By: Picture Ipswich13th Oct 2026 2:42PMComments from the original 'By The Bremer' post, from the Ipswich Libraries' website:
26/04/2018
hello
i am seeking pictures or articles about ARTHUR OLSEN who was the manager in 1939 of the WINTERGARTEN THEATRE
Librarian response:
In Picture Ipswich we have some images of the Wintergarden Theatre, though we don't have any of Arthur himself. You may however want to look at these images which are available via this link - https://tinyurl.com/yb4hhn8j
I looked up Trove's digitised newspapers for articles about Arthur. Through the years there are mentions of a couple of Olsens with regard to the theatre. If you are interested in looking at this articles from the Queensland Times, they are available via this link - https://tinyurl.com/y97zy3q3
We hope this information is of some interest to you.
By: Picture Ipswich13th Oct 2026 2:41PMComments from the original 'By The Bremer' post, from the Ipswich Libraries' website:
06/10/2015
I would like to obtain permission to use the 1940 photograph of the Wintergarden Theatre in the biography I am writing on my grandfather, Ernest Pitcher, who performed at the theatre in 1925.
Librarian response:
Thank you for commenting on our blog. It is always nice to hear from descendants on people who lived or worked in Ipswich, especially in such an interesting profession at the Wintergarden Theatre. We will also contact you via email shortly with regard to your use of the photograph of the Wintergarden Theatre. Thank you for sharing your Grandfather's memories.
By: Picture Ipswich13th Oct 2026 2:41PMComments from the original 'By The Bremer' post, from the Ipswich Libraries' website:
06/10/2015
My grandfather Ernest Pitcher performed at the Wintergarden Theatre from 05 to 07 December 1925, the same year that the theatre opened. Ernest was a vaudeville performer, a droll comedian, and was performing in "Vaudeville de Luxe and Pictures." Direction was by Birch, Carroll and Coyle Ltd.
By: Picture Ipswich13th Oct 2026 2:40PMComments from the original 'By The Bremer' post, from the Ipswich Libraries' website:
07/07/2014
I've never heard of The Garden Theatre in Silkstone but The Wintergarden Theatre pictured was on the corner of East and Roderick Sts. Diagonally opposite the present Ipswich Library. As a teenager, I performed on stage there in a number of hugh celebratory concerts staged by St. Mary's Parish, including St. Patrick's Day and a welcome home celebration for Mons. Molony featuring songs from all the countries he had visited on an overseas trip.
Going to the movies in the fifties and early sixties was a very dress up occasion (gloves and corsages with pretty frocks). In 1953, when Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation film came to Ipswich, the theatre was packed with school children taken to watch it.
By: Picture Ipswich13th Oct 2026 2:40PMComments from the original 'By The Bremer' post, from the Ipswich Libraries' website:
02/06/2011
Yeah !
It is really good information.And you are providing such nice things.
By: Picture Ipswich13th Oct 2026 2:39PMComments from the original 'By The Bremer' post, from the Ipswich Libraries' website:
30/03/2011
does anyone know where in Silkstone this theatre was situated? I would be very interested to know where and if it is still standing.
By: Picture Ipswich13th Oct 2026 2:38PMComments from the original 'By The Bremer' post, from the Ipswich Libraries' website:
21/03/2011
It's wonderful to read stories about life in Ipswich in the early years. Keep up the good work.
