Summary

Black and white 5" x 4" negative showing Carols by Candlelight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on 24 December 1975. A female singer and three male guitarists are playing on stage backed by a large orchestra. This Christmas Eve concert was in aid of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind.

Carols by Candlelight has been a regular Christmas event in Melbourne since 1938, and the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind [RVIB], known as Vision Australia since 2004, have been involved as a beneficiary of the event since 1949, sharing proceeds with the Austin Hospital. RVIB became the sole beneficiary of the fundraising event in 1965.

Vision Australia was formed in July 2004 following the merger of the Royal Blind Society (RBS), the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (RVIB), Vision Australia Foundation (VAF), and the National Information Library Services (NILS).

This image is part of the Laurie Richards Collection at Museum Victoria comprising approximately 85,000 negatives taken by the Melbourne based Laurie Richards Studio between the 1950s -1970s. These negatives are all mostly large format [5"x 4"/ 12.5 x 10 cm], black and white images, though a significant number are in colour. The many photographic jobs that were undertaken in the course of thirty years are itemised in a set of log books, copies of which are also held by Museum Victoria.

Laurie Richards was a professional photographer who began his career as a photo-journalist, working for the Advertiser newspaper in Adelaide, and the Argus and the Herald newspapers in Melbourne. In 1953, he opened his own business and set up a photographic studio at his home at 4 Tower Avenue, Alphington, an inner suburb of Melbourne. At its peak, in the late 1960s, the Laurie Richards Studio was one of Melbourne's pre-eminent commercial photographic studios, employing twelve photographers. The Laurie Richards Studio worked mainly in advertising and public relations, and had a broad clientele which included commercial companies, government institutions and the entertainment industry.

Description of Content

A female singer and three male guitarists are playing on stage backed by a large orchestra. The female singer wears a dress and has a long feather boa around her neck. The three guitarists wear matching suits. Flowers line the front of the stage.

Physical Description

Black and white 5" x 4" cellullose acetate negative.

Significance

Because of the breadth of both the subject matter photographed and the diverse businesses which commissioned the work, and the excellent documentation that accompanies the collection, the Laurie Richards Collection at Museum Victoria is an invaluable record of Melbourne's commercial and industrial past and as such gives an insight into the social history of that period.

More Information