The History of Australians from Parramatta District - Coursework Example

Running heading: Keeping the past Keeping the past Name Course Tutor 1st November, 2010 Task 1 Keeping the past Abstract This paper examines the history of Australians, particularly those who lived in Parramatta District, an urban centre of Sydney, South Wales. The indigenous people of Parramatta district were Darug speaking and included Wallumedagal, Wategora and Wangal. We look at the evolution of the film industry, with particular inters of the Roxy Theatre, and the culture of film going, during the inter war period. Using the local news paper, the City council’s reports and the National libraries, I extract information relevant to Parramatta, including a picture of Roxy theatre in its earlier years. With the first task, all the information is from the newspaper, “Cumberland Argus. Introduction Keeping the past refers to going back into history and examining our roots. Understanding how people lived, their activities, their way of relating to one another and generally, what mattered to them this is in an attempt to remind us of our pasts, and keep it alive so that we are able to pass it on to future generations. In this paper, we study the past history of Parramattta, an urban centre, in the New South Wale, Australia. Our major focus will be the peoples past activities, social activities, travelling mode, local businesses, and people who made in news. The availed information are obtained form the newspaper. Cumberland Argus & Fruit growers Advocate. Tragic death of two men and the Mayor being peeved News: accidents, deaths, local government officials’ behaviours, investor’s moves Local Businesses; tailoring, medicine practice, trading, bakery, Social activities; skating, theatre and music concerts, cinemas, motor cycling, attending church Movers and shakers; businesses, mayors, coroners, rich business men, and heroes/heroines Advertisements; entertainment options and sports, sales, and new discounts. Parramatta is clearly a busy town, considering the types of activities and the levels of involvements people had in local issues. The most striking news was the death of two, caused by a doctor’s car. The two men, Alfred Gregg (57 years), was a miller, while the second man, Phillip James, a clerk. An inquiry was done into these deaths, unto which the coroner decided it was an accident. Going through the newspaper, it was easy to see that topics that make news in this town were accidents, deaths of renowned people, like Mrs. Sarah Gee, any news concerning the local government officials, like the Mayors, and new investments. To make a living, residents were employed in government offices, involved themselves in local businesses like tailoring, bakery, medicine practice, entertainments like music, and poultry farming. As any other town, people in this town are involved in social activities that brought them together. These activities involved attending Church services, skating, going to music concerts, cinemas, and motor cycling. Advertisements involved announcements of engagements, deaths, business ventures, entertainments, and new products in town... Because of the common naming of streets or directions using “the church”, these people give the picture pf being religious. There could have been a bit of tension in the week following the release of the newspaper. This is evidenced by the highlight of sensitive stories regarding deaths and the mayor. The death of those two men, must have raised questions, prompting an inquiry into the happenings, and provide evidence that the doctor responsible was clearly innocent. The information of the Mayor has been peeved and accused of gross carelessness. News about leaders, especially politicians tend to bring discord and disunity in a society, and Parramatta is no better. For this news to be highlighted on the newspaper, it must have drawn attention from the public as to the Mayor’s conduct. This shows the assertiveness that residents had concerning their leaders’ behaviours, ad the general happening’s in the town. Below is a modern map, of parramattar Task2 History of Roxy theatre Cinemas were first introduced in Parramatta District in 1908, with the first being, “the Bennington picture place”, closely followed by “the butterfly theatre, and by 1915, Parrammatta district also had “Ralph’s star” and the “Alfred theatre”, and the Parramatta Cinema ltd. Company was formed in 1920. The popularisation of movies was by the introduction of “talkies” in the First World War, 1928. By the second world war in the 50’s, televisions had become more popular, reducing, and seemingly dooming the popularity of cinemas. Roxy theatre, located in the western suburb of Parramatta, was opened on the 6th of February, 1930 as a cinema place, built in a Spanish Mission style. By this time, cinema attendance was well over 21 million, while theatre covered 4.5 million. This was mainly because cinemas offered a cheaper form of entertainment compared to theatre. Roxy’s opening was a historical event, attended by a large crowd, and several high ranking individuals and politicians. Its first shows included the crowning of Miss Roxy, the usher’s parade, and music, but the main event was the film,” innocents in Paris”. Roxy was uniquely built with Spanish style, and was reputed as the largest organ in Australian theatre, with its costs approximated at $AU 32,000... The original design of its exteriors included a front façade which was highly ornamented with a series of gable roofs, and steps leading to the theatre, from the southern Horwood palace. The interior was built with a ground floor arcaded vestibule, and theatrettes which were located at each level of the Southern Arcade. It was also complete with a smoking lounge and red velvet upholstery seats. Roxy’s auditorium was divided into three decorative coffers, and was big enough to host 1, 923 patrons. In 1946, during world war two, the “Hoyts” purchased Roxy and for fear of its security, removed its inner ceiling lights, but leaving the ceiling dome. In 1958, Roxy was dismantled and sold, and idly resided in Castle Hill entertainment centre. In 1974, Hoyts made an attempt to sell it, but being classified as an important picture palace by the National Trust of Australia, the were prevented and instead, was carved up into three cinemas in 1975, costing approximately, AU 1, 200,000. In 1976, the original Christie organ reopened Roxy as a Triplex, and in 1982, it was painted and closed till 1988, when its exteriors were repainted... In October 1988, under the Australian Heritage Act 1977, a Permanent Conservation order was placed on Roxy, to protect it from being sold, or demolished. In July 1996,Roxy was renamed Village Roxy 3, after being taken over by the Village theatres, and later in December 2001,bought by Pty Ltd, who are its current owners. Roxy was closed as cinema in 2002, and in 2006, reopened as an entertainment venue, containing a restaurant, bars, and music venues. This cinema was ranked number two in Australia. The picture of Roxy, as it stood in November 1976-78 The picture of Roxy, before being taken over by Hoyts There is currently a plan to conserve Roxy theatre and maintain it as a National Heritage. The Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for Roxy was prepared to respond to its current owner’s proposal to adopt it into a multi purpose entertainment venue. This adaptive had many objectives and reasons behind it, but its main objective was to ensure that it is conserved, and protected from any future demolition or misuse. For this reason, Roxy theatre is listed in Plan No. 28, adding to the list of two other registers, the NSW Heritage Act 1977, and the Australian Heritage Commission act of 1975. The CMP assess the historical and cultural importance of Roxy as a building and its influence to the Australian culture, and the lifestyle of those in Parramatta. The main assessment of significance includes; the theatre provides proof of the changing character of film theatres and film going, from the past to the present. i.e., the theatres auditorium, being able to host 1923 people by 1920, shows the popularity of film going during those years. It also shows the influence films and movies had on the cultures of the Australians. The whole building represents the mass culture of film going, as well as its popularity. Going through the building’s troubled history, going through different management, closures, renovations, and proposed demolitions, the building has survived many problems that can only be related to the changing preferences of moving and film going, and also reflects the process of change of film attendance, starting strongly and slowly diminishing over the past 70 years. The influence of the American culture in Australia is clearly visible, with Roxy theatre being a classic example. Its design is influenced by the American taste in Architecture, and the resultant film attendance is the cause of America’s influence on the cultural life of Australians, “the film going culture” its location is associated with the widespread of population in Parramatta, and the services of these residences like recreational facilities. The description of the opening ceremony, together with the description of the building’s design and beauty clearly shows that these people valued class and comfort. The opening id described to have been attended by top Hollywood actors, high ranking individuals like politicians, and generally, a huge crowd. This shows the excitement and the importance placed on Roxy. It was perceived it improve the living standards of the locals, and place Parramatta on the international map. It was also a huge milestone in the development of Parramatta as it is still the most uniquely and beautiful organ in Australia. Roxy theatre is an outstanding representative example of “the picture palace” of the war period as it is one of the few standing movie theatre from the picture palace’s formative years. An undeniable fact is than it reflects the contemporary norm of the Australians regarding theatre and film going. This is illustrated in the building’s design plus the individuals that can be hosted. In as much as film going was common and almost very one could afford, comfort and style was too compromised. The theatre had to provide class and grandeur in its facilities and decorations. Its interiors were beautifully built, and the auditorium included a smoking lounge and theatrettes. Its design offers information about the Spanish revival style, as its building’s design heavily borrowed the Spanish design, giving it its uniqueness in Australia. Students, historians and people who are interested in historic background for early Australian movies get valuable information by studying the history of Roxy theatre, therefore it provides a historic background of Australian movies, starting from their introduction, the changes that have taken place, and where it is now. Comparing this information offers an understanding of the evolution of film, movies and theatre attendance. The architectural character and subsequent change of Roxy has been greatly influenced by both National and International Development in Film technology (it started with the “talkies”), together with theatre visitation, which significantly reduced with the introduction and popularisation of television. In the report of the Manager development, regarding the refurbishment and alteration of Roxy theatre, the following were the summaries for the general refurbishment and reasons for it. The cinemas at the ground floor were to be converted into entertainment rooms, but maintaining the first floor as a cinema. The multi purpose auditorium was also to be maintained. On the wings of the building, there were new uses to be introduces, like introduction of restaurants / bars, and poker machines. The refurbishment was viewed as an opportunity to save Roxy Buildings a historical landmark, and to continue its use, as it had been idle, unoccupied, leading to the closer of the cinemas and café. Following this proposal, there was no objection from the Heritage council of NSW as they issue ad General Terms of Approval in November 2002. This was a similar response from the Council’s Heritage Advisor. With the need to cater for disabled people under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the building was to be refurbished and provide a stair lift that would improve access to the entertainment area. This refurbishment was to have positive benefits, by allowing the building to be used once again. An inspection was ordered and photographs of proposed developments requested by the council. Together with that, Coogee Bay, a “Beach palace” inspection was also carried out, which revealed the Hotel as a Heritage too. The above proposal was to be approved subject to certain conditions concerning construction and regulations set. The rules and regulations included; The works was to obey the building codes. The applicant was to have home warranty insurance, for excavations and backfilling There must have been a notification of excavation The applicant was tom have toilet facilities on site. The work was only to be carried out 24 hours, 6 days a week, with Sundays as rest days. The applicant was also required to notify the council of prior use. The work was to follow section 73 of compliance certification. It was to operate 24 hours, 7 days a week. This was to specify terms of approval. Dust control measures were to be implemented in accordance with the NSW Environmental protection Authority, and the Protection of the environment Operations act 1997. In order to ensure pedestrians passage and safety, Machines, signs, vehicles or materials from the building site were to be placed out of the path ways and roads. The applicant, was to submit, together with construction certificate, a detailed public and cultural plan for the council’s satisfaction The applicant was to comply with the general terms of approval, issued by the Heritage Council of New South Wales. The overall work was to comply and follow three plans; the schedule of conservation works, the heritage impact statements, and the conservation master plan Building work was to be undertaken under the direction of a Heritage Conservation Architect Considerations were to be made for persons with disabilities and for this, access was to be provided to all levels of the building, in accordance with Council’s city centre Development plan. Detailed plans of the food service area, bar and café, were to be provided, and were to comply with the Council’s code of for the construction for food premises and the NSW food regulations, 2001. These plans were to be submitted to the Principle certifying Authority for appraisal. (CPA) Certification, that the mechanical ventilation systems is installed in accordance with plans and specifications approved, by the (CPA) and that they function in accordance with the Australian Standards AS 1668, was also to be submitted, prior to the building’s use. The waste storage area was to be able to accommodate all wastes from the premise’s use, in accordance with the Council’s waste storage room requirement. With the above documentation, there is no doubt that Roxy is an Australian Historic Landmark that should be taken care of, for the future generation and for the beauty of Parramatta. References Kevin, J. Cork. cinemas of Parramatta City. Sydney: K.J.Cork, 1990. Stephen, H. Norwood and Eunice G. Pollack. Encyclopaedia of American Jewish History, Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, 2008. Peter, Spearritt. Sydney Century: a history. Sydney: UNSW press, 2000. “Tragic Death of two men” The Cumberland Argus, Thursday May 22, 1930 pp1-4 “Roxy Theatre” Parramatta Advertiser, Wednesday February, 2004 “Roxy will relieve its original glories” The Advertiser, August 10, 1988 pp.33 Parramattar City Council Library Services Read More