They met at Leggatt’s Ballroom somewhere around 1923/4 when Myrtle was only 17 years old and Lincoln a year older.
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| 1924 'SOCIAL', Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), 16 October, p. 37. , viewed 03 Feb 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146559385 |
Were they there for dancing lessons or there to meet others, we will probably never know.
At the time they met, Myrtle was living with her parents in rented premises behind her sister’s (Doris) shop in Greville Street, Prahran, near the train station. They lived a few doors down from Leggatt’s Ballroom.[i]
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| 1924 'Advertising', The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), 28 May, p. 20. , viewed 03 Feb 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203661732 |
The family moved when Doris got married in 1925 to Percival Carter. They then operated a mixed business (milk bar) to make ends meet.
Lincoln was a member of the Australian Citizen Forces (SERN 205018).[ii] The picture below was in my grandmother’s collection of photos. The couple on the far right are my maternal grandparents Myrtle Bassett & Lincoln Todman.
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| Photographer Unknown, Myrtle Bassett & Lincoln Todman dancing at the ANA picnic, circa 1924, Seymour [B062] |
The back of photo reads “Seymour, ANA day Jan 30th 19?4 Dancing”[?=undecipherable, thought to be 1924] ANA in the acronym for the Australian Natives Association, the event could have possibly been a fundraiser picnic. The event may have been a celebration of Australia Day.
As a member of the Australian Citizen Forces Lincoln may have been in Seymour for training purposes and perhaps Myrtle was visiting for the day ... – if only the photo could talk.
This post is part of Sepia Saturday 404 : 3 February 2018
This post is part of Sepia Saturday 404 : 3 February 2018
Notes:-
“When the ANA was formed, it had two aims to act as a friendly society offering financial support to its members in need, and to promote the moral, social and intellectual improvement of its members. It shunned traditional friendly society practices of ritual and regalia and set its sights on influencing public thinking and government policy on a range of issues related to Australian nationalism.”[iii]
[i] Myrtle Sharp, in conversation with Sandra Williamson, 2008 [authors personal recollection]
[ii] NAA A9301, 205018 TODMAN LINCOLN JAMES : Service Number - 205018 :
[iii] Research Data Australia. (2018). Correspondence [Australian Natives' Association / Australasian Women's Association]. [online] Available at: https://researchdata.ands.org.au/correspondence-australian-natives039-women039s-association/163730 [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].
The ad for the ballroom is an interesting reflection of the times. The dance photo is just so charming. I am jealous I could not find a photo of anyone in my family couple-dancing.
ReplyDeleteI have had the photo for a while but until this Sepia theme I hadn't looked closely at the image or thought much about. Good reason to keep on participating in Sepia Saturday.
DeleteI'm with Wendy. That dancing photo is priceless! I had a great-grand uncle who was a prize-winning waltzer -- and taught for awhile, too -- and I would give anything for a photo of him on the dance floor.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that you don't have a photo of him dancing but I suppose in those days such a photo would be scarce given the cost of photographs and the difficulty in taking images of moving objects.
DeleteMy Mom & Dad took ballroom dance lessons and attended class-sponsored balls. And they taught all us kids to dance - the waltz, fox trot, tango, rumba, samba, mambo . . . and I loved dancing all those dances. The only problem was it was hard to find guys my age who knew how to do them. One boyfriend actually asked my Dad to teach him some steps so he could do the dances with me. What a sweetheart. Not the one I married, however.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand there is a high demand for men who can dance well. I also took ballroom dancing lessons when I was young but as my eventual partner didn't like to dance I didn't take it any further
DeleteA perfect photo for the theme, with wonderful movement! I blinked at the term "milk bar", which I've not heard of before. Now thanks to Wikipedia, I understand that it's the Australian equivalent of a corner shop or deli.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes forget that our (Australian English) is different to other versions of English both American and Queens english.
DeleteMy first question was about milk bar...thanks to Mike for answering it for me. That's such a great photo of the dancers posed for you, of your grandparents.
ReplyDeleteWhat Joyfull Dancing ! They Look To Be Having A Ball!
ReplyDelete