Historical information

This is the programe of a concert held at Price’s Exchange Hall in Warrnambool in 1867. The concert was under the management of the Warrnambool Anglican Minister, Archdeacon Beamish and the proceeds were in aid of the Warrnambool Church of England Common School. The programme was printed on silk at the office of the Warrnambool Examiner newspaper. This paper was founded in 1851 by a pioneer settler in Warrnambool, Richard Osburne and it was leased by Henry Laurie and William Fairfax from 1867 to 1872; these latter two became the founders of the Warrnambool Standard (1872 to the present day) and were the printers of this programme. Three of the performers at this concert were well-known in Warrnambool for their musical talents – singer, William Fairfax, noted above, singer Sarah Welchman (also the proprietor of a private school for girls) and singer Mrs Steedman (also the proprietor of a girls’ private school in Warrnambool). The Warrnambool Church of England Common School (number 661) was established in Warrnambool as a Government-subsidized denominational school in 1860 and closed in 1876 when the Jamieson Street Warrnambool State School opened. Archdeacon Peter Beamish, the sponsor of the concert, was the Anglican Minister in Warrnambool from 1850 to 1895. Price’s Exchange Hall was part of a Temperance Hotel opened in Liebig Street in 1861 by Richard Wrench. In the 1860s Thomas Price opened the Royal Exchange Hotel on these premises and his Exchange Hall was the largest hall in Warrnambool at that time.

Significance

This is a most significant item because:-
1. It is a rare example of a 19th century programme printed on silk
2. The listed concert programme is a good example of the type of entertainment held in Warrnambool in the 1860s
3. Some of the participants in the concert were well-known entertainers in Warrnambool in the 1860s – Fairfax, Steedman, Welchman
4. The programme is one of the few mementoes we hold of the Church of England Common School
5. Other people important in Warrnambool’s history are connected to this item – Archdeacon Beamish, Fairfax and Laurie of the Warrnambool Standard and Thomas Price and his Royal Exchange Hotel Hall.

Physical description

This is a programme printed on silk. The sheet has a decorative border, black printing and an image of musical instruments and music scores. The programme has frayed edges.

Inscriptions & markings

Church of England Common School
Grand Amateur Concert Wednesday 4th December 1867
Price’s Exchange Hall, Warrnambool