story of love and war, and how the lobbying of a group of Australian servicemen would mark the beginnings of a multicultural Australia.