Australia Tartans
0 variationsEach tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress
About tartan variations
- Ancient
- Modern
- Weathered
- Hunting
- One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if
Ancient Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans, mossy greens and sky blues, a more orangey red and some would say showing off the pattern to much greater effect as as the contrasts are much brighter than the Modern tartans. The pattern or sett remains the same across all variations of a single tartan, and only the shades or tones vary.
Helpful Advice
Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
Modern Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans. Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
Helpful Advice
The Modern tartans are often the more subtle combinations such as the classic Black Watch Modern
Weathered Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer, more earthy colours typical of the Weathered tartans, reminiscent of bolder colours subjected to wind, rain and sunshine producing beautiful faded tones, olive greens and browns, and very light blues with reds that are more pink than red.
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Some mills refer to the Weathered tartans as Muted.
Hunting Tartan
The Hunting Tartans are the camouflage tartans and some clans don't have these variations because they are already predominantly green or brown and don't need amendment to blend in with nature's colours. The Black Watch or Gunn tartans are examples of these, whereas a tartan such as the Fraser is predominantly red and would not provide much cover for men out hunting.
Helpful Advice
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if Tartan
The Dress Tartans were designed as the name suggests for celebrations and highland dance. The sett or pattern of the tartan remains the same and the main colour is changed to white, or extra white is added to the pattern to give it a brighter, more "fancy" appearance. The Scots do like to bend the rules and occasionally instead of white thread, yellow is used and this is where the rather wild MacLeod Dress Modern and Barclay Dress Modern came from.
Helpful Advice
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
From the Start
Australia Tartan Origins & History
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How it all started
Roughly 10% of Australians identify with having Scottish ancestry, with it being the fourth most commonly nominated ancestry in Australia. Scotland’s first links to ‘down under’ stretch back to the very first European people to set foot there, when Captain Cook and the HMS Endeavour landed at Botany Bay in 1770. You might have known that Cook was responsible for the first European contact with Australia, but did you know that he was in fact a son of a Scottish farmer?
During the colonial period, with the first settlers arriving in Australia, many Scots took up the opportunity to start a new life on the other side of the world. By 1830 around 15% of the Australian colonies' total population were Scots, which increased by the middle of the century to around 25%. The Australian Gold Rush of the 1850s provided further momentum for Scottish migration, when approximately 90,000 Scots immigrated, far higher than other British or Irish populations at the time. Much more settlement followed the Highland Potato Famine, Highland Clearances, and the Lowland Clearances during the mid-19th century, with Scots further becoming dominant across Australian history. A steady rate of Scottish immigration continued into the 20th century, with substantial numbers of Scots continuing to arrive after the economic decline of the First World War.
Today, a strong cultural Scottish presence is evident in the Highland games, dance, Tartan day celebrations, Clan and Gaelic speaking societies found throughout modern Australia. In the early 2000s, the number of Australians who claimed to have Scottish ancestry increased almost three-fold with the majority of those who claim ancestry are third or later generation Australians.
What's in the tartan?
The Australia Tartan was designed by John Reid, an architect from Melbourne. He created the tartan as part of a national competition organised by the Scottish Australian Heritage Council. The warm colours of the "Outback" are said to have inspired the colour palette and the pattern itself is influenced by the tartan of Lachlan Macquarie, the second Scottish-born Governor of New South Wales.
Sydney
Australia's most densely populated city, Sydney, has an international reputation as a superb place to live. However, this may not have come about were it not for the number of esteemed and determined Scots who shaped Sydney's fortune. Many of the architects, politicians and state officials who founded Sydney were born in Scotland, and their influence can still be seen today.
Lachlan Macquarie
Among the first Scots to help build the iconic city of Sydney was Lachlan Macquarie who has had a boundless impact on the whole of Australian society, as well as Sydney itself. He came from the Inner Hebrides of Scotland and in 1810, he became the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, being instrumental in Sydney’s transformation from a disciplinary colony to a free settlement. The inscription on his tomb reflects his massive influence on Australian society: it reads, “Father of Australia”. The street layout of the city is largely based on Macquarie's own street plan, and all the most important buildings in the city are situated on Macquarie Street, named after the man himself. The Sydney Hospital he founded, is among the buildings on this street as well as many other great places named after the Scot in Sydney, such as Macquarie Place, Lighthouse, Fields, Park, Links, Hospital, and University.
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