Banging the Drumstick: The creative and cultural legacy of the women inside the Peters Ice Cream Factory is fellowship project the 2019 State Library of Queensland Placemaking Award supported by West Village.
This project is currently in field research stage with outcomes due to be released mid-2020.
Whilst the history of Fred Peters’ rise from backyard ice cream maker to household name is well preserved and readily observable, little is known about the Peters factory workers themselves, and even less about the women and migrant women who occupied a great number of roles on the factory floor. Since its opening in 1928 the Peters Ice Cream factory in West End provided employment to a number of female workers, opening opportunities and drawing in a diverse and under-represented population, ultimately contributing to the vibrant diversity of community in West End as we know it today. This project explores a time in which women’s role in the labor market was particularly significant and illuminates the contributions that female workers made to the products and the culture of the factory. The influence of migrant female workers employed by Peters will richly inform this exploration, revealing their contribution to the eclectic social cultural community of West End and the relevance of the factory to today’s community.
http://blogs.slq.qld.gov.au/jol/2019/11/25/banging-the-drumstick/