This post is part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (#AtoZChallenge), where I’m exploring historical newspaper clippings—one story at a time—through my series “Behind the Newsprint.”
The Clipping
In a report of a large workers’ picnic at Sandown
Park, one small detail stands out:
"The following are the
results of the sports: Barmen's Handicap (100yds): Sterling 1, Herbert 2,
Griffen 3. ... Waiters' Handicap (100yds): Bell 1, Meadow 2, Check 3. ...
Girls' Race (6 years and under): Miss Todman 1, Miss Young 2, Miss Baseden 3”
(The full results list ran to
over twenty races.)
The clipping was reporting on a workers' picnic for around
1,500 employees of Henry Skinner, a well-known Melbourne caterer.
Todman is not a common name, and it immediately caught my
attention. Among the names of the competition winners, an unexpectedly familiar
name. Walter Todman’s young daughter was there—and she won a prize.
By 1901, Walter Todman had two young daughters—Martha (born
January 1894)[i]
and Ivy (born September 1895).[ii]
A child competing in a race for those aged six and under must almost certainly
have been Ivy, who was 5 years old at the time. So, this was not just any “Miss
Todman,” it was his daughter.
The event was hosted by Henry Skinner, described as a
“well-known caterer,” and attended by:
- Around 1,500 employees, family members, and friends
- Staff connected to his catering and hospitality operations
- A network of workers from Melbourne’s service economy
This was, in effect, a staff function on a grand
scale. But this raises a more interesting question: Why was the Todman
family there at all?
What It Suggests
The outing was no ordinary public event. If Walter’s
daughter was present—and competing—then the family was not casual visitors. They
were there by invitation.
Given the circumstances, the most likely candidate was
Walter himself.
By 1901, Walter and his wife, Martha, had three young
children, the youngest only four years old. In such a household, it is
reasonable to assume that Walter was the primary wage earner, while Martha
remained at home caring for the children.
If the invitation came through employment, then it was
almost certainly through him.
Looking Closer
So, what connection did Walter have to Henry Skinner? This
is where his occupation becomes crucial.
From other records, we know that Walter built his working
life around hospitality:
As a young man, he had worked as a steward aboard the S.S. Nurjahan,
performing duties that included serving food, maintaining officers’ quarters,
and managing stores.[iii] He later carried those skills onto land, working as "an
attendant at Bowden's Hotel" in New South Wales in 1889,[iv] before settling in Victoria after his
marriage, where he worked as "a job waiter and earned about £11 a
month" in 1895.[v][vi]
While Walter was recorded as a job waiter as early as 1895,
his presence at the 1901 picnic suggests he had maintained this professional
connection for several years, navigating the peak of Skinner’s 'monopoly'.
A “job waiter” was typically a casual employee:
- Hired for events, banquets, and large functions
- Moving between employers or engagements
- Part of a flexible workforce supporting large-scale hospitality operations
This places Walter squarely within the kind of workforce
that a caterer like Henry Skinner depended upon.
As a major caterer, Skinner would have required:
- Teams of waiters for large events
- Reliable men who could be called upon as needed
- Workers accustomed to fast-paced, high-volume service
It is entirely plausible that Walter was one of them.
The picnic, then, was not just entertainment.
It was a gathering of a working community—and Walter was
part of it.
The Shadow of the "Commercial Bismarck"
The scale of the 1901 Sandown Park outing—with its private
chartered train and 1,500 guests—transforms a simple race result into a
'smoking gun' for Walter’s employment. This was a corporate inner-sanctum
event. By 1901, Henry Skinner was the 'undisputed king' of Melbourne's service
economy, and for a 'job waiter' like Walter, Skinner was the primary gatekeeper
to steady, high-status work.
Working for the 'Commercial Bismarck' meant adhering to a
'pyramid of self-reliance'. Walter would have been part of a literal army of
service. For a "job waiter" like Walter employment came with high
expectations:
- The
Uniform: Skinner required his staff to wear the firm's
"distinctive white uniforms," providing a professional, uniform
look to his massive catering "army".
- Strict
Discipline: To ensure absolute honesty, Skinner famously required his
waiters to empty their pockets before they began their shifts.
- The
Scale of Service: At events like the Sandown Park picnic, under those
'spacious marquees' laid out in the 'best style,' Walter would have been
one of many disciplined staff members ensuring the day's luxury for 1,500
guests—including his own wife and children..
Seeing his daughter, Ivy, win a race in this environment suggests that despite the rigid discipline of the job, the Todman family was fully integrated into this professional community.
What Lies Behind It
Walter’s work as a waiter sits within a period of transition
and overlap in his life. He pursued a series of inventions, applying for
patents for devices such as an improved gold-saving machine[vii] and an
automatic check for Venetian blinds.[viii] At the
same time, casual waiting work appears to have provided a reliable income
stream, a practical means of supporting his family while his ambitions took
shape.[ix]
When he married Martha Sarah Ellis in 1892, he was working
as a blacksmith,[x] a skilled trade that likely reflected his
original training. Yet the broader record suggests a more complex reality.
Before and after his marriage, Walter continued to undertake waiting and other
casual work, indicating a flexible, multi-stranded working life rather than a
single, fixed occupation.
This may not have been a step backwards, but a
strategic choice. Casual hospitality work could provide:
- Immediate income
- Flexible hours
- Time to pursue other ambitions
By the late 1890s, his inventive efforts began to
give way to more practical enterprise. His business gradually developed from
bicycle work into motor repairs and engineering.[xi]
Seen in this light, his time as a waiter was not an
endpoint, but a supporting role in a larger ambition.
Reflection
It is easy to look at Walter Todman and see only the later
industrialist—the man with the motor garage and the patents. This newspaper
article reminds us that his path to engineering was paved by his time in the
'white uniform'. He wasn't just a waiter; he was a strategic actor in a
bustling colonial city, using the flexible hours of Skinner's empire to fuel
the inventions that would eventually take him 'behind the newsprint' and into
his own future.
And it answers the question. He was there because, at that
moment in his life, this was his trade.
Further reads:
For those interested in learning more about Walter Todman & Ivy Todman or Henry Hawkins Skinner see their profiles on WikiTree.
Sources
- Geoff
Browne, "Skinner, Henry Hawkins (1851–1912)", Australian
Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian
National University, originally published 1988, accessed online 6 April
2026. (accessed https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/skinner-henry-hawkins-8446
: 6 April 2026)
- "A Pleasant Outing," . (1901, March 16). The Record (Emerald Hill, Vic. : 1881 - 1957), p. 3. Retrieved April 6, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162550717 (Historical newspaper report detailing the Henry Skinner employee picnic at Sandown Park).
[i]
Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, Birth Certificate
Martha Todman (Year 1894, #1801)
[ii]
Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, Birth Certificate
Ivy Florence Todman (1895, Reference# 32737)
[iii]
Capacities - the jobs that seafarers did https://www.crewlist.org.uk/about/capacities
accessed 16 April 2022
[iv]
1889 'IN DIVORCE.--(Before His Honor Mr Justice WINDEYER.)', The Australian
Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), 4 March, p. 5. , viewed 07 Apr 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227304883
[v]
1895 'DOMESTIC TROUBLES.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 10
December, p. 5. , viewed 13 Apr 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8883765
[vi]
1895 'PRAHRAN POLICE COURT', The Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1930), 14
December, p. 5. , viewed 13 Apr 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article144631672
[vii]
"PATENTS APPLIED FOR," Record, 14 Apr 1894, p. 2, col. 7; digital
images, TROVE (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ : accessed 4 Oct 2015), Digitised
Papers and more.
[viii]
The Prahran Telegraph, "NEW PATENTS." The Prahran Telegraph (Vic. :
1889 - 1930) 19 Oct 1895: 3. Web. 3 Oct 2015
<http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article144634019>
[ix]
"PRAHRAN POLICE COURT." The Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1930) 14
Dec 1895: 5. Web. 3 Oct 2015
<http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article144631672>.
[x]
Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Certificate of Marriage
Walter Todman & Martha Ellis 16 January 1892 Reference# 345
[xi]
Dir Sands & McDougall's Melbourne and Suburban Directory - Todman, Yr 1898
p.1209; Yr 1899 p.1219; 1900 p.1239; 1901 p. 1274 & p.1564; Yr1902 p.1551;
1903 p.1383 & p.1558; 1904 p.1413 & p.576; Yr1905 p.1449 & p.1634;
1906 p.1522 & p.604; 1907 p.1613 & 1813 p.580; Yr1910, p.1523, p.1726
& p.616 Yr1911 p.1499.
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