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

businesswoman A businessperson, also referred to as a 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 ...

and

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to display commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an artist's model. Modelling ("modeling" in American English) entails using one's body to represent someone ...

, recognised by the Australian honours system as an entrepreneur. In 1950 she started a personal-development school in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to train young women in

etiquette Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...

and

deportment Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions of individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as well as the inanimate phy ...

. 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 b ...

and modelling school, and later established a Business Finishing College. She later became a public proponent of

and

elocution Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone as well as the idea and practice of effective speech and its forms. It stems from the idea that while communication is symbolic, sounds are final and compel ...

, 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 Australian 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 then ...

for her contribution to

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

. 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 A ...

'' 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 China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River (New South Wales), Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest ...

. 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, secondary, day school for girls, located in Willoughby, a lower North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1934, Willoughby Girls' High currently enrols around a ...

, 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

June Dally-Watkins 1949 SLNSW FL14227251

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) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products across women's, men's, and child ...

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 Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

. 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 The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

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