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A Historical Record of the NZ Federation of Operatic Societies Founded 20 February 1960
| 1960 | |
| President | Frank Terry (Blenheim) |
| Vice Presidents | Laird Thomson (Auckland - North Island); Len Barnes (Nelson - South Island) |
| Executive |
Tim Blennerhassett (Wellington); Hugh Duncan (Blenheim); Douglas Dyer
(Gisborne); Mae Hansel (Palmerston North); Cedric White (Napier) |
| Hon Secretary | Elsa Cresswell |
| The inaugural meeting of the Federation took place at Wakefield House in Wellington on Saturday 20 February 1960, but several months of preparatory work lay behind it. Frank Terry of Blenheim was the founder of the organisation. There has been at least two earlier attempts to form a national body representative of the amateur operatic movement, but without success. The benefits of co-operation, of communication and of speaking with a united voice - so obvious now because societies have experienced then, were not readily discernible in the days when an operatic society functioned pretty much in isolation from its fellows. But in the closing months of 1959 Terry, ably assisted by Elsa Cresswell, put himself in touch with every society whose address he could discover and managed, by virtue of this enthusiasm and persistence, to persuade 14 of them to send representatives to the inaugural meeting. Terry himself chaired the meeting which lasted a full day. The aims of a national body and the hopes and fears of the societies represented were canvassed in detail, and it was unanimously resolved to form a Federation and to impose on member societies a "foundation levy" of $8.40 (four guineas in the then currency). During the ensuing months, Executive members gradually came to grips with the problems which were to become the standard heads of day-to-day Federation activity - copyright questions, the availability of scores and scripts, the compilation of a list of producers willing to travel. Television was just beginning and the Federation engaged itself almost immediately in correspondence with the Ministries of Internal Affairs and of Broadcasting, seeking for the amateur operatic movement a place in the new medium. Laird Thomson (then Managing Secretary of Auckland Operatic) had much experience in work of this kind and it was largely a tribute to him that the infant Federation was able so quickly to begin to make itself heard. Overseas connections were not forgotten and the Federation became, almost at once, a member of NODA. In November the Executive held its first formal meeting and adopted pretty much by accident a pattern which was to be faithfully followed for years to come. At the invitation of Mae Hansel, they went to Palmerston North for the weekend because there was a show on- "Bless the Bride". They started work on the Friday night, continued throughout Saturday, saw the show on Saturday night as guests of the Palmerston North Operatic Society, finished their meeting on Sunday morning and then went home. The major item on their agenda (and they actually spent eight hours on it) was a draft constitution. By 31 December, the Federation had 31 members, and $73.10 in the bank. The Executive, with due prudence, transferred $40 of it to a reserve fund. The Federation had begun. | |
| 1961 | |
| President | Frank Terry (Blenheim) |
| Vice Presidents | Laird Thomson (Auckland - North Island); Hugh Duncan (Blenheim - South Island) |
| Executive |
Tim Blennerhassett (Wellington); Allan Wood
(Invercargill); Donald Thompson (Masterton); Mae Hansel (Palmerston North); Cedric White (Napier) |
| Hon Secretary | Elsa Cresswell |
| The second year was one of consolidation and of steady growth in membership which rose to 39 by December 1961. The Federation became an incorporated body and, having done so, sought a Patron in Sir Arthur Harper who had for many years, fostered the cultural progress of the Dominion during a distinguished career in the Department of Internal Affairs. His acceptance of office was the beginning of a long and warm friendship which the Federation came to value greatly. August saw the first edition (in newsletter form) of the Federation's publication "Spotlight", edited by Max Stewart of Blenheim. The speed with which the organisation has gained recognition and stature was strikingly illustrated when the Arts Advisory Council (forerunner of the QE2 Arts Council) set up a scheme of assistance to amateur theatre. The Federation's submissions had been among those leading to this decision, and when in November, the Council came to consider applications from operatic societies for grants, the Federation was asked to act in an advisory capacity. Penniless though the Federation was, the Executive mustered at short notice and responded to the challenge with a degree of diligence and responsibility which must have stood the Federation in good stead during later years. The year closed on a sad note with the death on 14 January 1962 of Mae Hansel, a foundation member of the Executive. | |
| 1962 | |
| President | Frank Terry (Blenheim) |
| Vice Presidents | Laird Thomson (Auckland - North Island); Hugh Duncan (Blenheim - South Island) |
| Executive |
Tim Blennerhassett (Wellington); Allan Wood (Invercargill); Donald
Thompson (Masterton); Douglas Dyer (Gisborne); Cedric White (Napier) |
| Hon Secretary | Elsa Cresswell (until March); Maureen Donaldson (from October) |
| This was a bad year. It had scarcely begun when Elsa Cresswell tendered her resignation because of family commitments. A scattered Executive took far too long to replace her, and although Terry himself carried what secretarial work he could, the Federation was almost at a standstill when, in October, the Executive met in Wellington and appointed Maureen Donaldson to the position. There were bright spots in the picture. Stewart got his "Spotlight" circulation up to 750 and Blennerhassett was invited to sit on the Arts Advisory Council's subcommittee on amateur theatre. Faced, however, with the need to set up for the first time its own typewriter, duplicator and filing system for the new secretary, the Federation found itself unable to achieve for itself what it had achieved for member societies. Its application for a small grant was turned down, the Council feeling disinclined to help any orgnisation which could not establish itself first. As the year closed, Maureen Donaldson's exceptional ability and capacity for work were beginning to show results and the Federation became once more a going concern. But in December, Laird Thomson, having relinquished his position as Managing Secretary of Auckland Operatic Society, felt constrained to relinquish also his office in the Federation. More than anyone else, he had lent to an infant organisation something of his own dignity, authority and vast knowledge of theatrical administration. He was to be sorely missed. | |
| 1963 | |
| President | Hugh Duncan (Blenheim) |
| Vice Presidents | Tim Blennerhassett (Wellington - North Island); Allan Wood (Invercargill - South Island) |
| Executive | Les Clark (Oamaru); Douglas Dyer (Gisborne); Waric Slyfield (Dunedin); Donald Thompson (Masterton); Cedric White (Napier) |
| Hon Secretary | Maureen Donaldson |
| It was in 1963 that the Federation took its greatest step forward since its inception. Thanks to the good advice and good offices of Stanley Campbell (later to be elected our first Vice Patron in recognition of his services to the amateur operatic movement and theatre in general) the Federation received from the Arts Advisory Council a direct grant of $1,600 for its general work and for certain specific projects. In consequence the scale and scope of the Federation's work were transformed almost overnight. First came the establishment of a library of scores, scripts and books on theatre. Then came three regional meetings of member societies, held respectively in Hamilton, Wellington and Timaru. These provided not only a chance for societies to encounter one another and to discuss common problems, but also a tentative airing of the Federation's most ambitious project to date - the regional building schemes. The idea was to lessen the cost and the hazards of building a production by grouping societies together beforehand so that they might join in choosing the show, commit themselves to take it on hire and pre-pay a portion of the hire charge. Societies were wary of it, but the measure of the Federation's achievement to that point of time was that societies were willing to listen at all. Towards the end of the year much time and effort went into the preliminary arrangements for the Federation's first weekend school scheduled for Paraparaumu in February 1964. Two courses were planned in conjunction - one was promotion and administration and the other one musical direction. Finally, it was in 1963 at the original NZFOS crest was formally adopted. | |
| 1964 | |
| President | Hugh Duncan (Blenheim) |
| Vice Presidents | Tim Blennerhassett (Wellington - North Island); Allan Wood (Invercargill - South Island) |
| Executive |
Les Clark (Oamaru); Douglas Dyer (Gisborne); Waric Slyfield
(Dunedin); Donald Thompson (Masterton); Brian Clark (New Plymouth) |
| Hon Secretary | Maureen Donaldson (until March) Ella Duddridge (from April) |
| The year opened on a high note with a very fine first school at Paraparaumu. It is remembered mainly for the addresses on promotion and administration later published in booklet form; but the musicians too were splendidly catered for by Harry Brusey and Geoffrey De Lautour. By now the Federation had outgrown its administrative structure, and when in April Ella Duddridge was appointed Hon Secretary, the opportunity was taken to spread the burden a little. Allan Wood became Hon Treasurer and Douglas Dyer took over the care and management of the library in Gisborne. In October, the editorship of Spotlight moved to Wellington, Alan Bailey taking over from Max Stewart. Regional meetings continued and a group of societies centred on Wellington undertook a joint venture with the building of Calamity Jane. The newly-formed QE2 Arts Council demonstrated its confidence in the Federation not only by increasing the Federation's own grant for the year to $2,400 but also be contributing $2,000 to the Calamity Jane project. In the south, a similar group scheme headed by Christchurch Operatic Society made steady progress in its formative stages. Most important of all, the advent of Ella Duddridge to the secretariat was the beginning of a long period of stable, efficient and personable head office administration which was to prove one of the greatest assets of the amateur operatic movement. | |
| 1965 | |
| President | Tim Blennerhassett (Wellington) |
| Vice Presidents | Donald Thompson (Masterton) - North Island); Allan Wood (Invercargill - South Island) |
| Executive | Les Clark (Oamaru); Douglas Dyer (Gisborne); Valerie Ashenden (Wellington); Murray Marshall (Christchurch); Laird Thomson (Auckland) |
| Hon Secretary | Ella Duddridge |
| Hon Treasurer | Allan Wood |
| With 49 member societies and with Laird Thomson back in the fold, the Federation faced 1965 in good heart. The February school at Paraparaumu (the first of several on the topic of production) did not quite achieve the practical value hoped for and turned the minds of Executive to the use of theatre venues in subsequent years. It needs to be borne in mind nevertheless that in the amateur operatic movement any gathering of societies has value, and especially was this true in the Federation's formative years. Regional meetings, both large and of small societies, continued through 1965, and the annual general meetings (usually held in March) had become by now a major force in welding the movement together. The secretary and librarian handled an every increasing volume of routine work for societies seeking information and advice, and in order to meet difficulties met by societies in handling more and more hiring transactions, the Federation drew up standard conditions of hire for general use. It was at the 1965 Annual General Meeting that Blennerhassett first propounded to a politely incredulous gathering the notion of a capital assistance fund. The Calamity Jane project suffered a serious reverse in the form of a disastrous initial season in Wellington. Although the Christchurch-based "Call Me Madam" went ahead and was granted $2000 by the Arts Council, the concept of co-operative productions never fully recovered from the Wellington set-back and a great opportunity was allowed to slip. The Arts Council published a policy statement defining as its principal objective the encouragement of professional rather than amateur activity. There were signs, too, that the Council might find difficulty in financing all the obligations it had inherited. Nevertheless the Federation's grant for the year remained $2,400. In November, the Federation distributed to societies a booklet of addresses delivered at the first Paraparaumu school. Ian Main's addresses on publicity were later reproduced in the NODA bulletin. The "Bible" as it came to be known, was essential reading for every committee member in an operatic society. | |
| 1966 | |
| President | Tim Blennerhassett (Wellington) |
| Vice Presidents | Donald Thompson (Masterton) - North Island); Allan Wood (Invercargill - South Island) |
| Executive | Douglas Dyer (Gisborne); Valerie Ashenden (Wellington); Murray Marshall (Christchurch); Jim Saunders (Wanganui);Laird Thomson (Auckland) |
| Hon Secretary | Ella Duddridge |
| Hon Treasurer | Frank Terry |
| This was, almost to the end, another year of vigorous expansion and quite intensive activity. Membership rose to 68 societies; indeed there was hardly a group left in NZ musical theatre that had not joined. A weekend school was called "How the stage works", organised by Palmerston North Operatic Society and staffed entirely from within the amateur operatic movement, drew the largest gathering the movement had ever known. The routine information and library service was busier than ever; a model set of rules was prepared for the guidance of societies. A series of one-day seminars on specialised topics was planned, and one of these did take place at Auckland with great success. Plans were afoot to import a producer on terms which would benefit societies generally. The Annual General Meeting asked the Executive to try and promote the writing of a NZ musical, and plans for a contest were prepared. Then the blow fell. The Arts Council was over-committed and its Federation grant for 1966 remained unknown for some months and was finally cut from $2,400 to $1,500. Meetings were cancelled and plans deferred. The scale of subscriptions payable by member societies, already under revision, were revised again. The Federation faced 1967 knowing that it could expect to do no more than hold the ground it already had gained. | |
| 1967 | |
| President | Donald Thompson (Masterton) |
| Vice Presidents | Liard Thomson (Auckland) - North Island); Murray Marshall (Christchurch- South Island) |
| Executive |
Douglas Dyer (Gisborne); Jack Hancock
(Tokoroa); Jack McSkimming (Palmerston North); Jim Saunders (Wanganui); Alan Wood (Invercargill) |
| Hon Secretary | Ella Duddridge |
| Hon Treasurer | Frank Terry |
| The Federation had committed itself in 1966 to its first South Island residential school - a repeat performance of "How the Stage Works" in modified form. South Canterbury was the host society, and a very successful weekend vindicated the Executive's decision to persevere with this project in the face of financial difficulties. JOC Meredith, who travelled from Palmerston North to Timaru to lecture on stage lighting, proved himself for the second time an outstanding tutor, and it was unfortunately that ill-health ws to prevent his becoming the national figure he should have been in the amateur operatic movement. Three months later (in May) a greatly expanded glossy-paper version of Spotlight, edited this time by a professional in Duncan McPhee, made its first appearance. These ventures apart, Executive's main concern in 1967 was to maintain the Federation's basic services and to do so within the limits of available funds. The Arts Council grant was again only $1,500 and the task of making known to the Council the magnitude and importance of the amateur operatic movement had to be tackled all over again. Fortunately the new President Donald Thompson, was, by virtue of his wide cultural background as well as he delightful personality, the ideal man for that task. The Council was in subsequent years to recognise the Federation as ranking equally for grants with other national amateur administrations, and on the strength of this achievement alone, Thompson's presidency must be regarded as the most successful of any down to that time. It was in 1967 that "The Sound of Music" was released for amateur performance and enjoyed enormous success wherever played. It was in this year that the Executive, meeting at Taupo, signed a deed of trust establishing the Capital Assistance Fund and made plans to launch the fund at the 1968 AGM. But all in all it was a difficult year, and for nobody more than for Frank Terry who had renewed his link with the Federation in 1966 by taking over the treasury from Allan Wood. | |
| 1968 | |
| President | Donald Thompson (Masterton) |
| Vice Presidents | Jack McSkimming (Palmerston North) - North Island); Murray Marshall (Christchurch- South Island) |
| Executive | Douglas Dyer (Gisborne - until September); Les Goatham (Dunedin - from October); Jack Hancock (Tokoroa); Jim McKenzie (Hamilton); Jim Saunders (Wanganui); Allan Wood (Invercargill) |
| Hon Secretary | Ella Duddridge |
| Hon Treasurer | Frank Terry |
| The year began with the fifth and last of the Federation's massive weekend schools, this time in Wanganui where some 130 people were involved. Within the obvious limitations of any weekend school, the occasion was a resounding success, but at the ensuing AGM in March there was some evidence of a demand for more hard work and less social activity. This was to lead, in 1969, to an ambitious programme of more specialised schools and, in 1970, to the total disappearance of schools and seminars from the Federation's programme. A happier feature of the 1968 AGM was the presence by special invitation of Eva Moore, Doyen of NZ Musical Comedy producers, and her election as the Federation's second Vice Patron. In September ill-health forced Douglas Dyer to resign from the Executive and from the management of the library which had become a unique collection of 330 scores, 240 scripts and some 50 text books. His contribution had been an exceptional one. The vacancy on the Executive was filled by Les Goatham while the library moved for a time to Margaret O'Sullivan in Wellington and thence (in 1969) to Christchurch where Murray Marshall was to take up the burden with great zeal and efficiency. The new and greatly improved "Spotlight" suffered a setback when pressure of other commitments led to Duncan McPhee's resignation. Fortunately a Masterton journalist, Guy Ramsden was willing to help, and the publication carried on under the joint editorship of Ramsden and the resourceful Donald Thompson. An increase from $1,500 to $3,000 in the Art's Council grant enabled the Executive not only to plan a series of training schools but to re-examine a number of projects which had been put aside. Vigorous efforts were made to find a sponsor for the proposed contest for the writing and composition of a NZ musical, while a proposed programme competition for 1969 (first mooted by Stanley Campbell) found generous and welcome support from Sovereign Woodworkers Limited of Wanganui through to the good offices of Austin Brasell. It was however, the first year's operation of the Capital Assistance Fund which provided the great success story of 1968. Bullied and cajoled by a management committee comprising Blennerhassett, Thompson and McSkimming, some 19 societies levied their audiences for contributions to the fund which, by the end of the year, had collected its first $1,000 and approved its first two loans. | |
| 1969 | |
| President | Jack McSkimming (Palmerston North) |
| Vice Presidents | Austin Brasell (Wanganui) - North Island); Murray Marshall (Christchurch- South Island) |
| Executive |
Les Goatham (Dunedin); Jack Hancock
(Tokoroa); Jim McKenzie (Hamilton); Jim Saunders (Wanganui); Allan Wood (Invercargill) |
| Hon Secretary | Ella Duddridge |
| Hon Treasurer | Frank Terry |
| The year was notable for two Arts Council appointments - the first that of W N Sheat as Chairman and the second that of Donald Thompson as a member. The new Chairman has been President of the NZ Drama Council during the Federation's early years and had himself been active in amateur operatic work. He had attended all our annual general meetings and we valued his friendship. During the year, Blennerhassett was appointed by the Arts Council to the Steering Committee of the Arts Conference 1970. The Federation's grant was increased to $4,000 opening up, on the one hand, new opportunities to serve its members and, on the other, greater responsibilities in terms of its own efficiency. Although there remained a strong case for a scattered rather than a Wellington-based Executive, it was becoming increasingly apparent that one or two people, notably Thompson, were grossly overburdened while Executive members further field were making little impact either in their own areas or at secretariat. Moreover, an Executive which met half-yearly was exercising neither budgetary nor administrative control commensurate with the growing volume of Federation's business. At an Executive meeting in Napier, Blennerhassett, attending as Chairman of the Management Committee of the Capital Assistance Fund, presented a number of suggestions for administrative reform. It was agreed first to set up a small standing committee which would meet monthly and secondly to propose in March 1970 an amendment to the rules reducing the number of Executive members and ensuring an even geographical spread. An elaborate schedule of training schools had been drawn up following the debate at the 1968 annual general meeting. Thompson, working almost single-handed on the project as well as running "Spotlight", managed during 1969 to organise four weekend schools of real quality at Christchurch, Hamilton, Dunedin and Masterton, but the response from societies was only moderate. The crowning disappointment came in December when a particularly imaginative and practical ten 10 production school planned for January 1970 at Scots College in Wellington, had to be abandoned for lack of registrations. The Federation has not to the time of writing (April 1971) organised another school of any kind; and, while it may well be fair to criticise the celerity with which successive Executives have declined the challenge, one can only look aghast at the failure of 71 operatic societies to recognise the possibility that their standards of presentation might be capable of improvement. Despite this set back the year ended on a note of excitement as the Federation published the conditions of entry of its long-awaited contest for a New Zealand musical. A specially heartening feature was an undertaking by the Palmerston North Operatic Society to mount a full-scale production of any entry which the judges might consider viable. | |