Wedding portrait mystery remains unsolved

When a very old and beautiful wedding photo was among items donated to the Coast Pet Care charity shop in Silverdale, volunteers decided to do some research.

Store volunteer Janine Arthur says although they could have sold the frame many times over, they wanted to try and get both photo and frame back to a family member.

“We believe the portrait was taken in the late 1930s, which would mean the bride and groom would have been born 1920 or thereabouts,” Janine says. “We wondered if they had some family in the local area.”

She says it’s not the first time that the store has turned detective to return items to original owners, including war memorabilia.

“You could just put it in the shop, or even dispose of it, but history is important and these things can be precious to the right person,” she says.

Social media did not bear fruit, so they spread the word further afield via Timespanner, eventually making contact with someone in Melbourne, and from there, his mother, Barbara Fromont, in Ōrewa.

Last month, Barbara collected the photo from the store, in hopes that it depicts her deceased husband’s uncle Terry’s wedding to Muriel.

Barbara says having looked into it more closely, she is still not 100 percent sure that it is her husband’s uncle and aunt in the image, but the family are enjoying delving into their archives to try and solve the mystery.

She says if anyone else sees the image and believes it may be their relatives, please contact her via the Hibiscus Matters’ editor.