Spotlight On ... A Family Heirloom Wedding Veil

This is the story of a beautiful bridal veil, covered in hand embroidered Australian wildflowers, that has been handed down through generations of the Shaw family.  

According to oral family history, it was possibly first worn by my great grandmother's sister, Elizabeth Farrell, on her wedding day.  

She married Frank Edwin Shaw in January of 1897, at Saint Columbas Church in Charters Towers, Queensland.

Sadly, there are no wedding photos to show what Elizabeth wore on her wedding day. 

children of Elizabeth Shaw nee Farrell

Elizabeth and Frank went on to have five children, including three daughters.  It seems though that the heirloom veil was only worn by two of those daughters.  

Mary, the eldest daughter, married in Brisbane on April the 14th 1934, and according to a newspaper article in the Johnstone River Advocate and Innisfail News' dated Friday the 27th of April 1934:

she "wore her travelling ensemble of Copenhagen blue matelasse trimmed with silver braid.  She added a blue hat and carried a sheaf of golden gladioli."

The heirloom veil did not appear at family weddings until the following year.

The first photo actually showing a Shaw family member wearing the stunning, quite unique, wedding veil is dated March 1935.  

An extract from the Townsville Daily Bulletin, dated Wednesday March 20 1935, does give an indication of the origins of the veil.

“……….the beauty of the exquisite hand-embroidered net veil which was held in place with a wreath of orange blossom. The veil which belonged to the bride's mother, was hand-worked by the Sisters at the Convent of the Good Shepherd in Hobart. ……”

If the reporting is accurate, then it was indeed Elizabeth who first wore the veil and the veil itself was made by nuns at the Convent of the Good Shepherd in Hobart, Tasmania.  

Workroom at the Sisters of Good Shepherd Convent in Hobart, Tasmania.
You can see the work being done on Priests' vestments and veils.

I never knew that there was such a tradition - wearing wedding veils that had been made by nuns.  It makes sense though, as female religious novices wore veils during the ceremony held when they joined a convent community - referred to as the 'taking of the veil'.  Members of particular female religious orders were apparently highly skilled in the making of these embroidered lace creations, and loaning veils to students of their convent schools would be a powerful way of connecting Catholic religious orders and the growing Australian Catholic population.

The Sisters of Good Shepherd back in Ireland, had a history of lace-making and it seems that this practice continued when they arrived in Australia.  According to Sophie Cooper, author of 'Something Borrowed: women, Limerick lace and community heirlooms in the Australian Irish diaspora',    

"Lace-making was introduced into the Good Shepherd convent (Ireland) by Mother Mary of St Louis de Baligand and Amelie van Verevenhaven (who became Sister Marie de Ste. Philomene), who arrived in Limerick in 1850, bringing knowledge of Belgian lace-making. ... Moreover, the lace-making skills was soon extended into Limerick's Presentation Convent, Sisters of Mercy Convent, and their affiliated school."

'Something Borrowed: women, Limerick lace and community heirlooms in the Australian Irish diaspora'  p 12, published in Social History, 45(3), 2020, Queen's University Belfast. 

Lace-making in Ireland's convents had become a way of providing an opportunity for women and girls affected by poverty  to learn new skills, and a way of "rescuing fallen women".  When the Sisters of the Good Shepherd arrived in Australia in 1863, they continued using needlework and lace-making as tools for their work reforming the women who had fallen on hard times.

So the story of the family heirloom veil appears to start with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd and then the veil became the property of the matriarch of the Shaw family.  I'm not entirely sure how the veil came into the hands of Elizabeth from nuns in Hobart.  Elizabeth had spent her teenage years in Charters Towers after emigrating with her parents and siblings from England.  She married in Charters Towers and lived her married life there.  I have not found any evidence that the Sisters of the Good Shepherd had established a convent or school in Charters Towers at any point in that town's history, so how did that connection come about?  Research will continue on that point.

The heirloom veil then started its journey down through three generations of Shaw family brides from 1935 onwards.

Elizabeth's daughters / daughter-in-law / niece

1935 was a particularly busy year in the life of the veil.  To date, I've discovered that it was worn that year by four brides at least - Elizabeth's two daughters, a daughter-in-law and a niece.

The collage below shows my great grandaunt, Elizabeth Shaw nee Farrell, at the top along with her two daughters, Dorothy Alma Shaw, Margaret Hilda Shaw and a daughter-in-law Esme Aitkin, who all wore the veil.

Dorothy and her sister Margaret (Hilda) both married in Innisfail, Queensland.  Esme married Edwin in Bundaberg, Queensland. 

It seems that Margaret Hilda (Hilda) also loaned the veil to her cousin, Rita Irene Davies, for her wedding to Harold Bugg on December the 26th 1935, in Auburn, New South Wales.  Unfortunately I have been unable so far to find a photo of Rita on her wedding day.

Elizabeth's granddaughters and grand daughter-in-law

The heirloom veil was then passed on to some of Elizabeth's grandchildren or their partners.

Elizabeth's son Edwin Shaw (who had married Esme Aitkin) had a son named Michael and the veil was passed on to his partner for their wedding day. 

Michael married Natalie Frances Dempsey in Brisbane.  So, the daughter-in-law of Elizabeth's daughter-in-law Esme, also wore the veil.

Elizabeth's daughter, Dorothy Alma Gordon nee Shaw, who wore the veil first in early 1935, passed on the veil to two of her daughters, Jenepher Anne Gordon and Elizabeth Marion Gordon, as well as a daughter-in-law, Joanne Mary Burton.

Jenepher Anne and Elizabeth Marion married in Mosman, New South Wales.  David married Joanne in Hunters Hill, New South Wales.

Elizabeth's great grandchildren

Elizabeth's heirloom veil was also passed down to some of daughter Dorothy Gordon nee Shaw's grandchildren or their partners.  These were Elizabeth's great grandchildren or partners of great grandchildren.

Great grandson Ian Gough (son of Jenepher Gough nee Gordon, grandson of Margaret Johnston nee Shaw) married Sabyene Parry in Townsville.

Great granddaughter Lisa Gregg (daughter of Elizabeth Gregg nee Gordon, granddaughter of Dorothy Gordon nee Shaw) married in Roseville, Sydney.

Great granddaughter Ruth Gordon (daughter of Bruce Gordon, granddaughter of Dorothy Gordon nee Shaw) married in Cremorne, New South Wales.

Great granddaughter Frances Gordon (daughter of Richard Gordon, granddaughter of Dorothy Gordon nee Shaw) married in Melbourne, Victoria.

Great grandson Michael Gordon (son of David Shaw Gordon, grandson of Dorothy Gordon nee Shaw) married Vanessa Audigand in Villeperdue, France.

Great Grandson Nicholas Gordon (son of David Gordon, grandson of Dorothy Gordon nee Shaw) married Victoria Alarcon Argumdeo in Wyoming, U.S.A.

The history of this stunning wedding veil has been passed on to me by second cousin 1x removed David, one of Elizabeth's grandchildren, and I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity to hear about this family heirloom and see so many beautiful photos.  

Suggestions have been made by Conservators at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney that the story of this unique wedding veil be included on the Australian Dress Register - a collaborative online project curated by the Powerhouse Museum about dress in Australia.  I can think of no better place for the story to be preserved, along with all the photographs of each of the brides who wore this veil on their wedding day.