This dress belonged to Mary Grace Medbury (nee Matthews, 1885-1967). Mary was born in Kansas, USA, and as a teenager travelled to Devon, England, before she came to Australia with her family and married Walter Ambrose Medbury (1887-1947). They lived together in Cheel Street, East Oakleigh. Walter, a building contractor, worked on numerous construction projects in the Melbourne area, including the Oakleigh Methodist Church, the HMAS Cerberus naval base and - closer to home - the former Brighton Courthouse, which was built in 1936 and still stands at 15 Boxshall Street. Mary gave the dress to her granddaughter, Fiona Nissen, when Fiona was a teenager. A Brighton local, Fiona donated it to the Society in 2013.White cotton muslin day dress with three-quarter length sleeves and square neckline, both edged with lace. The dress features white floral embroidery on the sleeves, skirt and front of bodice. Hook and eye fastenings at back.mary grace medbury, mary grace matthews, fiona nissen, migration, 1900s

Carter Real Estate Agents sold some of the subdivision in 1946-47. This information was tied in with the early orcharding families.Collection of notes, titles and maps of "Jewel in the Crown" subdivision - Mount Dandenong Road (formerly Oxford Road), Velma Grove, Valda Avenue, Mirabel Avenue. Genealogical charts of Meyland and Wigley families. 4 page history of the area compiled in 2004 by Richard Carter, Real Estate Agent. Registered Proprietors, Vendors, Property Title Holders and Transferees include: Herbert Edward WATSON, John Richard SHARP, Myrtle Evelyn BIRRELL, Marie Mathieson MUNRO, William Alex McCLELLAN, George Andrew GOODMAN, Joseph Tasman PEDRAZZI, Alexander ANDERSON, John Charles PATERSON, Eric William PHILLIPS, T.E.A. Co. Ltd., Florence Lavinia WYNARD, William John HARRIS, Lindsay and Hazel ALLNUTT, Douglas John RITCHIE, Eliza A.M. BOURBAND, Henrietta Irene COOK, Eric Edward COOK, Harold Thomas NICHOLLS, Stewart and Mary HIRD, Grace ROBINSON, Helen Rutherford GOOD, Henry Wyatt FARRELL, Irene Ann SMITH, Leslie Neil DOW, Helen Anne DOW, Frederick Ronald HOLDING, John Frederick McINTYRE, Horton Wilcox EDGE, Herbert James HARDINGHAM, Donald James ALLEN, Cyril Frederick WILLIAMS, Florence Sarah MAGGS, Maud Margaret PEARSON, Warwick Scott Holroyd MATTHEWS, Alice Eliza McCLEAVE, Leslie Archibald Charles HARRIS, Enid Beth HARRIS, Roy Victor DRAEGER, Elizabeth Ann STANDLEY, Charles Walter WATSON, Mabel Dorothy CARTER, Alan Garnett KELLY, Michael Vincent HARRIS, William Thomas Sylvester PROUD, Florence Blanche IVES, Douglas George PEARSON, Harry Clifford CLEGG, Dorothy Ellen Mary WHITE, Frederick Nathaniel EVANS, Madge EVANS, Leonard DUNSTAN, Violet Florence CONNELL, Valerie Jean Schimmelbusch, John Sydney COOK, William Donald THOMPSON, Ralph E RAUNSLEY, Murray McRae OSBORN, Francis William CLARKE, Alfred Daniel WILLIAMS, Harry Clifford CLEGG, Bernard Francis GARRY, Richard McKENZIE, Mignor Leonie WESTON, Idonea Moncrieffe DAVIS, Helen Marsden Rutherford GOOD, George SMART, Clement Henry DAVIS, Peter FINLAYSON, Elenor Leah HARVIE, Charles MEYLAND.

Black and white photograph. Female students and Staff seated on benches and standing on the lawn under a Pinus canariensis in 1927 or 1928. 2 copies.On reverse, "From left to rt. Back Row..., Olive Matthews, Mary Stickland, Grace Campbell. See paper catalogue for list of names.olive matthews, mary stickland, grace campbell, group students and staff 1927-1928, pinus canariensis, canary island pine, publicity