Thelma Afford b. December 1908

Also known as Thelma May Thomas
  • Artist (Theatre / Film Designer),
  • Designer (Textile Artist / Fashion Designer)
Costume designer, performer, actor and fashion journalist with a practice from Broken Hill, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne. She also designed costumes for early Australian TV drama. She later became the senior art mistress at Queenwood, a private girls' school, Mosman NSW. She is to considered to have introduced art subjects into South Australian schools.
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Citations

  • Information sourced from Afford, Thelma (née Thomas).

  • Ritchie, John (Ed.) (2002), 'Max Afford’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Melbourne, Vic, vol.13.

  • de Berg, Hazel, 'oral history tape 1262’, National Library of Australia, Canberra, ACT.

  • Thelma Afford (Wikipedia entry)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_Afford

  • Thelma Afford, Dreamers and Visionaries : Adelaide’s Little Theatres from the 1920s to the early 1940s, Sydney: Currency Press.

  • Thelma Afford. “The Ab-Intra Studio Theatre in Adelaide 1931–35”, Australasian Drama Studies n.12–13, pp. 167–180. Bundoora, Victoria: Theatre and Drama Program, La Trobe University.

See also

  • 'Heritage: section 11, plate 487'.

Initial data sources

  • Heritage: The National Women's Art Book

Difference between this version and previous

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Date modified Aug. 2, 2025, 9:33 a.m. July 31, 2025, 9:15 p.m.
Related people
  • Chauvel, Charles (associate of)
  • Bell, George (associate of)
  • Fornari, Pierre (associate of)
  • Thomas, William James (child of)
  • Thomas, Ethel (child of)
  • Afford, Max (spouse of)
  • Chauvel, Elsa (associate of)
  • Williamson, J. C. (associate of)
  • Fitton, Doris (associate of)
  • Hall, Ken (associate of)
  • Chauvel, Charles (associate of)
  • Bell, George (associate of)
  • Fornari, Pierre (associate of)
  • Thomas, William James (child of)
  • Thomas, Ethel (child of)
  • Afford, Max (spouse of)
  • Chauvel, Elsa (associate of)
  • Williamson, J. C. (associate of)
  • Fitton, Doris (associate of)
  • Hall, Ken (associate of)
Related person groups
  • South Australian Society of Arts (associate of)
  • South Australia School of Arts and Crafts (associate of)
  • Adelaide High School, SA (associate of)
  • Minerva Theatre (associate of)
  • Queenwood, NSW (associate of)
  • Doris Fitton's Independent Theatre (associate of)
  • Cinesound Films (associate of)
  • Garrick Theatre, Melbourne, Vic. (associate of)
  • Tivoli Gallery, Melbourne, Vic. (associate of)
  • South Australian Education Department, SA (associate of)
  • Ab-Intra Studio Theatre, Adelaide, SA (associate of)
  • South Australian Society of Arts (associate of)
  • South Australia School of Arts and Crafts (associate of)
  • Adelaide High School, SA (associate of)
  • Minerva Theatre (associate of)
  • Queenwood, NSW (associate of)
  • Doris Fitton's Independent Theatre (associate of)
  • Cinesound Films (associate of)
  • Garrick Theatre, Melbourne, Vic. (associate of)
  • Tivoli Gallery, Melbourne, Vic. (associate of)
  • South Australian Education Department, SA (associate of)
  • Ab-Intra Studio Theatre, Adelaide, SA (associate of)
Related collections
  • Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (collected in)
  • National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra, ACT (collected in)
  • Fryer Memorial Library, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld. (collected in)
  • Mortlock Library of South Australiana, State Library of South Australia, Adelaide, SA (collected in)
  • Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (collected in)
  • National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra, ACT (collected in)
  • Fryer Memorial Library, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld. (collected in)
  • Mortlock Library of South Australiana, State Library of South Australia, Adelaide, SA (collected in)
Field Changes
Biography