I’m joining Becky in her October Square Photo Challenge over at The Life of B. The rules of the challenge are simple: most photos must be square and fit the theme word Past. Look for #PastSquares. This month we’re travelling back in time in the western Queensland town of Miles and surrounds. We’ll explore the local area and join in the festivities at the Miles Back to the Bush Festival.
The self-guided Collections Tour, where local residents open their homes to share their collections is a popular event at the festival. Some collections are huge and multi-faceted while others are small and specific. Some are vintage objects, some are a little eccentric and some are just for fun. Let’s start at Jan’s place.
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Even in early spring, the days warm up quickly in Miles. Jan’s shaded garden would always provide welcome respite from the heat but, with her array of beautiful gowns hanging under the trees, it’s even more enticing.
Jan’s collection of 18 wedding and debutante gowns have all worn by family members. Some are accompanied by photographs showing the occasion for which the gowns were designed. Probably the most precious is the dress Jan wore for her own wedding, almost 60 years ago.
An added bonus is the collection of baby dresses worn by Jan’s daughters and granddaughters. One of those daughters tells visitors about the lady around the corner who used to make the dresses to order for local families.
Jan’s fabulous dress collection is a beautiful tribute to the women in her family.
oh this is such a brilliant idea – what fun
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It was fun to visit all the homes and meet the locals.
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You’ve given me ideas for our history festival!
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It was a self-guided tour with a list of collections and the locations in the festival brochure. Lots of fun.
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ooh now that is even better, will definitely discuss with rest of volunteers
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What a lovely idea, Carol! I don’t have enough female family members, or a big enough garden, but I still have my wedding frock.
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I have mine too and the bridesmaid dress my sister wore.
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What a lovely idea for showing off collections. This one must have been fascinating – and I like the fact that they are outside with any breeze adding life to them as they move.
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The garden was a lovely setting for all the dresses. I liked that some of them had photos too.
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What a lovely idea! So many people must have collections that are never seen by others.
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Yes, and what a nice way to share them with everyone. We enjoyed finding our way around town.
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I have never heard of such an event before, but what an interesting idea.
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It was great to meet some local people and chat with them, and fun to see their different collections.
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This is wonderful!! What an amazing collection in a beautiful garden. Thank you for sharing because I’ve never seen anything like it.
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It was lovely to see all these gorgeous gowns in such a pretty garden. We had a nice chat with Jan too.
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Fabulous, what a wonderdul community to live in
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Such a brilliant idea. I also love the idea of having photos to give some context. And so beautifully displayed.
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I really liked seeing the photos of all the lovely young women dressed so beautifully in the gowns. They told an interesting story.
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How fun!!!
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We enjoyed visiting all the homes and meeting all the people.
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That was cool that you could go into their homes. Very personal! Sorry for not commenting on your responses. I’m on my phone in the car typing about one word a minute! Lol
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