Summary

Hand-made wedding dress, nylon and polyester fabric, worn by Adeline Del Vecchio at her wedding ceremony to marry Gilbert Denny at St Mary's church in Thornbury in 1960. The couple (of Italian and English parentage respectively) had migrated separately to Australia from Egypt in 1949 and 1959.

Adeline wore this dress she brought with her from Alexandria, worn at a medium length, a veil attached with a headband handmade of fabric flowers. Adeline also wore white shoes, long satin gloves and a gold chain pendant (only the dress has survived). The dress (and veil) were made by Adeline's mother Mary Xerri who according to the family was an accomplished dressmaker, and renowned in Egypt for her needlework skills.

The collection also holds seven photographs relating to the migration and settlement story of Adeline Del Vecchio and Gilbert Denny.

Physical Description

Wedding dress made from a stiff cream fabric with horizontal bands of reinforced ribbon with gold stripes, interspersed with semi-transparent ruched fabric. Bodice features tucks beneath the bust. Fastens with zipper at side. Short sleeves. Half circle skirt constructed of four frilled layers.

Significance

This wedding dress provides an opportunity to represent experiences of non-Egyptian born families in Egypt during the rise of nationalism and anti-colonialism in the 1930s-1950s (climaxing in the Suez Crisis in 1956); and the resulting migration to Australia. It demonstrates the stories of settlement and re-settlement of people who subsequently arrive in Australia, disrupting assumptions of a simple linear migrant journey.

The collection holds two other migrant stories of 'outsider' experiences in Egypt (Greek-born John Neamonitis and the Mansourian Armenian family) which provide a similar perspective.

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