Dorothy Shiels - 1969

Dorothy Cynthia Shiels nee Murrell

1969

Dorothy is my cousin, the daughter of my Aunty Glad (Gladys Ann Murrell nee Glover). Aunty Glad is my mother's sister. Dorothy is also my godmother. She is proudly pictured here at Dee Why on Sydney's Northern Beaches in 1969, with her newly-purchased Mini.

Dorothy Shiels & Kerry Wright - 1961

Dorothy Shiels & Kerry Wright

1961

Whilst recently conducting a major house clean, I came across this charming photo secreted within the pages of a book in my library. I’d forgotten I had it. It was taken at a family wedding reception at the grand old Australia Hotel (since demolished) in Martin Place, Sydney, in late 1961, just a couple of weeks after my twelfth birthday. With me is my cousin and godmother, Dorothy Cynthia Shiels nee Murrell (b.1923), who is the daughter of my mother’s sister, Gladys Murrell nee Glover. Yep, it’s true, I really do have a godmother named Dorothy. No wisecracks about Fairy Godmothers, please! (wink) Dorothy and I have always been very close and remain so to this day. We see each other regularly and our next such meeting will be on May 24, when we plan on making an excursion to the Art Gallery of New South Wales together. I’m so looking forward to it. It was Dorothy who first took me to the AGNSW when I was just a little boy, back in the 1950s. She was also the first to take me to live theatre and other assorted museums and galleries around town, here in Sydney. It’s Dorothy I have to thank for awaking in me my enduring love and interest in culture and the arts. My very own Auntie Mame! 

Possibly Sarah Jane Turner with her youngest daughter, Sarah Anne - ca.1880

Possibly Sarah Jane Turner

with her youngest daughter, Sarah Anne

ca.1880

I came upon this photo only recently amongst my late mother's (Emily Flora Wright nee Glover) personal effects. As with most of the photos in her collection, there's nothing to indicate who these people are. It seems to have been a tradition in my family to never write anything on the back of family photos. For that reason, I don't know for sure who these people are.

Mum's mother, Louise Mary Glover nee Turner was born in 1870, meaning she'd be about the age of this woman around the turn of the century, if that's when this photo was taken. However, as she didn't marry until 1899, it is unlikely to be her, as this appears to be a mother and child study to me.

The fact that the photo was taken at Falcon Studios in North Sydney is an indication that they are from my Mum's side of the family, not Dad's. Louisa Mary's family had a farm at Roseville Chase at that time, near the present Roseville Bridge, not all that far from North Sydney, whereas Dad's family lived far away in the upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales.

My cousin, Dorothy Shiels (b.1923), believes this may be Louisa Mary's mother, my maternal great-grandmother, Sarah Jane Turner nee Senior (1850-1889), with her daughter, Louisa Mary (my grandmother), as a child, meaning it would date from the 1870s.

Confused? Me too!

What Dorothy's hypothesis does not explain, however, is why Louisa Mary was photographed alone with her mother and not with her twin sister, Theresa Jane, also being present. Surely the twins, Louisa and Theresa, would have been photographed together with their mother.

Sarah Jane Turner had two other daughters, Elizabeth Emily (1876-1802) and Sarah Anne (1878-1947), so it may be one of them photographed with their mother.

Sarah Jane predeceased her husband, my maternal great-grandfather, William Turner (1844-1892), in 1889, aged 38. William died only a few years later, in 1892, aged 48.

They left behind six orphan children, the youngest of whom was Sarah Anne, aged just 14 at the time of her father's death.

It seems reasonable to assume that my grandmother, Louisa Mary, the eldest child, took Sarah Anne under her wing, following the death of their father. Louisa Mary was 22 when their father died. She was unmarried at the time, not marrying until 1899. Certainly, they remained close throughout their lives, Sarah Anne being known affectionately throughout the family as Aunty Doll.

If this is, indeed, a photo of my great-grandmother, Sarah Jane Turner, with her youngest child, Sarah Anne, I am prepared to venture that it may have been found and kept by my mother, Emily Flora Wright nee Glover, within the possessions of her mother, Louisa Mary Glover nee Turner, following the death of the latter.

By way of background as to the reason for William Turner's early death, the story in the family has it that he left the farm at Roseville Chase one morning, bound for the markets in Sydney. He was driving a horse and dray. The horse returned to the farm alone, later in the day. A search party went out, and William was found dead by the side of the road, crushed under the dray, which had rolled on top of him. The reason for the accident is unknown.

I do not know the reason for Sarah Jane death at the age of 38.

I guess we'll never know for sure who these people are! Genealogy can be so frustrating!

Dorothy Shiels - 1952

Dorothy Cynthia Shiels nee Murrell

1952

Here is my cousin and godmother, Dorothy Cynthia Shiels nee Murrell (b.1923), the daughter of my mother's sister, Gladys Murrell nee Glover.

This photograph was taken in 1952 at the wedding of Dorothy's friends, Judy Aldridge and Ken Wells. The ceremony took place at historic St Philip’s Church in York Street, Sydney. Dorothy was Judy’s bridesmaid. 

The photograph has only recently been made available for me to scan, so it’s slightly out of chronological sequence here. Dorothy celebrated her 88th birthday last Wednesday, Nov 2. We met-up for lunch at the picturesque, riverside village of Brooklyn, located an hour north of Sydney, where we enjoyed a lovely seafood meal at the marina, overlooking the beautiful Hawkesbury River. 

Dorothy is amazing for her age, appearing a good ten-plus years younger than she actually is. She’s diminutive, sprightly and active, and lives independently of any assistance. She is actively involved in her local community on the Central Coast and traveled to our lunch via train, no sticks or walkers required! I hope I’ve got her good genes! After lunch, we walked along the pretty riverbank and sat on a parkbench overlooking a glorious vista of the Hawkesbury River’s vast, sweeping expanse. It was a lovely day, shared with a very special person.

Dorothy Shiels & Kerry Wright - ca.1955

Dorothy Shiels & Kerry Wright

ca.1955

This is the earliest photo I can find of me with my cousin, Dorothy Shiels, who is also my Godmother. Dorothy is the only child of my Aunty Glad (my mother's older sister) and Uncle Eric, Gladys & Eric Murrell. 

In this photo, we are at South Narrabeen beach in Sydney, not far from where we lived, in nearby Mactier Street. Mactier Street terminates in the Pacific Ocean at its eastern end. I lived at the eastern end of the street, only a short walk across Pittwater Road from the beach. Dorothy lived a little further away, at the western end of the street, near Narrabeen Lake. Because of its close proximity, I seem to remember spending most of my summers, and a good deal of the rest of the year, on South Narrabeen beach. It was my equivalent of a park or playground. I loved the beach, as a child. 

In this photo, Dorothy and I are sitting near the waterline, going by the wet sand we're sitting on - and a tiny wavelet can be seen at left. I'm looking out to sea. I have a glob of white, zinc cream on my nose, to protect it from sunburn. The view is looking southward along the beach with South Narrabeen Surf Club in the background, where my brothers were life savers (lifeguards) and beyond that can be seen the escarpment of Collaroy Plateau.

Dorothy Shiels with John, Robert & Alan Wright - ca.1945

L-R: John Wright, Dorothy Shiels, Alan Wright (front) & Robert Wright - ca.1945

This sweet photo of my three older brothers L-R John, Alan and Robert Wright with our cousin, Dorothy Shiels nee Murrell, who is also my Godmother, was taken some five years before I was born. I can has it a guess, however, as to the story behind it. 

When I was a child, Dorothy would take me for excursions to the City (we lived at Narrabeen on Sydney's Northern Beaches, some 23km [14 miles] from the City) to attend live theatre (children's matinees and pantomimes) and visit galleries and museums. And I'm guessing that's what she is doing with my brothers here. 

Such outings in Dorothy's company had a profound influence on my cultural awakening and upbringing and I will always be grateful to her for that. And they were exciting too, because they involved either a trip on the top-deck of the double-decker 190 Wynyard bus or a ferry trip across the Harbour from Manly. 

Alas, however, from what I remember of my brothers, their primary interests were in football and surfing, so I'm not sure that Dorothy's cultural expeditions had the same impact on them, as they did on me. 

My three older brothers had largely grown out of such things by the time I was old enough to join Dorothy on her outings and I had her all to myself. I was like an eager sponge, soaking-up everything she had to impart. I was a delicate, effete child, who was destined to grow-up gay, and had a natural, inherent interest in the arts. 

That's not to say my brothers didn't enjoy their outings with Dorothy. I'm sure they did. I can't help but think, however, that they may have been just as happy kicking a football around the back-yard at home. 

This was an era when people "dressed" to go to the City, even if it was just a mundane shopping trip. My mother has clearly spiffed-up my brothers in their Sunday best here and Dorothy looks resplendent in her 1940s ensemble and hairstyle.  

Dorothy Shiels - ca.1940

Dorothy Shiels - ca.1940

Such a lovely, sunny smile from my much loved cousin and Godmother, Dorothy Shiels nee Murrell. Dorothy was born in 1923, so I am guessing (in the absence of a recorded date) that this photo was taken some time in her late teens, around 1940. Dorothy took her Godmother role very seriously and told me on more than one occasion that she looked upon me as the child she never had. She married late in life and had no children. She had a major influence on my cultural upbringing, taking me to live theatre and  galleries from a relatively young age. Those experiences profoundly influenced my young psyche and, ultimately, my adult cultural life. I will always be grateful to Dorothy for this. I was not yet a twinkle in my father's eye, however,  when this photo was taken, some ten years prior to my birth. 

Dorothy Shiels with John & Alan Wright - ca.1942

L-R: Dorothy Shiels, Alan Wright, John Wright - ca.1942

My cousin, Dorothy Shiels nee Murrell, with my brothers, L-R, Alan and John Wright. Dorothy is the daughter of my mother's sister, my Aunty Glad (Gladys Ann Murrell nee Glover). Both Aunty Glad and Dorothy played prominent roles in the lives of my three brothers and myself. They lived nearby, in the same street, and we saw much of them. Aunty Glad's husband, Uncle Eric (Eric Murrell) was somewhat reclusive. He rarely came to family functions and we saw little of him. John is my eldest brother, my parent's first-born, and Alan is the brother closest in age to me (almost 10 years older than me). Because my brothers were all so much older than me (John is old enough to be my father), I virtually grew-up as an only child and was very much doted upon by my loving parents. This photograph was taken where my family then lived, at 10 Mactier Street, Narrabeen, in Sydney.

Dorothy Shiels & Alan Wright - ca.1945

Dorothy Shiels & Alan Wright - ca.1945

My brother, Alan (Alan George Wright), with my cousin, Dorothy Cynthia Shiels nee Murrell. Dorothy is my Aunty Glad's (mother's sister) only child. She is also my Godmother. Dorothy played an important part in the development of my artistic and cultural appreciation, but that wasn't to occur until at least another couple of decades after this photo was taken. With Dorothy and Alan is the family pooch, Bill.