Sunday, November 8, 2015

ART DECO AYR ABOUNDS IN SURPRISING ATTRACTIONS

The  art deco influence is evident  in the Queensland sugar town of Ayr, 88 kilometres  south of  Townsville ,  as  this  unusual clock  and weather  vane , a memorial  to  a strong minded  Burdekin  pastoralist , John    Drysdale, of the Pioneer  Sugar Mill ,  shows . Regarded as  the local sugar  king, Drysdale ,  a canny Scot,   intolerant of  government interference in the  industry,  opposed trade union  activities , arbitration courts , price regulation  and the Australian Sugar  Producers' Association ,  died  in 1928.

In 1910 he  had  taken   up  1280 acres of  land  in  the Burdekin River area  and with  a government concession  built the  Inkerman  Mill and tied up many local  cane  producers  on long  term  agreements  with  high payments  and  obstructed  attempts  to  build  a rival cooperative mill  in  the district. 

When  community groups  held  talks  to  discuss  how to erect a memorial  to  commemorate his contribution  to the district , a minister of religion suggested the establishment of a centre for  youths, which  was disregarded , the  unusual  clock  getting  the  tick of  approval .
 
An interesting fact is that Drysdale was the great uncle of  artist Sir (George) Russell Drysdale , famous  for his  pioneering , stark  paintings  of  outback  Australia .

In  1930  young  Russell  worked  for a few months  at  Pioneer, coming up from Melbourne  where  he attended Geelong Grammar . Russell  had  gone with  an  uncle  , Cluny , from  Pioneer , on a business  trip back to Britain  the  following year .
 
The artist  was appointed to the board of the Pioneer Sugar Mills Pty. Ltd.  in 1947 and made regular  visits to North Queensland , calling Pioneer ,where his father had worked for a time before moving to Melbourne ,  his "spiritual home " . He was  knighted for  his contribution  to Australian  art .

The 1964   book, John Drysdale and the Burdekin, by Roy Connolly,  published by Ure Smith ,  included sketches of  the  industrious  engineer  by his grand -nephew, Sir Russell Drysdale. Two streets in  the  Ayr district bear  the  Drysdale  name .
 
 
A  short distance from the clock is  the art deco like  fronted  Delta Cinema , saved by the international golfer Karrie Webb  whose parents now run the business .The  history of the building goes back to 1909 and  it supposedly was  the  first  country cinema in Queensland  to show talking pictures . In 1961 it was  converted into a supermarket , a Chinese restaurant ,an office supplies store , a nightclub  and  a  ladies  clothing store.
 
Left  empty  for years,  it was brought back to life in  the late 1990s  when Karrie Webb , brought up in Ayr, bought  it  to give back  something to  her  hometown .   
Geometric pattern above the entrance to the cinema . Below: The Delta in 1910 at the time of its opening . A  bachelors' ball  was  held  followed by an amateur theatrical military comedy drama , All for Gold ...Burdekin  Shire  Council photograph .