Adversity & Resilience: Entertainment & The Arts

Too close for comfort
In the early years, Ipswich had received every touring theatre and music troupe but now, major performances were said to be bypassing the city. Poor facilities were part of the problem, but the promoters also reasoned that it was so close for Ipswich people just to go to Brisbane. A great opportunity to build a well-equipped Town Hall had been lost in 1909 when the Council wanted to borrow money for a new building, large enough for big crowds such as the eisteddfod and provided with modern stage equipment to attract touring theatre companies. The proposal was vetoed after a local poll was held and throughout the difficult years of the 1920s and 30s, the opportunity did not arise again. [1]

Chauvel film set in Ipswich
In the 1920s, a local resident Charles Chauvel made a film which was to assume lasting national significance - The Moth of Moonbi. Chauvel grew up at “Summerlands” at Mutdapilly. His father wanted him to stay on the family property, but Chauvel instead went to Sydney to study art. He also enrolled in a boxing school run by Snowy Baker. There was an interesting Ipswich connection here: Snowy was making silent films with former Ipswichian Edward Carroll. Chauvel was given a small part in “The Jackaroo of Coolabong” and was hooked on film for life. He went to Hollywood where he worked for Snowy Baker, touring California with a whip-cracking performance. After two years taking odd jobs around the film studios, Chauvel returned to Australia. He addressed organisations including the Ipswich Chamber of Commerce on the need for an Australian film industry and set up his own company “Australian Film Productions Ltd”. Chauvel made his first film “Moth of Moonbi” at the end of 1925 when he was just 24 years old. It tells the story of Dell who comes to Moonbi as a small girl with her father. When she inherits money, she goes to the city but soon fritters it all away. She returns to Moonbi and, after several complications, is united with her true love.

A few scenes appear to have been shot near the Chauvel family home, with local landmark Mt Flinders noticeable in the background. Other scenes were shot at historic Franklyn Vale homestead near Grandchester where several buildings glimpsed in the film are still standing. Scenes for the selection were shot near Mt Castle. [2]

The talkies arrive
The Wintergarden Theatre was built in East Street for Birch, Carroll and Coyle in 1925. The architect was H.E. White of Sydney who designed all the theatres for this firm. It was a true “picture palace” in its heyday - it seated 2000 people, had a promenade floor, two palm courts, two theatre boxes and an upper gallery. It opened as a silent film theatre, but in 1929, it announced “Hear what you see – the entertainment miracle of the age”. The talkies had arrived. Electricians and sound engineers from Western Electric had installed a Vitaphone sound system and the first film shown was “The Jazz Singer” starring Al Jolson. A local reviewer was enraptured although he was alarmed to hear Jolson say things like “You ain’t seen nothing yet”. The Americanisation of Australian speech had begun.

With its ample stage facilities, the Wintergarden found wider use than just cinema. Its astonishing range of activities includes vaudeville productions, strike meetings, a military ball, screen tests, children’s shows on Saturday mornings, local heats of the 1927 Miss Australia contest and performances by the Ipswich Wintergarden Ballet whose photo suggests a chorus line rather than classical ballet. Going to “the pictures” was still quite an occasion. Seats could be booked in advance and several usherettes in starched uniforms presided. At intervals, boys with trays walked around to sell chocolates and ice-creams.

Other local picture theatres of this time included the Rialto at Downs Street North Ipswich, the National Hall and the Alpha in Station Road at Booval and Parkside in Brisbane Street. The old Lyric with its sliding roof was converted into a motor garage in 1925. In the days when cinemas showed two films in each session, some of the cinemas swapped films at half time with a rush trip between venues. Like the Wintergarden, they also offered extra attractions, particularly during the Depression. Patrons were served a cup of tea at matinees and grocery raffles were held at interval. [2]