Amelia’s Wedding

c1887 These two photos are from Lavinia Shaw‘s album. Both seem to have been taken on the day of her sister, Amelia‘s wedding. The wedding was held on the 25th April 1887 at her father’s home, “Old Hiawatha“. Both groups are posed around the left hand end of the verandah on the north west corner of the house. Lavinia’s caption for both photos is “Wedding Group”. Much later Mary Shaw added names for some of the subjects.

“Wedding Group”

With Mary’s identifications in quotes, standing from the left are “Lavinia”, “Herbert”, one of the Thomas cousins(?), “Amelia Shaw & John Moore” and “Alfred Shaw”. Seated again from the left are “Eva”, “Arthur”(?), Margaret Shaw (nee Wilson), “Effie” and “Alfred (junior)”(?). Mary didn’t identify Alfred’s second wife Margaret and for some reason she appears blurred or turned away whenever she appears in photos in the albums. I do have one clear portrait of her probably taken a little later so considering it and the dates and her placement in the album photos I don’t think there’s much doubt it is her. I still have some doubts about Mary’s Identifications of the three older Shaw sons. To me the boy on the right looks like Ernest.

“Wedding Group”

Across the back are John Moore’s father, William Moore, 2 unknown women (although the woman on the left may appear in an earlier 1884 photo), Lavinia, Margaret Shaw, Alfred Henry Shaw, John Clarke (husband of Mary Jakeman Clarke (nee Heywood), Effie Shaw and Amelia. At the front a Thomas cousin, Eva, Arthur(?), two women (is that the other Thomas cousin on the right?), Herbert and Ernest. There is a possible identification for one of the “unknown women”. William Moore was a Baptist minister and would have travelled from Brisbane for the wedding. a long and ardous journey in 1887. I have a 1903 photo of his wife, Margaret, who would have been about 64 at the time and it is pretty certain that she does not appear here. William and Margaret had one daughter, Elizabeth, who would have been about 25. Could this be her at with the hat (and very pinched waist) at the rear. The women’s clothes are a clue too. Amelia, Effie and Eva are in bridal white but most of the other women are in what look like very sumptuous satin dresses with strips of velvet at cuff and lapel. Only two vary from this, the possible Moore daughter and the woman in white and black at the front. The latter rests her hand on Margaret Shaw’s lap and seems slightly distracted. Margaret had only been in Australia for six months so who other than close family would be this familiar? Her sister’s Hannah family had no girls of this age so is this the other Thomas girl? She doesn’t appear with her sister in the other wedding group so maybe she was unwell? This may explain why she is dressed so differently to to her sister. I did consider that the other seated girl might be the other Thomas sister but even though the dress conforms her features don’t seem to fit with the earlier photos. Rebecca Thomas married a year later and lived on until 1959. Her younger sister Elinor never married and died in 1927. I’m guessing that it’s Rebecca on the left and Elinor with Margaret.

J W Lindt Groups

c1884 These photos were found in an album given by Herbert Shaw and Caroline Shaw in 1902 to Caroline’s sister Annie Bertha Hale. Annie Bertha died two years later and the album went back to the Shaw family and sometime later a number of early photos of ““Old Hiawatha”” found their way into its pages. These four are on cabinet cards produced by J. W. Lindt’s studio. As with a group in an earlier post the first three here are likely from late 1884.

Old Hiawatha

“Old Hiawatha” from the west probably late afternoon September 1884 soon after the death of Hannah Shaw, possibly even on the day of her funeral. The photo immediately below was taken on a second front lawn to the left and behind the camera position of this photo. The orchard gate, location of the third photo, can be seen to the left of the house. Alfred Henry Shaw is sitting on the window sill with a small child on his knee. Eva is sitting on the edge of the veranda. I’ve not been able to identify the four adults and there is no child I can find around this age in the extended family at that time.

Fountain Group

The fountain was in front of the house in what is now the rear of 3 The Avenue. L-R are Lavinia Shaw, (Elinor Thomas?), Alfred Shaw (jnr), Amelia Shaw, Effie Shaw, (Rebecca Thomas?), Ernest Shaw and Eva Shaw.

“Orchard Gate”

The same group at the orchard gate.

“Entrance to the Orchard”

Another version of “Orchard Gate” photo, this time the paper is glued directly into Lavinia’s album.

“The Yacht Almora”

The caption comes from a copy of this photo in Lavinia’s album. I’m not sure, but after the boat’s name on the stern it looks like “St. Kilda” which would fit with the location of Hiawatha. Maybe that’s St Kilda baths on the left and the Elwood foreshore to the right.

“The Yacht Almora off St Kilda”

I should have looked a bit further into the album. A few pages on I found this with Lavinia’s caption confirming it is St. Kilda. A closer look reveals a very uncertain Alfred Shaw in bowler hat being taken for a sail by what looks like two of his sons. It shouldn’t be too hard to identify the buildings along the foreshore but maybe that’s a task for later.

“Lawn Above the Fountain”

Detail

c1884 This is a detail from a photograph in Lavinia’s album. It was taken on the front lawn of the family home, “Old Hiawatha” in Balaclava and it can be dated to 1884 using the children’s apparent ages and the black armbands signifying the recent death of their mother in August of that year (and possibly that of their grandmother who died shortly after in October). Mary Shaw has added to Lavinia’s caption, “Lawn Above the Fountain”. Mary noted the armbands and attempted to identify the subjects. It is definitely Alfred Shaw Senior on the grass in pith helmet and Eva Shaw at the right hand end of the bench seat. I’m less certain about it being Alfred Junior with the dog – maybe Ernest? And the girl in the swing is likely be one of the Thomas cousins, not Charlotte Alice Harvey wife to be of Alfred Junior. So, the others from the left – Herbert standing, unknown girl, Effie, the other Thomas cousin, (Eva), (Thomas cousin), possibly Mrs Sarah Thomas (nee Heywood) and an unknown man (Sarah’s husband, Hugh Thomas had died in 1881). It is possible that the man at the right is Alfred Shaw (junior). He would have been 26 at the time and probably already heavily involved in his father’s business and soon to become successful in his own right. There are no photos with all three sons together and the more I look the more I think that Mary has incorrectly identified both Arthur and Ernest as Alfred in various group photos. This print is glued directly onto the album page but there are similar family prints from the same time identified as by J. W. Lindt.