Wurlitzer Theatre Organ.

Curiosity led to going along to a concert featuring a renowned Wurlitzer Theatre Organ. The Sunday arvo gathering, in a 1930's cinema, was relaxed, quite retro and anachronistic yet presented an opportunity to hear a powerful and majestic instrument.
The lights dimmed as they say and from the empty stage music sounded and in fine traditon the Wurlitzer and the performer ascended from the depths onto display under the spotlights. The cream and gold console was wicked looking and the performance was grande with tremelo and leslie-like effects to the fore.





























Back down in the pit again. The instrument has about four key boards and a pedal board and has an array of about 150 stops and controls to manipulate the sounds.






The excellent artiste, Mr John Atwell gave us rip roaring numbers very typical of the genre along with other lilting modern arrangments. (He is a research scientist in his other life.)

The historical Wurlitzer was formerly in the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, and was relocated to the Orion Theatre, Campsie, restored and installed by the Theatre Organ Society of Australia (NSW Division) and unveiled in 1988.
The Theatre Organ Society is the expert in these matters. Another relevant web site is here.


















Under the stage is a large basement housing the ranks of metal and wooden pipes, percussion and gadgets that are activated by the magician at the keyboard to emulate an orchestral sound. In this way it differs from the electronic organs that only produce electronic sounds.







The sound emerges from a long opening along the front of the stage and is heard forte or piano by physically opening or closing a set of shutters probably controlled by a pedal.











The Wurlitzer descended out of view and the support artists took over: The Enso Toppano Duo, the frail elderly father was a virtuoso piano accordianist who outshone his son and if anything overdid the up-beat numbers.

This was special in that he is among a wave of immigrants who are now reaching old age and whose traditions may fade with them.

Mrs McNaughton (accordanist, wife of ex-Lord mayor of Newcastle & charity worker) would have been impressed!







The Orion theatre opened as a Cinema in 1936 and in the foyer was a mural of the P & O's newest most modern liner Orion. Overall the Art Deco sytle is evident but restrained.


Nowdays, instead, in the foyer, is a mural once displayed on board the Ocean liner Orion which ended service in London in 1963.
P & O Australia saved the oil painting and it was hung in its Sydney offices until 1984. Summer Storm by Tristram Hillier.
















A touch of fantasy remains because the venue holds wedding receptions and is into 'dream mandaps' with Indian style glamour for that special day. (Sacred tents for Hindi weddings)



The surrounding suburb of Campsie is small and busy with a large population of people with a Chinese background as well as Koreans and Vietnamese (from my observations) and it caters for all these tastes in a big way which is interesting to see. There bikes are left outside the rail station and is a little reminiscent of how their homelands used to be.

Under the walk way, is this a tram or a truck? The city sights can be viewed en route in this novel form of transport. Has been seen on the school run as well. Saturday night work as a booze bus is another possibility.
Late late-Saturday nights and Sunday mornings have been the routine for years and years in the city but this behaviour is under the spotlight lately. Are a few representatives from the young crowds asked to join in the official discussions for a civil society?
They say how youth increasingly look to their groups and like hanging out together as a goal but perhaps they don't really see how little else there is to do on Saturday nights in the city. Is the entertainment so ordinary that they are apt to 'break out'.

Enjoying sport on Sunday morning. The cricket season is finishing.
The chautauqua or rant is as follows.
Must we pull ourselves up by the boot straps?
'Society does not owe me a living'....'ask what I can do'.....however, there should be unrest in this society whilever it fails to put within reach a bearable and pleasant, reasonable, not over the top, lifestyle and gender equality without super super-human effort.
The aim is for family friendly workplace and homelife and supports etc as a given in return for a fair days work.

All power to pressure groups or whatever it takes to move ahead and improve the good life.
Can we leave the protests or the struggles for improvement to the work of volunteers or cash strapped student? It takes more than that.
Volunteering may be fulfilling but so is paid employment.
(Let me say my volunteering efforts are not extensive.)

Macedonian Orthodox Church. St Mary. Broadmeadow. The Iconography is prominent and almost covers the walls.

The Kite Runner, the movie, is showing this week.
This is from a writer who tells a grand tale and it is resonably good in a restrained manner which is pretty darn unusual for a US movie. Not only that it has sub-titles and even tries to take-on the foreign movies at their own game. The film fits in with western ideology.
Quite rightly, the good Afgani people are portrayed in a positive manner aided by the fact that they are moderates and not given to overly overt religious customs or beliefs. They lead us into the world of the baddies and the extreme factions such obvious targets for the allies.

So, instead, it would be a good change to see some average Muslims who are not 'just like us'; who do take on their religion in its entirety and are still considered worthy to be seen on the screen in a positive role.

Outside the building formely known as the Regional Museum. Prior to that it was a brewery.
Gen xyz wonder about my pronunciation of the word brewery.
Maybe the crowds from the boutique brewery on the harbourside say things differently which is quite understandable !



We were very pleased with ourselves as a city, when this regional museum, as a first, opened in the late eighties. At least we're flexible. The museum will move and open again next year in Honeysuckle.





The museum was initially opened by Queen Elizabeth amid officials and crowds. The capital funding for the project was from the City Council and the Bicentennial Council of State Government.






Side view of the ex-museum and Wood Street with students heading home again from TAFE (if that's the current name for the Tech College with chefs etc in training)


Wood Street in the eighties. The trees have grown well since then. The TAFE college is at the far end. Was this before the venerable Australian Broadcasting Commission offices existed at the end of the street? Their building first opened as a restaurant or somesuch. The WEA/Temple bookshop was on the right then.

Seafood Sustainability Day is upon us. Choose to buy the sustainable catch of the day. Biological diversity of marine habitats is crucial. Orange Roughie aka sea perch for anyone? Our funny habit of revising the names of fish is related in this tall tale here under Your say, Fishy Tales, Whats In a Name, 21 May 2002