Australian Dress Register

Ruth Eason Pontifex Shorthouse and Signalman Charles Joseph Malden Allbon married in St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Chatswood, New South Wales, 5th May 1945. They met during the Second World War when both worked at Railway House in Sydney. When Charles went to New Guinea in 1943, they continued to correspond and became engaged by mail. Charles sent the money to Ruth for the engagement ring while still on active service in New Guinea. Charles and Ruth moved to Goulburn in 1958. Charles was Stores Manager for the Railway Workshops, Goulburn and w ould travel regularly through the area visiting other stores. Charles and Ruth had one child, Kerry, and were married for 46 years.

The incidence of marriages prior to and during the Second World War was exceedingly high. The first six months of 1940 produced the highest marriage rate on record in Victoria. The garment represents the social conventions of the era when marriage was embarked upon due to the realisation that people needed to make the most of their time together under perilous circumstances.

Austerity measures were very much in effect during the war, and Ruth was very lucky to have been able to acquire the material and have a dressmaker manufacture her wedding dress.

 

Author: Carol Olsen, 7 June 2014.

Full length cream wedding dress, with fitted bodice and circular skirt. It has a V neck, decorated with tucks and pleated frill - 6 rows of tucks and finely pleated frills. It has a waist band and a shaped belt (cumberbund) with 4 small rouleau loops. Fabric is possibly rayon. The back of the dress is fastened with 26 rouleau loops and buttons. The buttons are not attached to the dress, but are stored with the dress (2 are missing).

The shoulders have square shoulder pads to give the look of the 1940's. It has short sleeves with 3 tucks.  The skirt is a ¾ circular skirt, with panels of small triangular insertions on the bottom left and right. It is finished with a pleated frill on the edge of the skirt. The width of the fabric is 1120mm.

It has a petticoat of moire taffeta (watered) with a circular skirt. the top has shoe string straps with 8 hooks and eyes fastened at the back. There is a tear at the back underneath the row of hooks and eyes. The petticoat is the width of a ½ circle.