IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK

Stories from 14 MacMahon Street – MacMahon’s Manor

14 MacMahon Street transformed into MacMahon’s Manor – a fine dining and theatre restaurant – in 1983 after being sold by the St George Rugby Union Club to John & Annette Ibbitson. After renovating, restoring and redecorating the venue for six months, MacMahon’s Manor became a very popular venue playing host to theatre productions, numerous weddings and various special events.

Courtesy of John Ibbitson

The first room on the right as you enter the property was a fine dining area with an open log fireplace, a small grand piano and lace tablecloths set with “real true silverware and crystal glassware.” The second room along was the cocktail bar – the bar itself was rescued from an old ferry that was in the process of being dismantled!

In what is today the main gallery space of Hurstville Museum & Gallery, was the theatre restaurant, with a small stage that held big costumes! A new show was put on every three months, with at least a dozen changes of costumes for an audience of approximately 150 people 6 nights a week. The shows became so popular they were booked out 3 months in advance, and every show had a corresponding themed menu and signature cocktail.

Courtesy of John Ibbitson

Bruce Scott, costume designer and choreographer for the stage shows at MacMahon’s Manor, describes  the recipe for a successful night of entertainment at ‘The Manor’ as “variety and comedy that’s it, there's no ifs or buts that’s all you do in theatre restaurant.  You’ve got to entertain the masses when they're eating and drinking and so if you’ve got colour and movement on stage and you've got comedy that’s success, that’s it.”

See some of the original costumes worn on stage at MacMahon’s Manor on display today in the IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK exhibition.

Courtesy of John Ibbitson

These are just some of the stories of 14 MacMahon Street. Come and visit the multisensory exhibition IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK to find out more about the building’s past.

Exhibition proudly sponsored by

Freegal Music Newsletter for April 2014: Been to see Strictly Ballroom the Musical recently?

 

 

Source: Original Sountrack Cover from
Freegal Music Catalogue freegalmusic.com

As a Hurstville Library member, you can download up to 3 songs per week from the Original Soundtrack for free!

Just go to the eLibrary, click ‘Freegal’Music and have your library card and pin handy to log in.

 

Then all you have to do is search ‘Strictly Ballroom Soundtrack’ under Album, or browse under Soundtracks or Genre

 

 

You can also stream up to 3 hours of music and save songs to a playlist.

So, like they say in the musical and movie ‘Listen to the rhythm, don’t be scared. A life lived in fear is a life half lived’

 

 

For recent chart toppers, new releases, top music videos and more, click the link below

 

http://www.icontact-archive.com/rRNQRindhS7dymwqjcvUTRPHom7qdwLD?w=4

 

St George Art Awards is back in 2014

Staff at Hurstville City Library Museum & Gallery are already very excited as they currently plan for this year’s St George Art Awards. For the third time, Hurstville City Library Museum & Gallery will host this biennial, national art competition. Artists entering an artwork in the Art Prize or 3D Art Prize have to respond to a specific theme. In 2010, artists explored the theme “Relationships” through a wide range of mediums. View the 2010 winners.
In 2012, we saw many great artworks which related to the theme “Beginnings”. Have a look at the winning artworks from 2012.

Now we can finally reveal the theme for 2014 – drum roll please – This year’s theme is “Transformation” – a topic with great interpretative potential.

We can’t wait to see what our artists come up with!


Prize categories
St George Art Prize 2014 – $8,000 Acquisitive
St George 3D Art Prize - $3,000
St George Local Youth Prize, Primary student - $250 voucher for art materials
St George Local Youth Prize, Secondary/Tertiary student - $250 voucher for art materials
People’s Choice Award - $500

What comes to your mind when you think of ‘transformation’?

Don’t miss your chance to participate. Get creative and show off your talent.
Entries will open 1 July 2014.
www.stgeorgeartawards.org.au

St George Art Awards 2014 is proudly sponsored by Bronze Sponsor: 

St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

Official opening of St George Art Awards 2012

Author Talk with Deborah O'Brien at Hurstville Library

Deborah O'Brien

Join Deborah O'Brien at Hurstville Library when she launches her new book, A Place of Her Own, a contemporary romance in an Australian setting. With a strong female character, this new work is the third in the Millbrooke trilogy, following Mr Chen's Emporium and The Jade Widow.
Deborah is a teacher, visual artist and writer. She has written several non-fiction books, short stories and contributed articles to a variety of magazines. With family links to rural NSW, she divides her time between the city and a country cottage, overlooking a creek frequented by platypuses.

 Praise for The Jade Widow, "O'Brien delivers accuracy and grace in this deftly written tale." - Australian Women's Weekly

Visit Deborah's website to find out more about her and her work

 

Hurstville Library

cnr Queens Rd & Dora St, Hurstville

Thursday 1 May 2014 @ 1pm

Bookings essential: 9330 6142

Book available for sale & signing

Light refreshments from 12.30pm

Law Week 2014 – Free Solicitor's Talk on 'Planning the Future', Friday 16 May

This year Hurstville Library, Museum & Gallery along with Hurstville City Council are celebrating Law Week with a free Solicitor's talk.

Solicitor, James Kelly from Owen Hodge Lawyers will deliver a talk on ‘Planning the Future - Wills and Power of Attorney’, at Hurstville Library on Friday 16 May 2014, 11-12pm.

Read more about our Guest Speaker here 

This talk will be a great opportunity to find out what you need to know about planning for your family’s future, and how you can find more information through 'Find Legal Answers', a free state-wide service at you local public library and online.

 

Bookings are essential http://www.trybooking.com/EVCN

Find Legal Answers online and at your local public library!

 

Rest Assured: A legal guide to wills, estates and funerals in NSW' can help you understand all the basics: funerals, making a valid will, executors, changing or revoking a will, probate, and what  happens if you don’t make a will.

Find 'Rest Assured' in the tool kit stand in your local public library and online at www.legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au

For more information online, and in your local public library, see ‘Wills, estates and planning ahead’ on the Find Legal Answers website.

 

Find Legal Answers on Pinterest

 

Academy of Country Music Awards

The CMA’s are  being presented on 6 April, 2014.

Miranda Lambert is up for seven nominations in total including a nomination for "Entertainer of the Year". Mama’s Broken Heart" and her new single "Automatic" are available from Hurstville Library's free music download site, Freegal.
 

Other nominated artist’s available from the Freegal site are:

Male Vocalist of the Year: Jason Aldean

Vocal Duo of the Year:  Love & Theft,  Thompson Square

Video of the Year: Carrie Underwood: Two Black Cadillac’s

Female Vocalist of the Year:  Carrie Underwood

 

Are you a member of Hurstville City Library? If your answer is yes, then you are entitled to three free downloads per week. Video clips and streaming are also available. If you're not then your missing a great opportunity to create personalized playlists for free, so join now.

 

 

 

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK

Stories from 14 MacMahon Street – St George Rugby Club

Image courtesy of Craig Fear

In the 1960s, 14 MacMahon Street became the new club house and recreational centre for the St George Rugby Club. St George Rugby players, families and friends, the opposing teams and referees would meet after Saturday home games at the clubhouse for speeches, sing-a-longs and a good time. Later in the evenings a three man band, all rugby players, performed upstairs and everybody started dancing on a little dance floor.

Craig Fear, one of the players, still remembers:

“The floor used to bounce around and anyone in that first room were always a bit worried about to be sitting there, because the ceiling used to bounce up and down.”

The main bar area, today’s main gallery, was the ‘real rugby room’ where everyone mingled. In the early days of the clubhouse women weren’t allowed in. They had to stay in a separate ‘lady’s lounge’ and waive to their male friends to order a new drink.

 

Image courtesy of Craig Fear

On display in the exhibition is the original door sign of the St George Rugby Club. The screw holes for it are still visible next to our Museum & Gallery entrance door.

These are just some of the stories of 14 MacMahon Street. Come and visit the multisensory exhibition IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK  to find out more about the building’s past.

Exhibition is proudly sponsored by