Need headwear inspiration on Cup Day? Behold, Australia’s first hat

AS the nation pins on its fascinator and sets its cap at a jaunty angle, we look back at the hat that made us a world-leader in the headwear field.

Australian novelist Marcus Clarke in a cabbage tree hat.

ON Melbourne Cup day, Australia proves it stands head and shoulders above the rest of the world when it comes to millinery.

A rich history in the field began with a rather unusual piece of headwear — the cabbage tree hat.

Known as the country’s first distinctive head adornment, the cabbage tree (or cabbage palm) is a far cry from the flowers and lace we’ll see at the track today. It is thought to have been invented in the 1800s, by European settlers in New South Wales seeking protection from the blazing sun.

The finely woven, straw-coloured headpiece is made from the leaves of the Livistonia australis, which was used by early Aboriginal communities to build shelters. Their fibre is boiled, dyed and bleached, according to the Powerhouse Museum, to create a durable, high-tapering, domed crown, with a wide flat brim and a hatband of coarser plaiting with a zigzag border.

The most stylish hat of the 1800s. Picture: Powerhouse Museum

The cabbage tree hat is right at the centre of Australia’s colonial history, and was worn by the original larrikins. In the convict era, gangs of youths known as “cabbage tree mobs” or “cabbageites” used to roam the towns causing trouble, starting drunken brawls and organising cockfights, dogfights and bare-knuckle boxing matches.

In 1850, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the cabbage tree mob was insulting wealthy gentlemen by knocking off the tall black hats that symbolised their high status.

Sydney milliner Rosie Boylan says it was the symbol of the “new chums” of the city’s early colonial days.

Cabbage tree mobs caused trouble in early colonial Sydney.

Since the halcyon days of the cabbage tree, Australia has excelled in the art of making and wearing hats. The cork hat, worn by stockmen in the Outback to ward off insects, has come to represent Aussies in the international imagination, along with hats with fly nets.

In reality, it’s the felt Outback hat, or Akubra, that is the biggest cultural icon, worn by Aussies working in the bush and presented to visiting statesmen.

The slouch hat (or “Australian bush” or “digger” hat) is also imbued with patriotism. Worn by the military since the Victorian era, the wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat is pinned at an angle and usually has a chinstrap.

Elsewhere, the baggy green worn by Australia’s cricket team since around 1900 is the most famous hat in sport and a source of national pride.

The Outback hat is perfect for working on the land.

Peter Siddle in the baggy green.

In more recent times, as everyday hats become regrettably plain, it’s the Melbourne Cup where millinery gets its annual chance to shine.

Princess Diana impressed in simple monochrome in 1985, Paris Hilton horrified traditionalists by pairing a top hat with a lingerie-style dress in 2003, and Eva Longoria made a splash with a Jane Lambert floral fascinator in 2005. Jen Hawkins’ black wide-brimmed Philip Rhodes was a clear winner in 2007, and Dita Von Teese raised the bar with stylish orchids in 2013. Last year, Gigi Hadid chose a super-modern crown of stars, while Gabi Grecko stopped the nation (possibly for the wrong reasons) with her giant, feathered headdress.

So who will crown their outfit with this year’s winning hat?

We’ll be looking back to a classic Australian song for inspiration: “Let others boast of the felt or brab / I cannot with them agree / For nobody looks so like a swell / As a man with a cabbage-tree.”

Leave your comment below, tweet @emmareyn and @newscomauHQ or email [e-mail].

Who will wear this year’s winning hat?

Originally published as Need headwear inspiration on Cup Day? Behold, Australia’s first hat