Historical information

The Box Hill Operatic Society was founded in 1945 and was sponsored by the Box Hill City Council. Past productions listed on the back page of the programme include The Quaker Girl, High Jinks, A Night Out, The Lilac Domino, Wildflower, Gipsy Love, Katinka, and Maid of the Mountains. Arthur Henry Dear was an employee of the City of Kew, acting as Hall Keeper of the Kew Recreation Hall in Wellington Street, and later the new Kew City Hall in Cotham Road. The Arthur Dear Collection contains memorabilia - tickets, programmes, invitations - as well as his identification badge. Items in the collection dates from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Significance

The Kew Recreation Hall (Wellington Street) and later the Kew City Hall (Cotham Road) were major locations in suburban Melbourne in the postwar period for civic and private events including theatre productions and exhibitions. The Arthur Dear Collection (in conjunction with the scrapbooks compiled by Marion Tilley) provide a comprehensive snapshot of performing arts in Kew during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The collection includes valuable data about performances, performers, directors etc., during this period.

Physical description

Theatre programme issued by the Box Hill Operatic Society. The 8-page programme contains a title page, a cast list, details of the management, and a brief history of the Company. The performance was held in the Box Hill Town Hall in 1958.