Pelaco was an Australian clothing manufacturer based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Pelaco is best known for its men's shirts. The

Pelaco sign The Pelaco Sign is a heritage-listed neon sign located in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond. It was erected in 1939 as an advertisement for local shirt manufacturer Pelaco. Melbourne-based rockabilly group, The Pelaco Brothers (1974–75), ...

over its former factory in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

is a Heritage Victoria listed landmark.

Foundation

The Pelaco brand was founded in the 1910s by James Kerr Pearson (born 31 July 1881 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

— died 2 October 1950 in Richmond, Victoria) and James Lindsay Gordon Law (born 21 January 1881 in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, Victoria — died 18 February 1963,

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

, Victoria). The company name came from the first two letters of its owners' surnames.

Products

From its inception, Pelaco's main product has been men's

shirts A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. I ...

Industrial relations

The Pelaco company under Lindsay Law has been described as innovative in its approach to industrial relations. Saturday morning work was discontinued in its predecessor business in 1908. The company management appointed an "industrial relations officer" to mediate with employees in 1928. Pelaco was one of the first companies in Australia to employ an

industrial psychologist Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology), an applied discipline within psychology, is the science of human behavior in the workplace. Depending on the country or region of the world, I-O psychology is also known as occupational ...

. Lindsay Law came into conflict with unions and arbitration courts over the issues of piecework wages and

child labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

Business head office and factories

In 1922, the company moved its head office and factory from elsewhere in Richmond to Goodwood Street, Richmond. The "

Pelaco Pelaco was an Australian clothing manufacturer based in Melbourne. Pelaco is best known for its men's shirts. The Pelaco sign over its former factory in Richmond is a Heritage Victoria listed landmark. Foundation The Pelaco brand was founded ...

" neon sign over the Goodwood Street factory was erected in 1939. At the company's peak in the 1950s, it had ten factories across Australia.

Cultural references

Australian football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modifie ...

player

Royce Hart Royce Desmond Hart (born 10 February 1948) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Regarded as one of the greatest centre half-forwards to ever play Australian r ...

was recruited to

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

from

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

n team

Clarence Football Club The Clarence Football Club, nicknamed ''The Kangaroos'' (and usually referred to as simply "The Roos"), is an Australian rules football club playing in the Tasmanian State League, based in Bellerive, Tasmania. Before 1947, they existed as Bel ...

with the promise of "a new suit and six shirts". The "six shirts" were "half a dozen Pelacos".

References

External links

* {{official website Companies established in the 1910s Clothing brands of Australia Manufacturing companies based in Melbourne Australian companies established in 1915 Clothing companies established in 1915