June Marie Dally-Watkins (; 13 June 1927 – 22 February 2020) was an Australian

businesswoman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

and

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

, recognised by the Australian honours system as an entrepreneur. In 1950 she started a personal-development school in Sydney to train young women in etiquette and

deportment Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...

. A year later, she started Australia's first

model agency A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency. The top agencies work with bi ...

and modelling school, and later established a Business Finishing College. She later became a public proponent of etiquette and elocution, and frequently commented on those topics in the media. In 1993, Dally-Watkins received an

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for her contribution to business. In 2014 she featured on the popular Australian television show ''

Bogan Hunters ''Bogan Hunters'' is an Australian comedy reality television series created by Paul Fenech for Seven Network's 7mate. The series provides an in-depth look into Australia's bogan subculture, as the Bogan Hunters traverse the nation looking for ...

'' on the

7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...

channel, where she provided information relating to etiquette to series winners. In 2019 she taught etiquette to women in China.

Early life

Dally-Watkins was born in Sydney in June 1927 with the birth name June Skewes. Her mother, Caroline May Skewes, came from a family of farmers in the village of Watsons Creek, close to

Tamworth, New South Wales Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-western region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest and most populated city in t ...

. Her father, whom she did not meet until later in life, was a businessman named Bob Monkton, who had met Skewes while on a rabbit-hunting expedition in Watsons Creek. Former army captain and wine salesman David Dally-Watkins married her mother and adopted her in 1940, after which she assumed his name, becoming June Dally-Watkins. The family moved to Sydney in 1940, where Dally-Watkins attended the

Willoughby Girls High School Willoughby Girls' High School (WGHS) is a Public school (government funded), public, Secondary school, secondary, day school for girls, located in Willoughby, New South Wales, Willoughby, a Lower North Shore (Sydney), lower North Shore suburb of ...

, but Caroline's marriage to David was short-lived, and she and Dally-Watkins returned to live in Tamworth in 1942 amidst threat of a Japanese invasion of Australia.

Career

In 1944 Tamworth-based photographer Jan Solomons performed a photoshoot with Dally-Watkins, after which he suggested to her mother that her appearance could lead her to a career in modelling. Acting on this advice, the pair moved back to Sydney, where Dally-Watkins was appointed to a modelling job at Farmers & Co Department Store, (acquired by

Myer Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products ...

in 1961). Dally-Watkins later described her appearance in the 1940s as resembling that of a milkmaid, but her success grew through the decade and in 1949 she won the Australian Model of the Year award. In 1950, after a visit to New York City to research the latest developments in fashion, Dally-Watkins founded a school of

and etiquette. She then went on to start her own modelling agency, as well as a business college. In later life, Dally-Watkins expanded her etiquette coaching to China, establishing a programme called ''Look of Success'' in collaboration with a Chinese partner. The programme ran a series of courses, using venues such as luxury hotels.

Personal life

Dally-Watkins had a brief relationship with American actor Gregory Peck. In 1953, she married John Clifford, a naval officer, but they separated in 1968, finalizing in 1969. The couple had four children; two sons and two daughters. She died on 22 February 2020, aged 92.

References

External links

*
June Dally-Watkins
at National Film and Sound Archive
June Dally-Watkins' business website

Teachers notes at episode of ''Australian Biography'' on June Dally-Watkins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dally-Watkins, June 1927 births 2020 deaths Australian women in business Australian female models Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian radio personalities Australian women radio presenters