Papers relating to the Apex Club of Glenelg [PRG 1459/6] • Manuscript
Ticket for the 'Buccaneers Ball'
Ticket no. 340 for the 'Buccaneers Ball' at the Glenelg Town Hall, Friday 25th February 1949, a fund raiser presented by the Apex Club of Glenelg.
Ticket for the 'Cosmopolitan Cabaret'
Ticket for the 'Cosmopolitan Cabaret' at the Glenelg Town Hall, Friday 24th February 1949, a fund raiser presented by the Apex Club of Glenelg.
Ticket for the 'Arctic Cabaret'
Ticket no. 1322 for the 'Arctic Cabaret' at the Glenelg Town Hall, Friday 16th March 1951, a fund raiser presented by the Apex Club of Glenelg. Design and artwork by Doug Mackenzie.
Decorations for the 'Arctic Cabaret'
This 15 foot high model of an iceberg, featuring an Eskimo hunter and polar animals, was designed and made by Doug Mackenzie, with assistance of members of the Glenelg Apex Club, for the Arctic Cabaret held in the Glenelg Town Hall in March 1951. It was not possible to convey in the photograph, by Don G. Mellor, the glittering Arctic scene that greeted guests on entering the hall. The towering central feature of the iceberg was liberally sprinkled with a mixture of silver glitter and salt crystals. Under the effect of a spotlight the whole thing glittered and sparkled, creating a remarkable impression of the real thing. In the background can be seen part of the 5 foot high scenery that encircled the entire hall. The background of sea and sky was painted by Apex Club members for talented volunteer artists to brilliantly illustrate with fanciful events of life in a polar setting. The scenery was illuminated by concealed lighting, leaving the hall above in darkness to create the impression that the onlooker was viewing an Arctic landscape. Table lamps consisted of icy igloos with light shining through the doorways. Artistic licence permitted penguins from the Antarctic to enliven the scene. At all Appex balls appropriate novelties were manufactured by club members for sale to the guests. On this occasion there were snowballs, consisting of crumpled-up balls of newspaper covered with raw cotton supplied by Actil. Guests gleefully hurled these at each other leaving those with dark suits covered in sticky white raw cotton which wives complained took weeks to remove. Even so, they had to admit that a great time was had by all. [Text by Doug Mackenzie].
Doug Mackenzie with decorations for the 'Arctic Cabaret'
Doug Mackenzie pictured in front of some of the decorations used in the Apex Club of Glenelg's ball. Identified on the back as 'Doug 'Art Director' Arctic Cabaret / Glenelg Town Hall / March 1951'. The artwork on the murals was by Adelaide volunteer artists. Photo by Don G. Mellor, Outdoor Division, Mora Studio, 49 Rundle Street. [Doug Mackenzie created the artwork on the Apex Ball tickets for Buccaneers Ball and the Prehistoric Cabaret].
Ticket for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret'
Ticket for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret' at the Glenelg Town Hall, Friday 27th March 1953, a fund raiser presented by the Apex Club of Glenelg. Design and artwork by Doug Mackenzie.
Ticket for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret'
A alternative version of the ticket for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret' at the Glenelg Town Hall, Friday 27th March 1953, a fund raiser presented by the Apex Club of Glenelg. Design and artwork by Doug Mackenzie.
Decorations for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret'
Members of the Apex Club of Glenelg working on a 14 foot high model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret' held in the Glenelg Town Hall, March 1953. From the notation on back 'News photo for "Claude" our Tyrannosaurus for Prehistoric Cabaret March 1953'. Shows Betty Mackenzie on ladder, Zelda Scrymgour on stool and Marlene Parham on ground.
Decorations for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret'
This 14 foot high model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex was conceived and made by Doug Mackenzie, with the assistance of members of the Glenelg Apex Club, for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret' held in the Glenelg Town Hall on 27 March 1953. The dinosaur was brilliantly painted by Eric J. Field and photographed by Ross J. Rainsford. The sound effectes were by Bob Malin. In the background, beneath the 12 foot wing span of a hovering Pteranodon, can be seen part of the 200 feet of 5 foot high painted scenery depicting life in prehistoric times as portrayed by volunteer Adelaide artists. The scenery was illuminated by a continuous string of festoon lighting concealed beneath a cardboard pelmet. The hall above remained in darkness creating the illusion that the onlooker was actually surrounded by the pre-historic landscape. The awe-inspiring, towering image of Tyrannosaurus Rex, illuminated by an eerie green spotlight, dominated the scene. Part way through the evening, with dancing in full swing, a devastating, thunderous roar, comprised of a mixture of the roaring of lions and other jungle denizens, burst at full volume from a large speaker concealed in the throat of the monster. So shocked were a number of the dancers that they immediately fell flat on the floor and it was indeed fortunate that no one suffered a heart attack. During a following pause a desperate sounding announcer shouted "Quick, he's hungry. He won't stop roraring until you throw money into his mouth". We only dared to try this stunt once more during the evening which resulted in a considerable amount of money being ingested by the monster. Unfortunately it proved almost impossible to get it all out as most of it was caught between the wire mesh lining and the Papier-Mache skin. For a number of years following this event coins were often excreted every time the monster was disassembled. [Text by Doug Mackenzie].
Decorations for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret'
A 14 foot high model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex conceived and made by Doug Mackenzie, with assistance of members of the the Apex Club of Glenelg, for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret' held in the Glenelg Town Hall on 27 March 1953. The dinosaur was brilliantly painted by Eric J. Field and photographed by Ross J. Rainsford. The sound effects were by Bob Malin. In the background, beneath the 12 foot wing span of a hovering Pteranodon, can be seen part of the 200 feet of 5 foot high painted scenery depicting life in prehistoric times as portrayed by volunteer Adelaide artists. The scenery was illuminated by a continuous string of festoon lighting concealed beneath a cardboard pelmet. The hall above remained in darkness creating the illusion that the onlooker was actually surrounded by the pre-historic landscape. The awe-inspiring, towering image of Tyrannosaurus Rex, illuminated by an eerie green spotlight, dominated the scene. Part way through the evening, with dancing in full swing, a devastating, thunderous roar, comprised of a mixture of the roaring of lions and other jungle denizens, burst at full volume from a large speaker concealed in the throat of the monster. So shocked were a number of the dancers that they immediately fell flat on the floor and it was indeed fortunate that no one suffered a heart attack. During a following pause a desperate sounding announcer shouted "Quick, he's hungry. He won't stop roraring until you throw money into his mouth". We only dared to try this stunt once more during the evening which resulted in a considerable amount of money being ingested by the monster. Unfortunately it proved almost impossible to get it all out as most of it was caught between the wire mesh lining and the Papier-Mache skin. For a number of years following this event coins were often excreted every time the monster was disassembled. [Text by Doug Mackenzie.] A unsourced newspaper cutting is pasted to the back of the photograph - see PRG 1459/6/10V.
Newspaper cutting re the 'Prehistoric Cabaret'
Verso of the photograph shown in PRG 1459/6/10.
Promoting the 'Prehistoric Cabaret'
A 14 foot high model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex made by members of the the Apex Club of Glenelg, originally for the 'Prehistoric Cabaret' held in the Glenelg Town Hall in March 1953. Here it is being towed through the streets in a promotional exercise with the front of the trailer reading 'Don't forget the date! March 18. 1955. It's another monster ball'. George Haig (who had 'left his false tooth parked in a shelf in our dirty old shed so he looked even more primitive than usual') was a caveman, with Lorna Maddern acting as his wife. The dinosaur was designed and made by Doug Mackenzie.
Promoting the 'Prehistoric Cabaret'
This photo was taken as part of the promotion of the Glenelg Christmas Pageant in December 1954. George Haig, the caveman, at that time was a member of the Glenelg Fire Brigade and the cavewoman was Lorna Maddern who was then the senior sales girl at Mackenzies's Shoe Store in Jetty Road. George naturally projected the perfect image of a caveman but to further enhance that image, before departing for the Pageant, he whipped out the plate bearing most of of his false front teeth and parked it on a ledge in the old shed where the dinosaur was built. The shed was originally part of a racing stable and for years after that was a chook house before becoming a workshop. Even the most fertile imagination could never have conceived of the awesome composition of the thick dust on that ledge. However, on returning from the Pageant, George, in true caveman style, casually picked up his teeth and popped them straight back into his mouth. Ugggg! George became so immersed in his role of a caveman that Lorna had to complain about his enthusiastic tugging of a fistful of her long hair, for the full length of Jetty Road, leaving her feeling half scalped by the end of the parade. The Apex Club of Glenelg's pet Tyrannosaurus, was originally created for the Apex 'Prehistoric Cabaret' held in the Glenelg Town Hall on 20 March 1953. He was affectionately called 'Claude' and featured in many Apex activities for years after the original event until storage of such a huge beast became impossible. When his den, just behind the National Bank on Jetty Road, was demolished he was sold to the Apex Club of Gawler where, after many more years of service to Apex, he was finally reluctantly cremated. [Text by Doug Mackenzie].