Photograph - Wedding Photo of Gladys Harris and Charles Allen, 1937

Historical information

This photograph shows Charles Winnet Daniel Allen and Gladys Eileen Harris on their wedding day, 18th December 1937. This photographs relates to the fox fur coat which is now part of the National Wool Museum Collection, NWM-9090.

"The foxes were shot in the 1950's by my Father, Charles Winnet Daniel Allen at two properties around Bacchus Marsh. One was Greystones at Glenmore, owned by the O'Keith family and the other was at Parwan, owned by the Miles Family. In the late 1940's and early 1950's, the Government put a bounty on the fox head. A pair of ears were sent to the Council and you were paid 2 pennies and the skins were sold to a skin buyer.

My Father would go out on moon lit nights and shoot the foxes then skin them, which he would peg on a board to dry. He took 21 fox skins to Nettlebergs Pty. Ltd., Furriers at 173 Elizabeth Street Melbourne, Victoria, to have this coat made for my Mother, Gladys Eileen Allen. It cost Twenty Pound and Nine Shillings to have the skins made into this coat.

My Father died on the 1st July 1982 and my Mother on the 15th October 1993, aged 76. This coat was inherited by me Theresa Joy Hodge (nee Allen) on the passing of my Mother. I have worn it on cold days, but seeing that I am 84 and the coat is 74 years old, I would like to donate it to you, as I have no-one to leave it to and hope that you and the visitors to your Museum
will enjoy looking at it."

Theresa Hodge, 2025

Theresa was a dairy farmer, who grew up in Bacchus Marsh with her parents, before moving to South Australia in 1980 to a 167 acre farm in Burrungale.

Physical description

Black and white photograph a man and a woman standing together. The woman is wearing a wedding gown and headpiece, and the man is wearing a suit.

Inscriptions & markings

back: [handwritten] Wedding Photo of Gladys Harris / and Charles Allen 1937 / 17-3-1994 / 18-12-37 / Church of England / 18-12-1937 / ORIGINAL: / a. Surmon
back: [printed] ALLEYNE HOCKLEY / 12 WILKIE STREET / CASTLEMAINE 3450 / Phone 721425
back: [printed] Kodak / PAPER

Other parts of this item

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