'A Poisonous Cup?’ Afternoon Tea in Australian Society, 1870-1914

Abstract

This thesis examines the ceremonies and rituals that emerged around the taking of afternoon tea in Australia during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Drawing on recent historiography of manners and social relationships, it explores how afternoon tea infiltrated many aspects of daily life and helped define boundaries between gender, public and private, rural and urban, work and leisure. This thesis contributes to the small body of research on tea drinking and domestic life in Australia. Its methodology combines cultural analysis with investigation of the material apparatus and tangible social locations of afternoon tea, offering unexpected insight into the tensions that surfaced as Australian society evolved into a modern nation.