From Talkies to Television: Picture shows in Gippsland, 193056' Anne Wilson History, HUMCASS

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From Talkies to Television Picture shows in
Gippsland, 1930-56.Anne WilsonHistory, HUMCASS
Methodology This research will be undertaken
using a combination of archival research and oral
history. Informal interviews will be used to
record peoples memories of picture shows and
their recollections of the impact of the shows on
their lives. Oral history purpose, relationship
to archival research, limitations and advantages
Newspapers advertisements for picture shows in
Gippsland, history of cinemas and theatres in
Gippsland, reports of controversy over picture
shows Local and national archives government
regulations, building applications, exhibitors
associations and related journals.

• Research Questions
• Main Question
• What part did picture shows play in Gippsland
  communities during the heyday of talking picture
  shows?
• Subsidiary Questions
• How do people remember the past?
• How do the venues used for picture shows reflect
  the changing priorities of communities?
• How much access did Indigenous Australians in
  Gippsland have to picture shows?
• How were films used during times of Depression
  and War?
• Was there resistance to the messages of the
  shows, or to the shows themselves?
• How was advertising presented through the films
  themselves and the through glass slides commonly
  used throughout the period?
• Did the organization providing the shows affect
  the choice of films? Were audience reactions
  different in agricultural centres from those in
  industrial towns?

Hoyts Talking Pictures Road Show at Sale, 1930.
Glover family papers, Graeme Glover.
Abstract From the time talkies were introduced to
Gippslanders in 1930 to the time television
transmission began in 1956, picture shows became
a focus for community life. I contend that
picture shows were a dynamic factor in rural
communities, mediating modernity, contributing to
social change and shaping community culture. I
argue that the way this media was received in the
country contributed to change, but at the same
time, some areas of resistance to the messages of
the films developed. The spectator at the picture
shows in Gippsland was not a passive recipient of
messages arriving through this media, but an
active and sometimes resistant participator.
While the shared experience of the picture
shows generally promoted unity, on rare
occasions, shows polarised communities and caused
friction. My research is an exploration of the
relationship between the spectator, the picture
shows, the community and the exhibitors who
brought the talkies to the people of Gippsland.

• Procedure
• Commence review of literature in spectatorship
  studies, oral history, community studies,
  Gippsland history, history of cinema, heritage
  issues
• Survey local newspapers for advertisements,
  articles on theatres and films
• Contact local historical societies offer to
  speak to meetings recruit interviewees
• Conduct interviews, visit archives, collect
  newspaper material, speak on local radio
• Write transcripts of interviews
• Design thesis structure
• Commence writing

Examples of Sources Primary Oral interviews
National Archives Public Records Office,
Victoria Centre for Gippsland Studies Gippsland
Historical Societies Gippsland
Newspapers Secondary Monographs Local histories
Journal articles
Acknowledgements Thanks to my supervisors, Dr
Meredith Fletcher and Dr Karen Crinall
Prince Regent Theatre, Bairnsdale, Glover Family
Papers, Graeme Glover (Circa 1930)