This elegant three-piece handsewn suit, comprising a frock coat, waistcoat, and trousers, was crafted in Whanganui for 43-year-old Scottish-born businessman Robert Ross.

Ross wore it on his wedding day, 19 September 1884 when he wed 22-year-old Caroline Voss at the Manse on Wicksteed Street. The suit is made of moleskin cotton, a durable and stylish fabric that gained popularity in the nineteenth century.

The stables were beside the Hotel with access from Victoria Avenue. He went on to purchase Toi Farm in Brunswick in 1896 and became a farmer. The couple had 11 children – ten boys and one girl – and many of their descendants still reside in the Whanganui region today.

The trousers feature buttons stamped with “D Harding, Wanganui,” confirming the suit’s local origins. Daniel Harding, an English immigrant, established his tailoring business ‘London House’ in the early 1860s on Ridgway Street. His shop remained a local fixture until his retirement in the early 1900s, leaving a lasting mark on Whanganui’s sartorial history.

By Trish Nugent-Lyne, Pou Tiaki/Collections & Curatorial Lead at Whanganui Regional Museum.

Three-piece suit, 1884
Designer and maker Daniel Harding
Made from moleskin cotton
Gift of Jessie Ross, 1973
WRM 1973.65.2

Photographed by Kathy Greensides

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