Full dress tunic : Lieutenant Colonel T Rowe, New South Wales Engineers

Officer's full dress scarlet superfine wool tunic with dark blue silk velvet stand collar, pointed cuffs and piping on each side of the tunic front, hem and false vents on the back skirt. The tunic fastens down the front with nine gilded brass New South Wales Military Forces buttons. Eight of the buttons are made by 'Wm JONES & Co. LONDON', the other button is made by 'DAVID JONES & Co. SYDNEY'. There is a single brass belt hook on the left side seam at waist. The sleeves are heavily laced with gold Russia braid eyes and padded Engineer's pattern gold bullion lace, extending as far as the elbow in the front, for the rank of lieutenant colonel. The twisted gold bullion braid Engineer's pattern epaulettes bear velvet, gold and silver bullion embroidered rank insignia for lieutenant colonel. The collar, which fastens with two hooks and eyes, although one hook is missing, is edged with gold bullion braid and Engineer's pattern gold lace, and is lined with black cotton and small black cotton stock tab. There are silver bullion embroidered exploding grenade badges on either side of the collar. The body of the tunic is lined with a cream cotton and wool mixture, which is quilted across the chest and under the arms, and the sleeves are lined with red striped cream silk. There is a concealed white cotton pocket inside the left breast. A short length of cream painted leather is sewn at waist level along the inside of the right front. The rest of this leather, which would have extended across the entire waist, is missing. There is a large brass hook and eye inside the waist to further secure the tunic. Beneath it is a smaller hook and eye that prevents the front skirts from blowing open in windy conditions.

This tunic most likely belonged to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Rowe who joined the Engineer Corps in 1872 as a lieutenant and became lieutenant colonel in 1886. Rowe was born in 1829 at Penzance, Cornwall, England and came to Sydney with his family in 1848. Between 1857 and 1895 he practiced as an architect in partnership with several architects including Alfred Spain. He was founder in 1871 of the Institute of Architects of New South Wales and the first mayor of Manly in 1877. By 1890 he had become highly successful and wealthy but lost nearly everything in the 1893 depression. He died in January 1899. The uniform followed the pattern of full dress worn by the Royal Engineers with the exception of the buttons. The NSW Engineers began as a Volunteer unit in 1870 and by 1881 had become a militia unit. By 1890 the scarlet uniform was used for review order only, the uniform having changed to khaki with felt hats in May of that year.