A BRIEF HISTORY OF HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE

Her Majesty's has been a central part of the cultural life of Ballarat since it first opened its doors in 1875. Australia's best preserved theatre building, it has been continuously used as Ballarat's home of live performance ever since. It has been owned and operated by the City of Ballarat since 1987 and functions as Ballarat's performing arts centre.

The Theatre was first known as the Academy of Music, a name calculated to overcome religious and temperance scruples against patronising a "theatre." The Academy had a flat floored auditorium suitable for dances and dinners, and a fully equipped stage. It was built to supersede Ballarat's Theatre Royal (1858), which stood around the corner in Sturt Street. While very grand, the Royal had become outdated and no longer met the technical requirements of the touring companies.

The Academy was built by the wealthy Clarke family at the initiative of a group of local people who felt that Ballarat, as the premier city of the Victorian goldfields, should have a theatre worthy of its status. They guaranteed to rent it from the Clarkes at 10% of the construction cost, which was £13,000.

The building of Ballarat's handsome new theatre was supervised by the architect, George "Diamond" Browne. It was ready ahead of schedule, and was opened on 7th June 1875. The first production was a comic opera by the French composer Lecocq, "La Fille de Madame Angot," presented by the Royal Opera Bouffe Company run by W. S. Lyster, Australia's first opera impresario.

Soon after the Academy opened, the large Supper Room above Lydiard Street was leased to William Bridges, a former miner, who ran it as an art gallery, displaying an excellent collection of European and Australian artworks, including his own tapestries. After Bridges moved his operations to Melbourne in 1883, the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery was formed. The Gallery Society ran the Gallery from the Academy from 1884 until 1890, when the present Art Gallery in Lydiard Street North was opened.

For the next twenty five years, the Academy of Music was unchallenged as Ballarat's main theatrical venue. It was never as popular as the old Theatre Royal, however, as the rather cavernous hall lacked the intimacy of the older playhouse. In 1898, when Sir William Clarke died, the building was bought by a local consortium and transformed into the delightful theatrical space we know today.

The new owners commissioned Australia's leading theatre architect, William Pitt, to remodel the interior and improve the stage facilities. Pitt, who had been apprenticed to "Diamond" Browne, also designed Melbourne's Princess Theatre. The present layout of the auditorium with sloping floor and double balconies, is Pitt's creation. The colour scheme is a recreation of the interior decoration undertaken at that time by Hugh Paterson, one of Melbourne's leading designers.

Paterson also decorated the dome and proscenium arch with murals. The mural in the dome depicted a carnival scene, with dancers in fanciful costumes; Comedy and Tragedy were featured on either side of the proscenium arch, with Shakespeare over the top. Unfortunately all the murals were destroyed in 1907 when Government regulations required the proscenium wall to be replaced with a solid firewall. The dome was removed at the same time for structural reasons, and was restored in 1990. The Dress Circle Lobby also dates from 1907.

From the First World War on, the Theatre was increasingly used for cinema presentations, although it was always available for live performances, and was regularly used by J. C. Williamson's and other touring companies as well as local groups. Throughout the 1940's and 50's huge crowds came to see the annual pantomimes staged by the Wavie Williams Pantomime Company. For the last forty years, the Theatre has been used to stage locally produced musical comedies.

Her Majesty's was known for presenting MGM and Paramount movies. A Bio Box (projection room) was built above the Dress Circle Lobby in 1916, and the Theatre was wired for sound in 1930. Earlier, during the silent movie era, a theatre orchestra provided the film accompaniment. The Ballarat Theatre Organ Society installed the Theatre's magnificent Compton Theatre Organ in 1982.

In 1965, the Theatre was bought by the Royal South Street Society, and saved from demolition. The Society had last used the building in 1907. The Theatre became the home of the Society's Annual Competitions, which are still held annually in the Theatre between August and November. The Society was unable to adequately maintain the upkeep of the building, however, and gifted it to the then City of Ballaarat in 1987.

The City undertook a major renovation, seeking funding from a wide range of businesses, individuals and organisations. The Theatre reopened as Her Majesty's on 1st November, 1990.

Her Majesty's is a professionally equipped and staffed performing arts centre. The Theatre presents an annual Theatre Season of touring professional and local productions. It is also hired for professional tours, local productions, school concerts, dance recitals, and conferences. There is usually a display of historical material on the walls of the Theatre's magnificent Long Room Bar, with images drawn from the Theatre's Archive Collection. Her Majesty's occaionally presents an annual Birthday Concert in June, celebrating the Theatre's role in the community and its history.