Hunter Living Histories

 

Gaute Rasmussen and Vendela Pento from the University of Newcastle’s IT Innovation Team discuss the Victoria Theatre 3D Reconstruction Project that has just begun. Recorded at the Hunter Living Histories meeting July 2 2018.

This work is being conducted to support the work of Dr Gillian Arrighi, Convenor, Creative and Performing Arts, in the University of Newcastle’s School of Creative Industries, who along with Stephanie Holm have been funded by the ARC, through the LIEF scheme, under the aegis of the AusStage Phase 6 Visualising Venues in Australian Live Performance project (LE170100003), a national project involving 12 universities, administered by Flinders University.

We are attempting to track down as many original archival sources relating to Victoria Theatre, such as plans, photographs and descriptions, with particular reference to the 1890s period in particular, to assist our UON IT Innovation team in the 3D reconstruction of the Victoria Theatre.

Gaute and Vendela, Innovation Specialists conducting the work of creating the model, provided a 20 minute presentation at the meeting of the Hunter Living Histories providing the community with a background to the project, and the types of documentary material they are looking for, in order to create the most accurate model for the 1891 Victoria Theatre.

They are attempting a 3D reconstruction of the circa 1891 Victoria Theatre that still stands in Perkins Street Newcastle. They are requesting information from the public and researchers that may help in their work.

Any one possessing photographs, plans, written information, posters, memorabilia are asked to send them through. The more information they have, the better and more accurate the reconstruction.

Historical Timeline of Resources

1876-1993 “Newcastle Victoria” from Front stalls or back? the history and heritage of Newcastle theatres by K.J. Cork and L.R. Tod (Seven Hills, N.S.W. : Australian Theatre Historical Society, 1993) pp.146-152) (3.7MB PDF File)

1888 – Plans Etc Showing Entrances To And Escapes From The Victoria Theatre Newcastle, James Henderson Architect NRS905 [1_2717] 88_9883 (Courtesy of NSW State Archives and Records Authority)

1870s-1880s? – Victoria Roof Line photographed in this image of Perkins Street: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uon/31495290701/ High Res: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uon/31495290701/sizes/o/

A panorama including the same view is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uon/6349438024/sizes/o/

 

1890s-c1900? Photograph showing front and side views of Victoria Theatre

https://www.flickr.com/photos/uon/6787707000/

Hi Res: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uon/6787707000/sizes/o/

And https://www.flickr.com/photos/uon/6855496004/sizes/o/

1905 – Photograph showing roof of Victoria Theatre in this apparently 1905 shot looking down Perkins Street:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/uon/5202828695/
Hi Res: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uon/5202828695/sizes/o/

 

1971 – Information on the Victoria Theatre from Theatre Buildings in Australia to 1905: from the time of the first settlement to the arrival of cinema by Ross Thorne. (Sydney: Architectural Research Foundation, University of Sydney, 1971)

1988 – “Down Memory Lane: The Victoria, Newcastle’s First Grand Theatre” by L.E. Fredman in Journal of Hunter Valley History Vol. 2 No. 2 (Newcastle: Hunter Valley Publications, 1988) pp. 38-49.

2018 – Dr Gillian Arrighi –  “From child stars to lost theatres: capturing our ephemeral history of live performance” The Conversation, 27 July, 2018 , viewed 02 Aug 2018, http://theconversation.com/from-child-stars-to-lost-theatres-capturing-our-ephemeral-history-of-live-performance-97675

 

Gionni Di Gravio
4th July 2018