Page 6 - CinemaRecord #11R.pdf

Melbourne's (and Australia's) Centenary Of Film Projection By Fred Page

On 22 August.1896, Carl Hertz presented the first public demonstration of projected film in a theatre in
Australia. Born Louis Morgenstein in San Francisco in 1859, he arrived in Melbourne on 11 August, 1896 with
the reputation of being one of the worlds best known and most traveled magicians. As part of his act he
presented films on a "Theatrograph" projector he purchased in London from R.W. Paul, the machines'
manufacturer.
The Theatrograph was demonstrated at the Opera
House (site of the later Tivoli Theatre, 249 Bourke
St, Melbourne) on Monday, 17 August, 1896. This
demonstration took place around midnight before
an invited audience of theatre folk and
representatives of the press. The presentation
enjoyed a warm reception and the following
Saturday, August the 22nd, the "cinematograph"
advertised as the "greatest attraction of the century",
had its' public debut. The program consisted of the
following films, each of about 55 seconds duration:

* Seascape with waves in motion.
* Scene from 'Trilby" - Death of Svengali.
* Westminster Bridge.
* London street scene.
* Kimpton Park races.
* A military review.
* Boxing cats.
* Gaiety (U.S.) company ballet.
* Negro dances.
* Serpentine dance.
* Sword combat on horseback.
* Burlesque boxing match.
* Scene on London Bridge.
* The Soldier's Courtship.

The films were not spliced together as the projector
mechanism was not strong enough to cope with that
amount of film without damaging it. As a result Hertz
had to thread each film separately. The program
was sourced from both England and America.

The projector was situated at the back of the stage
and used a translucent screen. In spite of the fact
that the light was weak and the focus and registration
anything but perfect, the show was an immediate
hit with glowing reports in the papers. The show
continued before packed houses and transferred to
the Sydney Tivoli on the 17th of September.

None-the-less, movies continued at the Melbourne Opera House after a few days break, this time using an
improved "Theatrograph" projector, a Mr. Baxter being the projectionist with a new series of films. This show
toured many theatres under the Opera House management of Harry Rickards until May 1897.
By this time the Lumiere Company had entered the local market with superior equipment and films and
consolidated their position with local production of actuality films, the most well known being the Melbourne
Cup of 1896, which was screened at the Princess Theatre on 19 November, 1896. One day later (20 November)
the Princess concluded screening a Lumiere program which had commenced three weeks earlier.

Henceforth, films continued to be shown throughout the country, a situation that continues with no sign of
abating 100 years on. (Referen·ce: Cinema Papers, 1992)