The Beginning

Resource: The 100th Concert of the Goulburn Liedertafel, Goulburn Liedertafel Society, 1912.

In April of 1891, two new citizens of Goulburn, Mr Whalley and Mr Doubleday, called a meeting to propose the creation of a Liedertafel society, similar to the Sydney Liedertafel, of which they were both members previously. An advertisement was posted in the Goulburn Evening Penny Post for gentlemen who would like to be part of the new Goulburn Liedertafel Society, for the subscription cost of 1/1, and the auditions found 27 active members at their first ever rehearsal.

Advertisement in the Goulburn Evening Penny Post on 5 May, 1891.

By early May 1891, about 30 people had joined the brand new Goulburn Liedertafel Society. The Society's first ever rehearsal took place on Monday 11 May 1891, and just 10 weeks after its establishment the first performance took place on 21 July 1891, comprising of 16 musical numbers with 5 soloists and a 24 strong chorus, all performed under a new banner displaying the Lyre emblem of the Society.

Initially presenting only musical performances, 'straight' dramas were added to the Society's repertoire in 1909, with 'Dandy Dick' presented by a specially formed 'Liedertafel Dramatic Society'.

Left: Title page of the 100th Concert of the Goulburn Liedertafel program, c. 1912. Right: The 1912 Society Committee, comprising some of the most affluent and respected names in Goulburn at the time.

The early years, from 1891 to 1912, are all wonderfully illustrated in the Goulburn Liedertafel’s 100th Concert program. An amazing resource documenting the first twenty years of the Company, it holds excellent information as well as a whole range of member portraits, including some of the most prominent citizens of Goulburn during the turn of the century.

It is important to note that this was before there was a permanent home for the Society; productions were lavishly performed at different local halls, such as The Majestic on the corner of Sloane and Verner Streets, as well as Broadway at 388 Auburn Street.

However, their most regular home was the Oddfellows Hall in Auburn Street, a space that lent itself well to grand productions, and would later go on to be the Empire Theatre, then the Odeon Theatre.

Although the Goulburn Liedertafel Society was initially only open to gentlemen, it wasn’t long before women were welcomed, adding to the depth of the chorus and allowing the Society to perform productions that could not be conducted with men alone, such as operas and musicals. Indeed, between 1903 and 1921, professional producer, stage manager and coach, Mrs Fred England, was the primary producer of plays for the Goulburn Liedertafel, despite not being a member.

Left: The Goulburn Leader Choral Society's production of The Gondoliers, 1919, PF-35 no. 5956. Right: Advertisement for the production of The Gondoliers, Goulburn Evening Penny Post, November 1919.

Liedertafel is a German word meaning “song table” and even today, the name of the theatre company is a variation of this word. However in 1916, when anti-German sentiment began to spread through Australia with the onset of WW1, its name was changed briefly to the Goulburn Leader Choral Society. In 1923 it was changed back to the Goulburn Liedertafel, restoring the name of the much beloved society.

The Mid Years

Resources: Local Studies photograph collection; Goulburn Liedertafel: the first hundred years, John Spicer, 1991.

We do not have much material on the Goulburn Liedertafel in the mid-20th century. However, it is indisputable that the crowning achievement of that period would be the building of the new Liedertafel Hall, which still stands today.

In November 1908 the Society acquired its first home, Lander’s Hall, in Goldsmith Street, for the princely sum of 250 pounds. The hall was used for rehearsals, meetings, and storage until it became unsuitable and dangerous. On 22 August 1929, brand new Liedertafel Hall was finally ready to be opened, with a grand ball and much fanfare.

The new building was designed by Manfred and Sons, and constructed by J.J. Piggot, and the façade, including its beautiful lead-light windows, has not changed significantly since its completion.

The exterior of the Lieder Theatre remains mostly unchanged since it was built in 1929. Lieder Theatre 2005, photographed by John Immig, PF-12 no. 2656.

Musicals were performed at Broadway (until 1947), and plays at the Liedertafel Hall. The Hall was also used throughout the 1930s and 40s for boxing matches, dances, and school performances, and in the next decade for political rallies, wool sales, commercial displays, and occasional film screenings.

An article in the Goulburn Evening Penny Post in August 1952, credits the building of the hall with the survival of the society at a time when others collapsed due to the Great Depression. The building of the Liedertafel Hall, and the subsequent reconstruction after a fire in 1933 damaged the stage and adjoining spaces, increased subscription rates by one-third, allowing it to flourish where others faded into nothingness during this societal crisis. This integral moment is just one that has allowed the Goulburn Lieder Theatre Company, as it is now known, to become the longest continually running theatre company in Australia.

As other halls and locations got repurposed, demolished, or became otherwise unusable, the Lieder Theatre became the only home to the Goulburn Liedertafel Society, and while the space does not lend itself to the huge spectaculars of the early years of the Company, nearly a century of theatrical entertainment has been experienced within its walls.

In 1969 the interior was modified to form a foyer, auditorium, and backstage storage, forming the basis of the theatre building as it is today, and in 1971 the Liedertafel Hall was re-named the Lieder Theatre.

Paining the Lieder Theatre, 18 January 1979, taken by the Goulburn Post, PF-16 no. 3347.

Today, when you enter the auditorium of the Lieder Theatre, there is a palpable sense of past gatherings and gala events. In the spaces adjoining the stage, a dusty attic lives with uneven floors, narrow corridors, nooks and crannies, filled to the rafters with props and costumes of past performances.

Left: Over the decades, a passing parade of actors have signed the backstage wall adding to a sense of history. One day there may be a famous signature amongst the names. Right: Costumes, props, and an array of miscellanea that may be needed again one day, line the walls and fills the nooks and crannies.

John and Mary Spicer

John Spicer and his wife Mary retired to Australia after both had professional careers in theatre in England. What was originally meant to be a helping hand turned into a marathon stint as artistic director by John commencing in 1971 (in collaboration with his wife Mary) that lasted for 20 years. During this time, John Spicer directed over 100 plays.

Also a playwright, Spicer collaborated with many local writers. Amongst these plays was The Ballad of Mary Ann Brownlow (written in conjunction with David Cole), which shone a light on a true and tragic episode that played out in Goulburn’s jail and courthouse in the mid-1800s. It enjoyed a touring season and was performed in many of the courthouses in the district.

Poster for The Ballad of Mary Ann Brownlow.

Chrisjohn Hancock

Chrisjohn Hancock moved to Goulburn with his parents Wal and Peggy and twin brother Stephen as a young teenager, when his father became Minister at Christ Church in West Goulburn.

Hancock first stepped foot in the Lieder Theatre as a young 14 year old aspiring actor, first performing on stage in December 1972 in St Peter’s Umbrella, under friend and mentor John Spicer. His first production as a director was 1982’s Old King Cole.

Chrisjohn Hancock acted, directed and worked backstage in many productions at the Lieder Theatre, before going on to study at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), and working professionally as an actor and director in Australia and overseas. Also trained as a teacher at the former teacher’s college here in Goulburn, he was a company member and artistic director of the Mustardseed Community Arts Program in Goulburn, toured to remote schools in the Northern Territory with Theatre in Education for the Northern Territory Government, and was artistic director of Coco Youth Theatre Company in Albany, Western Australia.

In 1991 the Artistic Director’s baton of the Lieder Theatre Company was passed to Chrisjohn Hancock, who has advanced the reach and vision of the Company with visits and collaborations both here and overseas, and who celebrates his 30th year as Artistic Director in 2021. Hancock has directed well over 100 productions at the Lieder Theatre, which have been seen by thousands of Goulburn and regional residents, as well as people throughout Australia and overseas.

Selection of programs from Lieder Theatre Company productions.

To this day, the Lieder Theatre Company presents a vast array of theatre and community performance projects throughout the Goulburn region. The Company continues to produce a wide range of high quality stage productions each year, including new and traditional works of all genres, musicals, and youth theatre productions.

Community events have included the 1998 Goulburn Region Arts Bash (GRABfest) and participation at Australia Day, Lilac Time, Victoriana Steampunk Festival, Goulburn Comic Con, Pictures n Popcorn, and many other community events. Most recently, the outdoor performance (complete with horses!) of Journey Through Country, written by Jennifer Lamb, and performed as part of the Goulburn 2020 celebrations, could be seen promenading under the Goulburn viaduct by the shores of the Mulwaree River.

Journey Through Country, performed at the Goulburn viaduct, on the banks of the Mulwaree River, 2020.

Under Hancock’s direction, the Company has also toured internationally, performing in festivals in the United States, Monaco, Spain, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and most recently in Poland in 2019. The Company has also hosted visiting companies from Poland and Nepal in recent years, and in 2018 created the Periphery Theatre Festival.

The Lieder Theatre Company has also collaborated with Goulburn Mulwaree Library, bringing to life the plays written by aspiring young playwrights as part of the Library’s award-winning Mighty Playwrights Program. Professional arts practitioners act as mentors to budding young writers, and the Lieder Theatre Company transforms their work into full-scale stage productions.

Mighty Playwrights 2020 cast and crew. Photo by Danny Scott Photography.

In 1993 the Lieder Youth Theatre Company was established, providing a creative and artistic venue for young people in the region. This inclusion for younger aspirants to the world of theatre has also become a feature of the Lieder Theatre’s activities and presence in the broader community. Members of the Lieder Youth Theatre can often be seen on stilts, and juggling and clowning at community events, and the Lieder Youth Theatre fire shows have become an exciting regular attraction in the region.

Left: Lieder Youth Theatre production of Slide Your Sticky Fingers Inside My Mind, 2015. Right: Lieder Youth Theatre fire show advertisement.

It is thanks to the Lieder Theatre Company that many young people from Goulburn have gone on to have professional careers in the arts. Theatre director Lee Lewis, now Artistic Director of the Queensland Theatre Company, Sam Routledge, Artistic Director of Terrapin Puppet Theatre in Tasmania, Josh Phillips and Idris Stanton, the Circus Firemen, and several graduates of NIDA working in production management, stage management, acting, and directing are just a few of the now well-known alumni of the Lieder Theatre Company.

The Lieder Theatre Company in the New Millenium

Resources: Lieder Theatre Program Collection; Local Studies Photo Collection Poster Files.

Selection of programs from Lieder Theatre Company productions.

The Local Studies department at Goulburn Mulwaree Library attempts to collect as much of the ephemera from each Lieder Theatre production as possible. Sometimes donated by people who attended the show, and sometimes donated by the Company itself, we have a collection of both programs and posters, dating from 2000 onwards. Although not comprehensive, these collections are an excellent resource on the artistic direction of the theatre through the last quarter of a century, including the last several plays under the directorship of John Spicer, and predominantly under the artistic directorship of current Artistic Director, Chrisjohn Hancock.

The Brian Richardson Collection

Production materials from the play ‘The Dispute’ 2005, in which Brian Richardson (centre of photograph) performed. The Brian Richardson Collection.

The jewel in the Library’s Lieder Theatre resources is the Brian Richardson Collection, donated to us by the Estate of the late Mr Richardson in 2019. The collection contains materials from each play Mr Richardson was involved in, from 1994 right up until 2015.

Richardson’s involvement in the Company included at times actor, director, stage manager, photographer, and armorer, among many other roles. The collection contains newspaper clippings, stage management instructions, script notes, CDs, newsletters, posters, and other promotional material, including programs.

This collection exhibits a wonderful insider’s knowledge of theatre productions, with some files containing comprehensive stage notes and historical research for roles and direction, and others containing props and sheet music.

We are extremely appreciative of this small but priceless time capsule in the history of Australia’s longest continually running theatre company, and the kind donation of the items by Mr Richardson’s family.

Left: Materials from the 2001 production of Dracula. Right: Materials from the 2015 production of The Shaughraun. The Brian Richardson Collection.

The Lieder Theatre Company continues to this day to provide a creative outlet for the people of Goulburn and surrounds. It is still finding ways to involve the community and assert itself as a creative force in Goulburn’s performing arts community and beyond. Bravo and more please!

You can view the Brian Richardson Collection, along with our collections of Lieder Theatre Company ephemera, photos, and published works at Goulburn Mulwaree Library today! Contact us for more information.