Colligan, Cremorne, 1995

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(Nathaniel Hawthorne, English Notebooks.)'

National Ubrary supplies copies of thisartIcle under licence from the CopyrightUmited (CAL). Further reproductions ofthis artIcle can only be made under licence.

CREMORNE GARDENS, RICHMONDAnd the Modelled Panoramas 1853 to 1863

Mimi ColliganWe saw the scenery ofSebastopol, painted on a vast scale, in the openair, and really looking like miles and miles of hill and water scenery;-with space for the actualmanoeuvring of ships on a sheet of real waterin front of the scene, on which some ducks were swimming about, inplace of men-of-war.

THE NAME 'CREMORNE' has lent itself to places of outdoor andtheatrical entertainment throughout Australia since the 1850s.Indeed the Sydney suburb took its name from the Cremorne pleasuregardens which opened in Mosman in 1856. Later in the century on theother side of the continent, Perth in 1895 and Kalgoorlie in 1907 eachboasted a Cremorne Gardens and Cremorne Theatre. St Kilda in the 1910salso had a Cremorne Tea Gardens on the Esplanade where Pierrot showsand early showings of motion pictures were popular. The names of all thesevenues, I believe, were inspired by Melbourne's Cremorne Gardens atRichmond which opened in 1853.

The origin of the word 'Cremorne' in the world of popular enter-tainment lies in the County Monaghan, Ireland, the seat of the Earls ofCremorne. Their London house in Chelsea was also named Cremorne andthe house and its grounds were turned into a place of entertainment knownas Cremorne Pleasure Gardens in the early nineteenth century.Pleasure gardens had been popular in Europe for many years. InLondon, Vauxhall Gardens and Surrey Zoological Gardens were amongmany providing summer entertainments ranging from outdoor dancing tomodelled panoramas featuring firework shows. The modelled panoramareached its most elaborate form at SurreyGardens. From 1837 to 1856 there

was a change of picture every summer, ranging from Vesuvius and Romethrough the Great Fire of London to the Siege of Sebastopol.'Unlike other forms of English panoramas, those of Surrey Gardens,and later those of Cremorne, were three dimensional. Erected on a scale

of a quarter of an inch to the foot, they were constructed of timber andplaster as well as painted canvas and were up to one hundred feet high.Cultural historian, Richard A1tick likens them to a modern movie set.' Thepictures seem to have been of high quality, although painted thickly towithstand the weather,' and their illusion was apparently still effective in122

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Mimi Colligan - Cremorne Gardens, Richmond 123daylight.' Most were painted by the scenic artist and panoramist GeorgeDanson. The lake at Surrey Gardens was an essential part of the show:the model was par tly built around it, and it stood in for various bodiesof water such as the Bay of Naples or the Tiber or the Thames. It couldbe used in mock battle scenes and was a good reflector for the nightlyfireworks display.'

In 1846 a rival to Surrey opened near Chelsea on the banks of theThames. James Ellis, a speculating caterer was the manager. The enter-prise was called Cremorne Gardens. Like most pleasure gardens of theperiod it contained an outdoor bandstand and dance floor, theatre, shootinggallery, and became a popular venue for balloon flights.'The first Australian connection came when the manager of London'sCremorne, James Ellis, was persuaded by bankruptcy and news of theAustralian gold rushes to migrate to Melbourne. After arriving in 1852he set up dancing rooms in the ramshackle circular building on the corner

of Bourke and Spring Streets, known variously as Noble's Circus, theOlympic Circus, Ellis's Circus, Salle de Valentino and the VictoriaPromenade." In 1853, he opened a new Cremorne on the banks of the YarraRiver.

Ellis and Scott1853-1856'Cremorne Gardens confers a national benefit, not only in a sanitarypoint of view, but also by furnishing the people with an economicaland entertaining means of relaxation, consistent with the climate ofthis country . . . thus diverting the popular mindfrom brooding over

imaginary public wrongs.The location of the Ellis enterprise had been the home of ColonialArchitect, Henry Ginn. The ten-acre site was about two miles fromMelbourne on the banks of the Yarra River and contained establishedgardens and a lake. These were further developed by Ellis. Not surpris-ingly, Ellis named his riverside enterprise Cremorne Gardens.

The Argus devoted a long column to the description of the gardens,describing the intricately carved pagoda, housing the orchestra in the middleof the outdoor dance-floor. Ornamented in a bizarre mixture of Greek,Gothic and Chinese styles, this 'Rotunda' , similar to those in Englishpleasure gardens, was prefabricated in New York. The dance-floor was threehundred feet in circumference. lO Arbors, grottos and a 'Swiss Staircase' wereamong the other attractions. The staircase wound around a tall tree to aplatform near the top. People could also be lifted to the top by a basket


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124 Victorian Historical Journal Vol 66, No. 2, October 1995and pulley." As in London, firework displays and tight-rope performanceswere important attractions. The entrance fee varied between half-a-crownand one shilling. The provision of a paddle-steamer, the Gondola, fromApril 1854, made access easier for patrons." Ellis had a struggle with manyproblems at Cremorne. A particular one was the licensing law. In a petitionto Lieutenant-Governor Hotham dated 27 December 1854, Ellis complainedof the recent prohibition of Sunday opening. This, he claimed, had puthis business, in which he had invested 14,000, in jeopardy." Ellis had beenprosecuted in February 1854 for not selling liquor to travellers on a Sunday,yet he was in breach of the law i f he ' sold out of the hours of one to threep.m:" The petition throws some light on the numbers and types of visitorsto the early Cremorne. Ellis claimed that 'as many as five thousand personshave visited his establishment on one Sunday afternoon, comprising ...persons of every degree of society'. He also argued that Sunday openingallowed workers to attend. Ellis was writing in the month of the EurekaRebellion and his argument that such entertainments as Cremorne woulddivert 'the public mind from imagined wrongs',15 was calculated to swaythe Lieutenant-Governor, harassed as he was by post-Eureka concerns.

This seems a rare expression of a showman frankly espousing the ideaof entertainment as a means of imposing social control on a potentiallyrebellious population. Ellis was perhaps using special pleading where therewas, in fact, no real danger. His argument, however, reflects the ideasexpressed in the many articles in British and Australian newspapers of theperiod, about the virtues of rational amusement." In this case, Ellis's estab-lishment was itself a glorified 'gin-palace and beer-hall', and Hothamignored his pleas.

Ellis struggled on and introduced the tight-rope dancers Madame DellaCasse and M. Lalanne. Of Della Casse's crossing of the lake on a ropeslung from a ' lofty tree', the Argus critic wrote: 'The exploit is indeedwonderful and exhibits an amount of physical intrepidity rarely to be foundin a lady'." In his Life in Victoria, William Kelly remarks that Ellis's failurewith Cremorne was caused by the 'intervention of the lip-saints, the owl-looking evangelicals, who managed to procure a prohibition against sellingspiritous or fermented drinks on a Sunday'." By mid-1855 there was a newproprietor: W.P. (Percival) Scott."It was Scott who added the modelled panorama to the attractions of

Cremorne. In late November a picture model of Sebastopol was advertisedin the Melbourne press to open on 3 December." News of the successfulsiege of Sebastopol in early September 1855, did not reach Melbourne untilmid-December," but people were aware of the long siege, which had beenreported through the year in the newspapers.The picture was described as an 'immense painting on 18,000 feet ofcanvas'. Cremorne lake was to be used for the model fleet of the Allied


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Mimi Colligan - Cremorne Gardens, Richmond 125Squadron as it assaulted the city of Sebastopol with fireworks," Thepyrotechnist was 'Professor Prescot!, late of Surrey Gardens, London'.nIn the event, however, the presentation was delayed, The young Englishscenic artist William John Wilson (1833-1909)" who had arrived inMelbourne in March 1855, had been employed by Scott to design, paintand oversee construction of the three-dimensional view of the scenery andfortresses of Sebastopol. The model measured 'nearly four hundred feetby fifty feet high'," Scott announced the postponement on 4 Decemberclaiming that he found it 'impossible to complete the various and exten-sive arrangements necessary'.25 In mid-December it was announced to openon 24 December. It was not complete on the opening night but the Arguspronounced that portion of it which was finished was generally admired '."A further delay occurred when an incendiary detonated the fireworksprematurely, severely damaging the project so that it was postponed untilearly January. The public was assured that 'owing to the great exertionsby the talented artist Mr J, Wilson, and his numerous assistants, theMAGNIFICENT PAINTING is now almost finished'," Another disaster befellthe picture model in March when 'violent gales' caused extensive repairs."By the end of January, however, all was running smoothly and the Arguscommended the 'rising young artist, MrWilson', and noted that the Siegeof Sebastopol was the 'first of this description of entertainment providedfor the delectation of the pleasure seekers of this colony' and that it 'formsa somewhat important event in the history of our amusements'.29

Like many scenic artists of the time, Wilson was the son and grandsonof artists and scenic designers. Although only twenty-two years old, hehad been painting scenery since the age of fourteen." At the end of January,Scott gave Wilson a benefit performance, where the gate takings of 400were handed over. 3 1

Night illuminations from '5,000 lamps', and fireworks must have aidedthe illusion of the picture models shown at Cremorne, which until 1862were, in fact, constructions consisting partly of painted flats and cutscenery, The firework display usually began late in the evening with theaudience viewing the show from various parts of the gardens. The day-time view was less charming. Theatre critic Dr James Edward Neild notedthe general tawdriness of Cremorne in daylight: 'The view of Sebastopolsuggested, by its dilapidated condition, the idea that the "Canvas Town"had been veritably bombarded,'"

By May 1856 it is clear that Cremorne was in difficulties - the thenmanager Thomas Macdona, who had contributed to the 'floral ornamen-tation' of the gardens, was taking a benefit and the Argus hoped that peoplewould support him, for, 'his management, though unsuccessful to him-self, was creditable both to his ability and enterprise'," Ellis's claim toHotham that 'all classes' could be entertained at Cremorne was well


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126 Victorian Historical Journal Vol 66, No. 2, October 1995vindicated on Whit Monday, 12 May 1856, when the first procession ofthe Eight Hours Movement in Melbourne culminated in a Grand Fete atCremorne, 'the Vauxhall of Victoria'." Admission to the gardens on thisoccasion was 'Gentlemen, 2s.6d.; Ladies, Is.; Children under 14 years, 6d.'"Starting at Carlton Gardens, fifteen hundred men marched along Nichol-son, Bourke, Elizabeth and Collins Streets to Cremorne. Proceeds of 248were divided between the Melbourne Hospital and the BenevolentAsylum." This was the last function with the Sebastopol picture modelas a backdrop. In June 1856 George Coppin purchased the fee-simple ofCremorne for 10,000.

iiCoppin and Brooke1856-1859

'There are thousands of p eo ple who will s eek a nd find at Cremorne,the means ofrelieving, by harmless recreation, the monotony ofevery-day life in Melbourne . . . who will leave the place gratified, and it maybe instructed.' (Australian Home Companion, 1857, p.33.)In partnership with the tragedian Gustavus Brooke, Coppin became theproprietor of the Theatre Royal and Cremorne Gardens in October 1856.In a letter home dated 27 September 1856, Brooke expressed high hopesabout the enterprise:

'We have purchased Cremorne Gardens, about two miles fromMelbourne. It contains ten acres of land laid out as a Botanical Garden,and part of it devoted to a collection of Australian birds and animals... There is ... a large dancing platform, quite equal to the LondonCremorne. We have laid down a gasometer, and the gardens will bebriliantly illuminated. We have also built there a theatre for Concerts,Vaudevilles, and Ballet, and there is a large sheet of water, on one sideof which will be an immense picture of the City of Naples and theeruption of Mount Vesuvius, which will be accompanied by anenormous discharge of fireworks.'36

Coppin moved into the main house on the estate with his family, " andopened Cremore in 'a spirit of sumptuous hospitality' on 1November 1856.The Argus noted many improvements including the enlarging of theRotunda, the construction of the Pantheon Theatre, a bowling saloon andrifle-gallery, an English maze and an 'interesting collection of birds andanimals'." The newspaper emphasized the

'great attraction of the pictorial model of Mount Vesuvius and the Cityof Naples, upon which Messrs. Piu, Arrigoni, Hennings, and Wilsonhave employed their pencils with great advantage. All the architectural


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MELBOURNE PUNCH.. [APR"- 16, 1857

:MOUNT& E ETC E E D F Jl. 0 j{

VE SUVI.U S,TH E RIVER TJ RR.L

1 . - T h e Cloud-eo.pped Summit.Streo.m.o ()f I.......' ._The SiokllT.'._'rho em...

5 . - T h e Thunrl."..' . -Terr i f ic Erploool1A n:o.dy to go 06-'._The LightDillg.S.--Slltrtern.nean Fireo.' . _Pa r t y .boutiDg .lOW1l the for "1IlOft Mn


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128 Victorian Historical Journal Vol 66, No. 2, October 1995The Australian Home Companion devoted two articles to Cremornein 1856; the first spoke wryly of the Sebastopol picture:'Here it was that, a short season since, the fortress of Sebastopol heldout against terrible pyrotechnic odds, and maintained itself intact, likea Russian Salamander, amid showers of rockets ... our RichmondSebastopol succumbed at last, however, as well as its Crimean original;and Vesuvius, Mr. G. Coppin's own particular mountain, rises in itsstead, and today looms grimly in the middle distance.'"

The new picture of Vesuvius and the City of Naples was declared by theAustralianHome Companion to be equally admirable, 'whether it is viewed,with ever so critical a glance, by day-light, or looked at by an applaudingmultitude at night'. The English photographer Waiter Woodbury, whoworked in Australia between 1854 and 1857, took a series of views ofCremorne between December 1856 and June 1857. Some of these havesurvived and give a very clear idea of the picture model, the dancingRotunda and the Swiss Staircase or Treehouse." In one of the photographs,the peak of the canvas and plaster volcano can be seen looming behindthe dancing rotunda, with the facades of the buildings of Naples in themiddleground. The real hill of the South Yarra side of the river is in thebackground.

Coppin let the Gardens to the Trades' Unions for their second EightHours Day Procession and Picnic on 21 April 1857. For this he charged100." Towards the end of the 1856-57 season in May 1857 the artistWilliam Pitt took a benefit, where a staging of the Battle of Alma includedsoldiers of the 40th Regiment who 'by Kind Permission', assisted with thefiring of the guns in the mock bat tle."The Bombardment ojCanton was the picture for the 1857-1858 season.This was a very topical event. An example of Palmerston's gunboatdiplomacy, it was a conflict which had been proceeding since October 1857and was not to be resolved until early 1858. The journal My Note Bookapproved the picture as the 'best work of its kind we have seen from theable pencils of Messrs. William Pitt, John Hennings, Gpie and Wilson'.. .The journal was also impressed with the use of the lake for the 'severallife-size vessels . . . from which the bombardment of the city is nightlyto be effected'." Dr Neild, writing as 'Christopher Sly' of the jaundiced

gaze, saw through the illusion. His description of a trip up river fromMelbourne gives an idea of the view of the picture model from the river:'The City of Canton, as seen from behind, is full of holes. No wonder:it ought to be utterly destroyed after so many night's bombarding: it looksvery miserable'. HSome of the advertising for the picture and pyrotechnics provides aninsight into the general acceptance of the gunboat diplomacy of the time:


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iit:rI\'' iU I"_ .....I .I .-....... . '.'" .,.. .. '. . . ,.. ' . /!t:t, .....-:a

WaIter Woodbury's photograph (c.1857) ofCremorneGardens showing the dancing Rotundain theforeground and 'Mount Vesuvius'in the background. (Courtesy StateLibraryofVictoria.j'Wanted THOUSANDS of PERSONS To come and see The Grand fac-simile of HOW CHINAWILLBEDESTROYED, by the British and French,if obstinate. One of the most MAGNIFICENT PYROTECHNIC SIGHTSEver known in the colony.'''9Coppin often had to travel to seek new attractions for his many enter-tainment ventures. so During a visit to England to recruit performers forCremorne and the Theatre Royal in 1857, Coppin engaged two aeronauts,Brown and Dean. On 1February 1858" after several false starts, Dean madethe first ascent in Coppin's Balloon, named the 'Australasian'. Dean, usedto ballooning over the green countryside of England, was struck by the

dryness of the Melbourne summer landscape which he saw as 'a dirty buffcolour'." On the same recruiting trip Coppin engaged another pyrotech-nist, Francis Johnston," to join Prescott in handling the large-scale fireworkdisplays that, weather permitting, were a nightly event. The importanceof the pyrotechnics must be stressed; they gave spectacle and an aura offantastic yet heightened reality to the painted canvas modeL In turn, thepicture model enhanced the fireworks by giving them a 'dramatic'framework.


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130 Victorian Historical Journal Vo166, No. 2, October 1995The season of 1858-1859 saw a 'Panoramic Picture, by Messrs. Wm.Pitt, W.J. Wilson, Herr Habbe and assistants ... taken from the Authen-ticated Views of the FALL OFDELHI! '. This dealt with the still topical SepoyRebellion of May 1857." In his Examiner article comparing the earlyCremorne by day and night with that of 1859, Neild commends Coppinon his introduction of copies of European statuary to the gardens, andtakes up the theme of the need for instructive amusement, 'Let us makesuch places as they (the people) resort places of instruction. Many a bitterpill has been swallowed in conserve'. He goes on to describe the 11 o'clock

performance of the Fall oj Delhi:'the musicians have come to pause, preparatory to the grand jinale;the check takers have retired . . . lights flit backward and forward behindthe flats and cut scenery forming the Grand Picture of Delhi; the sequelgun is fired, and the Eastern City is taken over again, to the delecta-tion of the multitude assembled.'"Coppin chose the summer of 1858-1859 to introduce an 'Old EnglishFair' to the Melbourne public. Appropriately called Richmond Fair, it ranat Cremorne from 27 December to I January. Advertisements for the fairbegan as early as 13 November." The conservative Argus severely criti-cized the project in a Christmas editorial. Noting that English fairs suchas Bartholomew had been suppressed for their being at variance with'morality and taste', the leading article ended with the prediction that, 'TheRichmond Fair will be nothing else than a great drinking bout - a week'scarouse - and we shall be very much surprised if any decent people feelthemselves at liberty to patronise it.'S7Coppin, no doubt furious with the newspaper, used subsequent adver-tisements in the Herald to refute the allegations, claiming on 27 Decem-ber that '10,000 "decent people" congregated at Cremorne without onedisturbance taking place . . . ALL CLASSES VISIT CREMORNE". Neild dis-approved of the Fair for other reasons: 'Imitations are almost always failures... The fair at Richmond is an imitation, syllogistically therefore, it isa failure', He found everything too new, the audience too 'respectable'. 59It should be remembered that this was the reaction of a fairly sophisti-cated member of the Melbourne literati. It tells us little about the enjoy-ment experienced by people born in Australia who had never seen thetawdry splendour of fairs in England.Bell's Life reported, exaggerating slightly, that the gate takings onMonday 27 December totalled 1,000." The entrance fee was half-a-crownplus the various attractions within. Bell's Life commented that the crowdseemed to be eager to 'spend any amount of shillings and half-crowns'

to sample the shows.60 These included a circus, tumbler, waxworks, giants,dwarfs, a Fat Boy, swing boats, knock-em downs a Punch and Judy showd' ' ,an toy and lollipop shops. An area to the north of the gardens was reserved


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Mimi Colligan - Cremorne Gardens, Richmond 131for the Fair, but there were also the regular attractions of Cremorne: thePantheon Theatre, the dancing Rotunda, and the picture model of Delhi."There was also a camera obscura, a Bicenascope, stereoscopic views anda Cosmorama, which was an improved kind of peep-show offering viewsof the Crimean War for a fee of sixpence."The Weekly Herald applauded the Fair for its novelty and describedin great detail the small circus and the 'Richardson's Theatre', a small boothshow introduced to English Fairs by the itinerant showman John Richard-son (1767?-1837) in the 179Os." Moving on to the tent of the Fat AustralianYouth, the critic describes this curiosity, 'a boy of just 15 years, weighingseventeen stone, [who] is an object which English people ... would hastento behold with eagerness'. The cosmorama was a place where ' those ofa military tendency could gratify themselves with a view of the mostinteresting of the Crimean battles'. The review concluded with the commentthat the Fair 'reflects credit on the projector, and the good order and goodconduct maintained by all present, added much to the reality of the pleasureenjoyed'." This review, for all its penny-a-line verbosity, and allowing forpaid puffery, still seems a likely description of people enjoying themselvesat an entertainment new to the colony.

il lCoppin Alone1859-1863

'The precautions taken to exclude improper persons and to repress theslightest tendency to disorder have completely succeeded and the mostfastidiousfather need not hesitate to bring hisfamity to the Cremorneof the present day.'''

On 26 February 1859 Coppin and Brooke ended their partnership, Coppinbecoming sole proprietor of Cremorne, with Brooke taking over the TheatreRoyal. It was said that there would have been a better outcome if this hadbeen reversed." Coppin continued to add improvements to the grounds.Cremorne had its own gasworks to illuminate the gardens at night. Until1859 people had to travel cross country or take a steam gondola to reachCremorne. In late 1859 the suburban railway opened a special station atCremorne. 67

Current events in Italy with the fight for Italian Unity provided inspir-ation for the 1859-1860 picture. It was a Panoramic View of Rome andan Illumination of St Peters. The firework display took place from the'Bridge and Castle of St Angelo', Cremorne lake becoming the Tiber riverfor the season. 6S

Cremorne Gardens were in many ways a far cry from the more respec-table places of instructive entertainment, such as the Mechanics' Institute


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132 Victorian Historical Journal Vel 66, No. 2, October 1995or Protestant Hall. They were usually open from 10 am to 11 pm and everyday of the week." This catered both for gentlefolk during the day and theless 'respectable' - including bohemians, prostitutes and ordinary work-ing folk - at night." Nevertheless, the three successive proprietors, Ellis,Scott and George Coppin, had to fight a continual battle to have theirestablishment acknowledged as a suitable place for family entertainment.In 1859 Coppin's gardens were cited by the colonial politician RichardHeales at a public meeting as being 'one of the most frightful causes ofprostitution in the colony'." This was hardly surprising; they were, afterall, 'pleasure gardens', with romantic arbors for assignations, and a dance-floor that was an ideal place for a 'pick-up' between a man and a prosti-

tute - or between loving couples with less mercenary intentions. Writingtwenty-five years after Cremorne had closed, 'Lorine', an old theatrical,asserted that 'No charge could be brought against the owner of CremorneGardens on the score of public morality'." Frederick Charles Standish(1824-1883), the hard-living assistant commissioner of the goldfields atBendigo, and later chief commissioner of police in Victoria, visitedCremorne twice while on leave in Melbourne in January 1857. Extractsfrom his diary show how Cremorne was part of a gentleman's social round:'21 January went to Cremorne with Mrs Gibson; took her home.27 January dined at club, to theatre and Cremorne with Shute ...to bed 4.30.'"Cremorne was also part of children's 'social round'. In his recollec-tions, Confessions of a Naughty Boy of the Fifties, published in 1907,Jonathan Bear described how he and his schoolmates would play truantby spending the day at Cremorne, after crawling through gaps in the fence.He also fondly recalled how picnic parties would 'assemble there quite earlyin the forenoon and for a thoroughly enjoyable day amidst botanic andother attractions, taking their al fresco meals on the grass, and remainingto spend a delightful evening.'"Italian Union was also the subject of the 1860-1861 display. This wasa View of Palermo in May 1860, the scene of Garibaldi's triumph. Pilland Wilson were the artists." A series of relevant dissolving views wereprojected onto a Grotto near the painting. A transparency of the 'Hero

of Sicily', Garibaldi, was especially praised."Events in America, with the onset of the Civil War, were the focus ofthe 1861-1862 picture, Illuminated View of Washington. A fireworks dis-play was as usual part of the show, the picture itself was illuminated by'coloured fires'.77Coppin put on a second Richmond Fair on 26 December 1861. Thissix-day fair was similar to that of 1858, but now the waxwork exhibitionwas designated as a 'Branch of Madame Thssaud' and run by Mr Kreit-mayer." There was a group of Burke, Wills and King among thewax figures.


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Mimi Colligan - Cremorne Gardens, Richmond 133This would have been popular among the public which had been deeplymoved by the recent news of the Exploration Expedition tragedy. It isunlikely that the waxworks were a branch of the famous London show,but so-called for advertising purposes. The Argus critic suggests the lackof quality of the wax figures, describing them as a 'ghastly caricature ofBurke, Wills and King'. The 'Fat Australian Youth' was now styled 'TheAustralian Daniel Lambert' - another attempt to dignify a home-grownact with an English connotation. It clearly suggests that Coppin expectedthe public to know that the name 'Daniel Lambert' had become a synonymin Britain for a fat boy freak at a side show." The Age critic was notdeceived and slyly suggested that this 'Daniel Lambert' and the 'Fat Boy'from 1858 were one and the same person."

By the summer of 1862-1863 Coppin was facing insolvency and couldnot open the gardens until Christmas. Yet before they were closed to thegeneral public for good on 9 February 1863, fireworks shows went out witha big bang with the 'WELLINGTON'S BATTLE AND VICTORY; Or BATTLEOFWATERWO Illustrated by Battle Fireworks and Two Bands of Music'."It is not clear whether there was a picture model in this last season. Thelimited advertising emphasizes the 'celebrated troupe of the MAORI WAR-RIOR CHIEFS!' at the Pantheon Theatre and the 'wondrous BARTINE. . . the FLYING TRAPEZIEN'." The Richmond Australian of 10 January1863 noted an improvement in Cremorne from former times when theRotunda had been the centre of amusements - now the 'legitimate amuse-ments ... are the inducement. This shows a change for the better'. Thearticle goes on to say that 'Cremorne has been stripped of the terrors withwhich it at one period fell on the ears of the more respectable portion ofthe community.'

It seems that the distance from town and the dependence on fineweather were the main factors that led to the failure of the pleasure gardens.Perhaps Melbourne's population was still too small to support the citytheatres and a pleasure garden and theatre. A later writer suggests thatit would have been financially successful if tried in the 1880s." In hisbiography of Coppin, Bagot describes Cremorne as a 'bottomless pit intowhich money he had made elsewhere had been sunk'." I t should be remem-bered, however, that Coppin lived at Cremorne with his family; some ofthe losses could be seen as the living expenses of a gentleman's estate."That old adversary of the Gardens, the Argus bemoaned the loss of thevenue; 'With the closing of these gardens the scene ofmany pleasant fetesand exhibitions - the only out-door place of amusement available nearthe city is lost to the citizens of Melbourne...Cremorne was reopened for one day, on Thesday 21 April 1863, forthe Eight Hours Demonstration. About 3,000 tradesmen and their familiesadjourned there after the march from the Trades' Hall." Coppin held an


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134 Victorian Historical JournalVo166, No. 2, October 1995auction sale of items that included statuary, the menagerie, furniture,scenery and props at the Gardens on Monday 23 November, and gener-ously advised picnic parties that they could have 'FREE USE of CREMORNEGARDENS' for the day." In 1864 Coppin sold the property to J.T. Har-court, the proprietor of a private mental asylum. In the 1880s the site wassubdivided for housing and factories."People went to Cremorne for many reasons, such as the dancing in theRotunda, performances at the Pantheon Theatre, and tight-rope and trapezedisplays. The huge picture model was there as a passive yet dominatingpresence looming over the gardens by day and by night, perhaps as thescenic railway structure looms over Luna Park in StKilda today. The great

firework show associated with the picture model was the climax of the even-ing's many entertainments. Melbourne had to wait until 1887 to seecomparable entertainment when James Pain reintroduced picture modelsand pyrotechnics at the Friendly Society's Gardens.

NarESl Quoted in Richard Altick The Shows of London, Belknap Press of Harvard UniversityPress, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1978, p. 487.

1 See entry on Cremorne Gardens in A Companion to Theatre in Australia, Currency Press,Sydney 1995.

l Altick, op.cif., p. 325. Mirror, val. 33, 1838, p. 2.I See Hawthorne quotation above.6 Altick, op.cif., p. 325.7 Warwick Wrath, Cremorne and the Later London Gardens, London 1907, p. 5.I Public Record Office, Victoria, VPRS 1189: Colonial Secretary's Office: Unit (box) 237.Private Persons, lames Ellis to Hotharn: Item: G5417023.James Ellis to Lieutenant-Governor Hotham, 27 December 1854, VPRS 1189: Unit (box)235: Item: K54/1428.

10 Argus, 29 October 1853.Il Argus, 29 October 1853. See photos by William Woodbury and Punch cartoon.11 Argus, 12 April 1854.13 VPRS 1189: 235: Private Persons: ElIis to Hotham: Item K54/1428." Argus, 13 February 1854.11 Argus, 13 February 1854.16 Argus, 26 January 1855.11 William Kelly, Life in Victoria, London 1859, vol. 11, p. 122.11 I have been unable to add anything definite t o t he biography of Scatt . There was a MrScatt associated with Sydney's Cremorne Gardens in 1862.

19 Argus, 27 November 1855.10 See Argus. 21 December 1855.11 Argus, 27 November 1855.12 Age, 31 December 1855.2) Eric Irvin, Dictionary of the Australian Theatre, Sydney 1985, p. 320. Death Certificate,NSW Registry, 20 June 1909.

l ' Interview with W.J. Wilson, 'Theatre in the 'Fift ies' , Old Times, April 1903, p. 42.11 Argus, 4 December 1855.


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Mimi Colligan - Cremorne Gardens, Richmond 13520 Argus, 26 December 1855.I' Age, 31 December 1855.21 AArgus, 17 March 1856.29 Argus, 5 January 1856.30 Old Times, loc.cit., p. 41.3' The same, p. 42. Wilson, who was also a competent actor, was part of the team paintingthe annual modelled panorama at Cremorne until 1861, when he left Melbourne andcontinued his career in Sydney. This included painting moving panoramas in that city.3l Description in Melbourne Examiner, 18 June 1859.II Argus, 9 March 1856. J have been unable to identify Macdona any further. A ThomasMcDonough was one of the survivors of the Burke and Wills expedition.1< Age, 12 May 1856.lJ E. Murphy, The Eight Hours Movement, Melbourne 1896, pp. 85, 88.H W.J. Lawrence, The Life of Gustavus Vaughan Brooke, Belfast 1892, p. 178.l' Alec Bagot, Coppin the Great, Melbourne 1965, p. 209.II Argus, 3 November 1856. Various writers credit Coppin with the introduction of the dance-floor and bandstand, see Serle, op.cit., p. 264 and John Fox, 'Victorian Theatres and Amuse-ments in the Fifties', RA., University of Melbourne 1955, p. 15. These appointments hadbeen installed by Ellis; Coppin enlarged and improved them.

n The same.


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136 Victorian Historical Journal Vcl 66, No. 2, October 19956J Argus, 6 December 1855. See also RJ . Savill, 'Cremorne Gardens: A Brief History', inVHJ, val. 51 no. 1, February 1980, pp. 25-41.66 Illustrated Melbourne Post, 24 March 1864, p. 6.67 A.W. Greig, 'Cremorne: Old Playground of Melbourne', Argus, 30 April 1910.u Argus, 8 November 1859. The production seems to be similar to that at Surrey Gardensin 1841, Altick, op.cif., p. 323. There was a n a n nu a l fireworks show at Castel Sant' Angelocalled the Girandola.

6j Argus, 1 December 1856.10 Advertisements for Cremorne in the Age and Argus, 1853-1863,'11 Age, 17 June 1859.n Theatrical Courier, 4 August 1888.1) Diary of Frederick Charles Standish. MS 11208, Box 1659/5-6, La Trobe Collection, SLY.,. J. Bear, Confessions of a Naughty Boy of the Fifties, Melbourne 1907, pp. 78-81.11 Weekly Argus, 16 November 1860.H The same. The press was full of admiration for Garibaldi. Some people gave his nameto their children, for example John Garibaldi Roberts (1860-1931) the Victorian publicservant, known to his friends at the Tramways Board as 'Oarry'.17 Weekly Herald, 3 January 1862, p. 3.11 Algus, 24 December 1861.19 The or iginal Daniel Lambert had been displayed in London at the beginning of thenineteenth century. See Altick, op.cit., p. 225.'0 Age, 27 December 1861." Argus, 9 February 1863.SI Richmond Australian, 20 December 1862.B 'Lorine', op.cit.'" Bagot, op.cit., p. 240.1\ Observation from Harold Love.16 Argus, 9 February 1863." A lgus , 22 April 1863.H Algus, 21 November 1863.19 A.W. Oreig, 'Cremorne: Old Playground of Melbourne', Argus, 30 April 1910.This article is dedicated to the memory of the late Barbara Savill, Research Officer of theRHSV, whose 1980 article in VHJ inspired a section of my PhD Thesis on panoramas andwaxworks. Mrs Savill's piece is a superb general acco'mt. Mine has a different focus, con-centrating on the London origins of the venue and on detailing the modelled panoramasand firework shows.

Colligan, Cremorne, 1995

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