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The
Sydney 2000 Olympic Games have now finished and have been acclaimed as a
huge success. The first time that The Games were held in Australia was in
Melbourne in 1956, also the year that television started in Australia. In
November that year, Melbourne's much-loved Tivoli Theatre reopened after
an extensive refurbishment with Olympic Follies, a David N. Martin
extravaganza.
Take a trip down memory lane to 'The Tiv' - one of Australia's most
famous vaudeville and variety theatre venues. Some highlights from the Olympic
Follies Programme are reproduced here for your enjoyment... |
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A new era is beginning in the long and colorful history of the Tivoli, Melbourne's most famous variety theatre. The £100,000 refurbishing project just completed has transformed Melbourne's best loved theatre into a theatrical jewel box, a perfect setting for the brilliant shows planned for future presentation. Neither money nor effort has been spared to cater for the comfort of patrons. From both this, and the artistic point of view, Melbourne's Tivoli will stand comparison with any theatre, anywhere. Tivoli architect, Dudley Ward, B.Arch., A.R.I.B.A., A.R.A.I.A., and builders, Lewis Construction Co. Pty. Ltd., working at top pressure over the past twelve weeks, may be justly proud of their work. Gone are the wooded forms from "the gods." Gone are "those posts" which heretofore have inconvenienced patrons in the Circle and Stalls. Gone are the footlights, and hidden around the theatre is £10 000 worth of new lighting equipment, eliminating all shadows. The stage has been levelled so as to provide for the production of entertainment in the new wonder medium of Television. But, of course, the Tivoli has much more to it than bricks and mortar, murals and modern equipment and comfortable seats. The Tivoli, for example, has a tradition for staging fine entertainment that links two centuries, for there was a theatre on this site in the 1850's, in the days of the Victorian gold rush. Over the years, a night at the "Tiv" has been a "must." The Tivoli policy of staging the world's best in entertainment is splendidly upheld in "OLYMPIC FOLLIES" by a group of truly talented performers, headed by "MR. PASTRY" (RICHARD HEARNE), and the international personality, JULIA. "OLYMPIC FOLLIES", David N. Martin extravaganza, is being
presented as one of Melbourne's major attractions at the time of the
Olympic Games, so we therefore welcome Olympic visitors to Melbourne and
to the Tivoli, and as our tribute to a memorable occasion we ask you to
sit back and enjoy "OLYMPIC FOLLIES." |
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| The Architect For Melbourne's New Tivoli Theatre
MR. DUDLEY WARD, who designed and supervised the rebuilding of the Tivoli Theatre, Melbourne, was also responsible for the remodelling of the Sydney Tivoli, undertaken for the Royal Gala Performance, on the occasion of the visit of Her Majesty the Queen. Mr. Ward was also responsible for the designing of Sydney's well-known Minerva Theatre for Mr. David N. Martin in 1939. Sydney architect Dudley Ward's forebears were Victorian pastoral pioneers. More than a century ago Henry Dendy his great-grandfather, established and named his eight square mile Brighton estate, which is now one of the group of cities comprised in the metropolis of Melbourne. Dudley Ward graduated from the Sydney University in 1929 and was subsequently awarded the Australian Medallion by the Board of Architects of New South Wales. After five years in England, Europe and America, he established private architectural practice in Sydney in 1934. He has been personally responsible for many hotels, residential flat buildings, residences, commercial and government buildings, during twenty-two years as a private practising architect. His interests also include active association with pastoral and grazing
development in the New England district of New South Wales. |
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 Poster advertising for Olympic Follies that appeared on trams. Photo courtesy Ross King. |
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The facade of the Tivoli was decorated with Greek / Olympic icons for
Olympic Follies. Photo courtesy Ross King. |
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More
Tivoli info... The Tivoli Theatre site is also very significant, as on this site previously was The Melbourne Opera House. On August 22nd in 1896 at the Opera House, magician Carl Hertz* presented the first projected motion pictures to the Australian public. In 1901 the Opera House was replaced with a new theatre built for vaudeville king Harry Rickards. It was later called The Tivoli. The Tivoli was the home of Melbourne vaudeville for 65 years until it
closed on 2nd April 1966. It reopened in the following month as a cinema.
At about midnight on 4th April 1967 a spectacular fire badly damaged the
Tivoli. What was left of the theatre was demolished and a new office
building erected on the site. Today the Bourke Street building, which
includes The Tivoli Arcade, is home to the RMIT University Business
School.
The
film screening when the Tivoli was |
| Links * Click here for information on The Australian Cinematographe Centenary Celebration. |
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Credits:
Olympic Follies Programme courtesy of Marjorie Powell.
Thanks to Ross King for Tivoli Facade and Tram Poster photos, and for additional
information.
Thanks to Ross Lambert for Tivoli Facade and Tram Poster photo scans.
This CATHS website feature prepared by Martin Powell
Cinema And Theatre Historical Society ~ Victoria Inc. Australia
www.caths.org.au
