She's the Brisbane corset queen who revolutionised fashion in the early 20th century by showing women that looking good didn't have to be backbreaking.
Sarah Jenyns, the pioneer of the pain-free surgical corset and founder of one of Queensland's longest running fashion empires, has been inducted into the 2014 Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.
Now in its sixth year, the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame is a joint initiative between QUT Business School, State Library of Queensland and the Queensland Library Foundation. It celebrates those organisations and individuals who have enhanced the state's reputation and economy.
Mrs Jenyns and five other Queensland business leaders from past and present were inducted into the Hall of Fame by Governor of Queensland Penelope Wensley during a black-tie gala event at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre last night (THURSDAY JULY 17).
A devout Christian with seven children, Mrs Jenyns asked God for the inspiration which saw her design one of the world's first orthopaedically designed back lacing corsets side-lacing corsets and secure the patent to sell it globally.
Moving to Brisbane after preaching in the coalfields with her husband in the early 1900s, Mrs Jenyns felt the sharp pain in her side many women of the era endured, while lifting a heavy pail.
"So she went and made a pad and put it under her corset and she found that gave her relief," Pat Jenyns, the wife of Sarah Jenyns' grandson, Ken, said.
"But as soon as she started moving and doing things the pad would move and the pain would come back.
"Being very religious she went to God and said 'can you please help me to design a corset to take away the pain and suffering that women have today'? And she's quoted as saying 'I believe He said that He would and I thanked Him there and then'."
Using knowledge from her time spent as a nurse and her husband's role as a surgical instrument maker, Mrs Jenyns made it her mission to design a corset which supported women's spines and eased their back pain.
She took the resulting surgical corset, with steels in the back to aid posture, to the mass market, starting from a humble workshop at George Street, Brisbane, in 1909.
After gaining the approval of doctors in Brisbane and being granted a worldwide patent, which included the corset's unique style of lacing, Mrs Jenyns boldly set off to display her corset around the world. During a 1912 trip to the UK, Germany, the United States and Canada, she showed her design to orthopaedic surgeons who praised it as "the best corset the world has seen".
The universal appeal of her corset saw the company quickly expand into a thriving family business.
Mrs Jenyns started with15 sewing machinists in a building at 327 George Street that was built by Sarah in 1916 and is now heritage listed. By 1964, The House of Jenyns had expanded into an underwear empire encompassing 1100 machinists and seven factories, plus a West End Head Office. In 1970, the factories were brought together under one roof at a large factory at Ipswich, where up to 45,000 garments a week were produced.
During a difficult period for manufacturers, when imports substantially increased due to the abandonment of import quotas, the company finally ceased operating in the 1990s, long after its matriarch passed away, in 1952.
QUT Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Little said Mrs Jenyns pioneering business spirit had been driven by her desire to prevent the pain many women would have endured on a daily basis.
"Sarah Jenyns' tenacity and determination to help people saw her build a Queensland fashion empire with an enduring legacy," he said.
"She was clearly a very astute businesswoman who overcame several obstacles to gain tremendous success, not least the male-dominated business environment of the time."
State Librarian Janette Wright said the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame was an important initiative in remembering, recognising and re-telling the stories of businesses and individuals who had played a vital role in the state's business landscape.
The Hall of Fame space resides within State Library of Queensland, while the digital story collection is available online at www.halloffame.slq.qld.gov.au
The full list of inductees into the 2014 Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame are:
•Sir Vincent Fairfax
•Sarah Jenyns (corset pioneer)
•John Williams (Brisbane's first businessman)
•Bank of Queensland
•RACQ
•Teys Australia
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Media contact:
Rob Kidd, QUT Media, 07 3138 1841, rj.kidd@qut.edu.au
After hours, Rose Trapnell, 0407 585 901
