Marriage: Love and Law exhibition catalogue - Flipbook - Page 96
JUST MARRIED 1974
JUDITH MACCALLUM
Judith Coles and Howard MacCallum married in the
mid-1970s. In 2019, Judith reflected on this era as a time
of pivotal change. She and Howard chose to marry in their
20s and had a church wedding in Sydney’s North Shore.
But many of Judith’s peers took a different path.
On leaving the wedding reception at Windsor Gardens we were surprised
and shocked by the sight of our green HR Holden adorned with shaving cream,
streamers, balloons and cans. There was great hilarity and exclamations
of delight and horror as guests poured out the doors of Windsor Gardens,
the grand old house where the lunchtime reception had been held. ‘Just
Married’ was drawn in shaving cream on the bonnet and on the back of the car,
‘luv at first sight?’ on the right hand side of the car, and ‘Rotaract’ on the left
hand side. Two large eyes with eyelashes covered the windscreen emblazoned
with ‘HIS’ and ‘HERS’.
The photograph was taken as I reached the car in my ‘going away’ dress.
The groom is not in this photograph as he was a few steps behind and closer
to the door of the reception house. Those in the photograph include the
three bridesmaids, several of our friends and relatives, and the minister
who performed the marriage. A photograph taken a few seconds later shows
guests milling around the car as we were each handed a large pin so that
we could burst the balloons that filled the car. I remember bursting half a dozen
before there was enough space to sit! After we were both safely in the car
we drove off, with cans clanging behind us. We didn’t stop to remove any
of the adornments and drove across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In those days
the toll was collected by real people who controlled passage onto the bridge.
The toll collector showed his displeasure as we paid our 20 cents. It was as
if he was thinking about the rubbish he would need to recover if any of the
adornments to our car were to fall off. But he let us through, and we travelled
onto the hotel where we were to stay the night. My brother collected the car
the next day, with most of the adornments still in place.
73 Jack Hickson
Wedding of Judith Coles
and Howard MacCallum,
Longueville
Black and white negative
1974
As much as possible, we did all the tasks for the wedding ourselves.
I made my bridal dress, the bridesmaids’ dresses and my going
away dress. My mother and friends decorated the church and made
the fruit cakes that formed the three-tier wedding cake. We rented
Holden cars for the day for the bridal party and asked friends to be
the drivers. There was a champagne-coloured Holden Statesman
for the bride and groom, and two white Holden Kingswoods for the
bridesmaids and groomsmen. And of course, our friends adorned
our own Holden Special.
State Library of NSW, Australian
Photographic Agency – 38330
73
96
97
