CONTENTS
Chairman’s Report Pure Performance Moments ACU Debating Schimmel Pianoforte Speech & Drama Victorian Band Championships Classical Vocal & Herald Sun Aria Choral Contest Freemasons Foundation Victoria Festival of Bands & Strings Contemporary Vocal Showbiz Cinemas Mi Sound Energetiks Dance CommBank Calisthenics RACV Goldfields Resort The Arts for All Historical Sub Committee Our Volunteers Our Sponsors & Staff CEO Report Abridged Financial Reports
OUR MISSION
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To conduct Australia’s foremost Eisteddfod, promoting, fostering and encouraging participation and interest in the performing arts.
OUR VALUES We are friendly and professional.
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We are respectful of diversity. We act with honesty and integrity. We are committed to excellence. We provide opportunities for personal growth (experience, self esteem, participation and performance).
2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Peter Zala Chairman
Andrea Brown
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Dr Anthony Cole
Contents, Mission & Board
Sheree Chevalier Deputy Chair
Karen Daniell
Ben Brown Treasurer
Ron Harrington OAM
Michael Porter Secretary
Assoc. Professor Mary-Rose McLaren
Virginia Wise
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT I have the pleasure to present the Chairman’s Report for the 2018-19 year which encompasses the competitions of 2018. Following a most successful 2017 season of the Royal South Street Competitions, we were faced with the temporary closure of Her Majesty’s Theatre for urgently needed repairs. We knew we were in for a very challenging year, and challenging it certainly was. In fact, I have no doubt that it was the largest challenge the society has faced since the destruction of the Coliseum in 1936. While our smaller disciplines which do not utilise Her Majesty’s were mostly unaffected and still enjoyed strong entries, the Herald Sun Aria and our five larger disciplines were faced with a costly relocation. The former moved to Christ Church Cathedral and the latter to Founders Hall theatre at Federation University. We are indebted to the authorities at both of those venues for their strong support to accommodate our needs and make our tenure as productive as possible. It was most unfortunate that some of our longstanding entrants chose to not participate this year, which had a devastating effect on our income. Adding to the loss of income, we were faced with a substantial cost burden to provide construction of portable dressing rooms, portable toilets, the set-up of an office away from home, and so on. It did, however, underline the importance of Her Majesty’s to the heart of our operation. While entries were down substantially, the comps still ran fairly smoothly thanks to the university staff, our sponsors, and especially our fantastically committed band of volunteers who worked even harder and with even bigger smiles. Also, our dedicated staff and board members rolled up their sleeves with increased vigour and we still experienced the usual high standard of competitions which again saw many highlights. To say that Brett and our staff performed above and beyond the call of their duties would be a massive understatement. To the many chairpersons and committees of our twelve disciplines, a big thank you for your tireless efforts which ensure that our mission is achieved – “to conduct Australia’s foremost eisteddfod promoting, fostering and encouraging participation and interest in the performing arts”. Peter Zala Chairman
Chairman's Report
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2018 PURE PERFORMANCE MOMENTS
The Mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh updates the media on the capital works program at a very different looking Her Majesty’s Theatre
Our CEO Brett Macdonald attempts a Toyota inspired jump with the girls from Jayde Calisthenics in front of our biggest sign ever!
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Pure Performance Moments
Opera singer Stephen Marsh takes to a very different stage in the heats of the Herald Sun Aria Dance adjudicator Dale Pengelly calls the shots as Masterclasses return.
Work gets underway to transform the stage at Founders Theatre into our home away from home for RSSS
Sadly we said farewell to long time RSSS servant Les Holloway. Here Les is pictured with Claire Gervasoni from Fed Uni at a volunteer event. 2018 saw Les launch his book on the early years of RSSS titled ‘The Years Between’
ACU DEBATING CHALLENGE CUP 2018 saw a change of venue for the ACU Debating Challenge Cup. For the last five years the competition has been held in the City of Ballarat Council Chambers, but this year we moved to Connors Hall, Australian Catholic University, Aquinas Campus. The change of location worked very well. We were accommodated and welcomed magnificently by ACU. The Committee are delighted that ACU has offered this space again for the 2019 Competition. The debating competition once again made a profit largely thanks to the generous sponsorships it receives. The Debating Committee is very appreciative of the generous sponsorship of the competition by the Australian Catholic University, Central Highlands Water and the Rotary Club of Ballarat. The Ballarat East Rotary Club and Ballarat Zonta again supported the competition with prizes for the best male and female debater in each section. The number of entries in 2018 was up on 2017 figures. There were 74 entries to the 2018 competition; 24 in Year 5/6 section, 24 in Year 7/8 section, 12 in Year 9/10 section and 14 in Year 11/12 section. The Committee feels very confident of the future of this discipline in RSSS.
The section winners in 2018 were Year 5/6 SectionDaylesford Primary School Team 1; Year 7/8 SectionLoreto College Team C; Year 8/9 Section Damascus College Team 1; and Year 11/12 Section St Patricks College Team 1. Our thanks to the teachers and volunteer coaches for all their work in preparing the teams. Without the teams we would not have a competition. The work of the adjudicators needs to be acknowledged. They provide wonderful feedback for the students, teachers and coaches. The adjudicators in 2018 were Mr Fergus McLaren (Year 5/6), Mr Liam O’Shea (Year 7/8), Ms Evangelia Diamantopoulos (Year 9/10) and Ms Rebecca Grime (Year 11/12). Many of our adjudicators have previously been students in RSSS debating competitions. It is heartening to see them return in this capacity. The Committee would like to acknowledge the work of Ms Gail Hirst. Gail has served on the Committee for many years and her practical and wise advice will be missed. Sincere thanks also go to RSSS volunteers, other members of the Debating Committee and South Street office staff. It really is a team effort! Eric McLeod & Allyson Rankin ACU Debating Co-chairs
ACU Debating Challenge Cup
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SCHIMMEL PIANOFORTE This was my first time as Section Chair, and can I say what a humbling experience it was after taking over from the wonderful work of Judy D’Ombrain. I have much to learn about this wonderful organisation, and am looking forward to making some exciting changes to enhance the Pianoforte and Chopin Competitions. Once again our competition was proud to have our partnership with Bernie’s Music Land, Ringwood, which again supplied a wonderful K219 Schimmel Grand Piano for both competitions. New technology was a main feature for our competition this year, with the small introduction to MyStage. Once established I’m hoping to reduce the paper-trail heartache, whilst simplifying the job for our volunteers. This will utter in a new age for RSSS Musical Performance based competitions and shall bring a chain of advances to the way we operate. Our three-day general competition was once again held at the Diocesan Centre in Lydiard Street South. Overall entry numbers were down slightly from previous years, however some junior sections were slightly larger. Many thanks to our very generous sponsors, a total of 11 aggregate awards as well as encouragement awards were made in addition to individual section prizes. The Darcy Perpetual Shield was won by Ben English (Daylesford), the five Frank Robertson-Smith Awards were won by: 8 years & Under - Eva Xie (Ballarat); 9 years and under - Sara Kristiensen (Highton); 10 years and under - Kylan Jans (Mt Clear); 12 years and Under - Alison Gaylor (Ballarat); 14 years and Under - Elizabeth Kefaloukos (Portarlington); and 16 years and under Frank Robertson-Smith Scholarship - Sarina Handreck (Tarrington). Thanks to our generous patron Mr Andrew Cochrane, in the memory of his mother Margaret Schofield for the 16 years and Under Chopin Prize, which was won by Gavrielle Caitlin Satyadharma (Tarneit). The 13th Margaret Schofield Memorial Chopin Award was again held at the lovely Oddie Gallery at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. The competition attracted more entries this year, though it was disappointing to see some late
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Schimmel Pianoforte
withdrawals. The overall winner was Tian Tian Lan (Kew), with 2nd place to Hannah Shin (Carlton), 3rd to Kerin Chow (Williams Landing), and the Encouragement Award to Greg Skalak (Wantirna). After some slight difficulties at the start, I am happy to advise that a rubric system has now been developed for Chopin 2019, and if successful, shall be used in future years. In 2019, the introduction of the 16 Years and Under Chopin Prize will be on the Sunday morning, which normally is highlighted in the Pianoforte program. Ideally, this is a stepping stone for the younger generation of piano players into high achieving performance, whilst being able to view artists at a university level. Thanks must go to our generous patron, Mr Andrew Cochrane, his wonderful prize pool for this competition is much appreciated. Thanks also to the wonderful adjudicators Mr Hoang Pham and overall Pianoforte adjudicator Mr Robert Chamberlain for their diligent service. The four day competition could not operate without the wonderful help and support of our hard-working volunteers, venue staff, sponsors, office staff and yes, even the piano tuner. Once again, thank you to everyone involved in supporting me during my first season, which was truly very successful. I’m looking forward in working with you all again next year. Bradley Saul Schimmel Pianoforte & Chopin Chair
SPEECH & DRAMA Speech and Drama enjoyed a happy and successful year in 2018. Competition was over seven days, from August 9 -17 (not including the weekend) at the Diocesan Centre. With the exception of the two Fridays, each day of competition hosted three sessions. Our adjudicator, Ms Jan McKay from Queensland, survived the cold and the long days in good humour. She provided encouragement and critique with kindness, and her contribution and guidance were appreciated by competitors, parents and teachers. This year we were very fortunate to have the assistance of two students undertaking work experience: Jemima Brackley from Ballarat High School and Veronica Rogers from Ballarat Grammar School. Both Jemima and Veronica were highly competent, pleasant, and approachable. Their work in registration, alongside some of our volunteers, ensured the smooth implementation of My Stage. Despite our overall entries being down by about 100 (approximately 15%) we still had multiple divisions in Under 10, Under 12, Under 14, and some Under 16 sections. The Ballarat National Theatre ‘Taking Direction’ section, in its second year, was once again highly competitive, and greatly enjoyed by competitors and audience alike in the Under 16s. Group improvisations continue to be popular (and very challenging); as do the sections that focus on acting (especially the character performances) and poetry. We are grateful to our sponsors for their ongoing support. This year many of those sponsors attended the sections they sponsor and presented prizes. This is an important part of the competitions, connecting competitors with the history of the competitions, and the people who have contributed to, and valued, the competitions over a period of time. This year the past pupils, family and friends of Ivy Keats adopted the senior age group aggregate. It is wonderful to see Miss Keats’ name continue as part of the competitions. The young people competing in Speech and Drama are energetic, funny, sensitive, engaged and engaging. They support each other and demonstrate care and friendship as performers and audience members. As in previous years, our adjudicator in 2018 commented on the exceptional atmosphere of the comps. Such an atmosphere is possible because of the hard work and generosity of the volunteers, and the careful and thorough work undertaken by the committee: Kris Carroll, Penny Powell, Alexandra Meerbach, Mika Wallace and Tammy Vandenberg. Sadly, one of our supporters over many years, and the sponsor of the Loreto DeVries Award in the Under 10 age group, died in January this year (2019). We will miss Lisa Hayden enormously, and send our deepest condolences to her husband Richard, and her children, Gretel and Sam, both of whom competed over many years in Speech and Drama at South Street. A heartfelt thanks to the Speech and Drama committee, the South Street Staff, and the wonderful volunteers for making Speech and Drama such a pleasure to chair once again. Mary-Rose McLaren Speech and Drama Chair
Speech & Drama
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VICTORIAN BAND CHAMPIONSHIPS The Victorian Brass Band Championships were staged in the Founder’s Hall theatre at Federation University over the weekend of 17-18 August, 2018. A total of 23 Brass and Concert Bands competed, comprising four concert bands and 19 Brass Bands in four open grades and one junior grade. The contests were adjudicated by Peter Walmsley OAM, and the winner of the Frank Wright medal this year was Mark Ford. The test pieces for all open grades this year were works by Derek Bourgeois (1941– 2017), in honour of one of Britain’s most prolific composers. The title of Champion A Grade was awarded to Darebin City – Preston Band; with Box Hill, Ararat, and Whitehorse Brass successful in B, C and D Grades respectively. Wonthaggi Youth Brass won Junior C Grade, and the Ballarat Memorial Concert Band won Open C Grade Concert Bands. After many years as President of the Victorian Bands League, Megan Stapleton was replaced in the Chair this year by Dr. Kevin Cameron. Kevin is well known in the band movement and at South Street as an adjudicator and is presently Head of Music at Geelong Grammar School. In closing, I wish to express my thanks to Kevin Cameron, Keith Moore, Doug McGregor and Brian McInnis, as well as Andrew Dale from Ballarat Grammar School for his help and assistance in the provision of percussion and timpani instruments. Thanks also to Brett and the RSSS staff for their fine efforts in the mammoth task of relocating the championships this year. Peter Zala Victorian Band Championships, Chair
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Victorian Band Championships
CLASSICAL VOCAL
HERALD SUN ARIA
The Classical Vocal (Junior & Intermediate) section was held at the Diocesan Centre on Wednesday 29th of August with adjudicator Carrie Barr and accompanist Alison Conrau. There were five sections in the under 14 age group; five sections in the 14 to under 18 age group; one VCE section and one Open Section, which attracted a total of 97 entries. This was down 19% on last year after two very strong years of growth of 14.4% and 25.6% for the two preceding years; however, a strong appearance rate of 88.6% was most pleasing.
2018 marked the 94th anniversary of the competition first held in 1924. With the temporary closure of Her Majesty’s Theatre, the heats and semi-final were conducted in the Christ Church Cathedral. This year also saw the introduction of a partnering arrangement with Melbourne Opera and the staging of the final at the Dame Elizabeth Murdoch Hall at the Melbourne Recital Centre, with accompaniment by the Opera Melbourne Orchestra under the baton of Greg Hocking AM.
2018 was the first visit to South Street by both Carrie and Alison, and Carrie was impressed by the standards of our singers. The Kathleen Benson Encouragement Award was won by Amalia Safonovic, The Marjorie Davies Encouragement Prize was won by Sebastian Allen, and the Bram Walker Memorial Award was won by Oscar Mulcahy. My profound thanks go to Pam Lee for all her assistance and support. Peter Zala Classical Vocal Chair
The adjudicators this year were Greg Hocking, Dobbs Franks and Tiffany Speight, with Caroline Almonte the official accompanist for the heats and semi-final. The finalists this year were Stephen Marsh (Grovedale, Baritone), Tessa Hayward (Ultimo, Soprano), Ruth Blythman (East Brunswick, Soprano), Rebecca Rashleigh (Montrose, Soprano), and Michael Lampard (Point Cook, Tenor). The winner was Rebecca Rashleigh. The Richard Dival Prize was won by Michael Lampard, and the Dame Elizabeth Murdoch Prize went to Tessa Hayward. Peter Zala Herald Sun Aria Chair
Classical Vocal & Herald Sun Aria
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CHORAL CONTEST 2018 was a year of change for the Choral contest with our event being held at Founders Theatre Fed Uni while Her Majesty’s Theatre was under restoration. This presented an extra challenge for our volunteers which they rose to with aplomb. Pleasingly entries rose to 91 from 74 the prior year. Our adjudicator Jonathan Grieves-Smith offered some fantastic feedback and words of encouragement to our choirs and we look forward to welcoming him back in the future. Mentone Girls Grammar took home several awards as did Melbourne Chorus. Our Primary School sections were also well attended, it was a delight to see so many young people enjoying choral singing. Every year our dedicated volunteers provide an amazing service to Royal South Street Society but particularly this year with so many changes we would like to thank them for their amazing service. Choral Committee
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Choral Contest
FREEMASONS FOUNDATION VICTORIA FESTIVAL OF BANDS & STRINGS The Instrumental section of the Royal South Street Eisteddfod was held at Founders Hall, Federation University over the last week of August and the first week of September 2018. Entries were slow in coming and cut off dates were extended, pleasingly ending up with a full program, commencing on Friday the 31st August with the string sections. Our adjudicators Ben Castle and Amberley Bremmar were well received and worked well together. The new section of Intermediate String Orchestras drew in nine entries and is expected to grow in 2019. For the first time I saw an adjudicator accompany a solo string entry. He was the only competitor and Amberley decided to make something of it. Area Orchestras had six entries. The Concert Band Section was well supported, adjudicated by Ken Waterworth and Graham Lloyd. Small Groups and the VCE Byrne Memorials were of a high standard, adjudicated by Peter Hannah. The Stage Band Sections were again highly contested. The Peter Martin Jazz Memorial only attracted ten entries who entertained us with professional performances. We were fortunate to have David Gardner adjudicating as he is well sought after. The Saturday morning competition was a bit of a challenge as we were unable to contact our percussion adjudicator, so again the Drum Solo Section was postponed. Fortunately Graham Lloyd had not left Ballarat and was willing to fill in for the John Chenery ensembles. An interesting event was the Brass Solo Section as all entries were from local brass bands. On discussion with Troy Cheeseman (principal of the Ballarat City Brass Band) a full day has been programmed for 2019, reflecting the brass band solos conducted by South Street many years ago. A huge effort to attract more entries in the woodwind solo section did not produce an increase in numbers and as a result the sponsor has not continued. Overall the Freemasons Festival of Bands & Strings regained some of its prestige and 2019 is looking good. Retaining the support of schools and sponsors is important. I was happy to work at Founders as it suited me with great warm up rooms and a flat floor. The auditorium is easy to operate and apart from a lack of a constant food outlets the event was good. Support for our volunteers was okay with fewer required. My thanks go to the Freemasons Foundation Victoria once again for their generous sponsorship. Brian McInnis Freemasons Foundation Victoria Festival of Bands & Strings Chair
Freemasons Foundation Victoria Festival of Bands & Strings
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CONTEMPORARY VOCAL For the second year running, Contemporary Vocal was held at the Helen McPherson Theatre and ran for six days in late August. Once again, we were thrilled to have such a vibrant and well supported section, with competitors of all ages singing a wide variety of genres. Our event ran predominantly through MyStage for the second year and I warmly thank and congratulate the program creators Wilson and Albert, and all the volunteers who embraced this program. We were able to run with slightly fewer volunteers due to the ease of the program and the ability to update information instantly. A very big thank you must go to Fiona and Julie who spent many extra hours fixing some of the incorrect entries that had occurred in the guide book with late entries or competitors swapping sections. For the first time, we welcomed Lady Shaula Salathe as one of our adjudicators. She was met with mixed feelings from many who thought her background was too classical, however she managed extremely well, and we extend to her our heartfelt thanks. Due to an unexpected and very late withdrawal from our other proposed adjudicator Johanna Allan, we were extremely lucky to secure Sally Cameron and Sally Bourne at late notice. They were both very well received by all and exuded warmth and professionalism.
This year Royal South Street partnered with the School Broadcasting Network Inc, and our performers were offered the chance to be on SBN’s award winning show Music Matters. Competitors could choose to enter and if they were one of the top 10, they were invited to perform live on radio during the Royal South Street Hour. This added another layer of excitement for the competitors. We would like to thank our sponsors, in particular Redwood Studios, the Sutton family, the Gardner family and the family trust of William Morrell. Following the competition, we created a survey which was sent to all competitors and we received about 40 responses. The survey asked the following questions: 1. What sections would you like to see added? Overwhelmingly, Gospel/RnB and Soul. 2. If you entered a section and didn’t compete, can you let us know the reason. Most replied N/A, but there were 6 who replied that the age group was spread over too many days. 3. The next few questions related to the venue, venue accessibility, access to food and parking etc which each averaged a rating of around 3.5 out of 5. 4. If you plan to enter in 2019, would you be happy to upload your backing track to a website in advance? This received a very positive response with only 5 people replying in the negative. 5. Do you have any other feedback to provide that may help us in our planning or improvement? We got some interesting comments in this section. Quite a few related to various opinions on adjudication, both positive and negative. The more valuable feedback included requests for schedules to come out earlier, keep age groups to two days where possible, keep sections smaller and change the judging criteria to make it more specific for various genres. As a result of this survey, I am implementing quite a few changes for 2019, including some new sections, and reworking the scoring templates. Thank you to Peter Zala, Brenda Ludbrook, the RSSS office staff and Federation University for their support of Contemporary Vocal. Most of all, thank you to the volunteers and competitors who keep our section alive and thriving. Carolyn Bennett Contemporary Vocal Chair
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Contemporary Vocal
SHOWBIZ CINEMAS MI SOUND Mi Sound 2018 was held from Wednesday September 12 to Friday September 14 at the Element Nightclub, a function room of The Miners Tavern in Lydiard Street, Ballarat. This venue is excellent for hosting such an event as the room has the look and feel of an industry nightclub. The stage is an ideal size to enable performances from soloists through to groups of up to 10 performers. The venue has the bar open for soft drinks and meals through the day and serves alcohol with discretion to adults during evening performances. The owners and staff of the Miners Tavern are most supportive allowing early/ late access to the venue for bump in and bump out, along with provision of security personnel and support. Changes from Mi Sound 2017 - Entry and exit to the venue was well managed, with all performers and audience entering via the back entrance. - Industry specialist was reduced to a single person, from 2 people in 2016 & 17 - Entries were allowed until August to work in with school timetabling - Moved from 3 x 2hr sessions to 2 x 4 hour sessions which encouraged participants to remain as audience as well as the ability for multiple schools to be involved in each session.
There were 36 entries, each performing a 20 minute set across the three days. Many were high calibre and were provided with a review of their performance from a music industry specialist based on the 10 criteria being used for the VCE/VET Music Performance exam along with a showreel of their performance. Styles of music included hip-hop, classical piano, big band, singer songwriter, classic rock groups, heavy metal, classical violinists, modern vocal and musical theatre. Mi Sound is seen as preparation for the VCE Music exam and an opportunity to showcase their work, along with providing the final performance requirement for assessment in relation to the Certificate III in Music Industry study. Students involved in the study of Sound Production as part of their VCE studies provided the workforce for managing the stage setup and the audio for the event. This was registered with the Education Department as Structured Workplace Learning for the Sound Production students, contributing to their assessment requirements. Sound production staff of DMS Music Industry Training provided the technical supervision and operation of the event – stage management, FOH audio & foldback to stage and item introductions. Chris Jones, Managing Director of Showbiz Cinemas, was introduced at the Wednesday evening performance and other sponsors were mentioned throughout the competition. Volunteers were appreciated in the areas of registration and ticketing, along with bump in and out of the South Street equipment. It is noted that Mi Sound requires only 3-4 volunteers per session, and other volunteers are most welcome to attend as audience members. Audience numbers from the general public seemed to be less than in 2017 and needs to be further developed in coming years. David Santamaria & Sheree Chevalier Showbiz Cinemas Mi Sound Co-Chairs
Showbiz Cinemas Mi Sound
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ENERGETIKS DANCE COMPETITION Thanks to thorough planning, the transition of venue was met favourably overall, and the old adage of “the show must go on” and the true spirit and heart of RSSS, prevailed. Entries were down by 905 to 1,635 from 2,540 in 2017, due to no entries from three large Melbourne schools. That meant obvious revenue loss, and our programme was four days shorter. Our comp was 15 days, three sessions daily from 22nd September to our finale on 6th October. We welcomed two Queensland adjudicators, Ruth Lane and Dale Pengelly, who alternated sessions and adjudicated together all Championships and our final evening. Feedback from both was that the impressive and excellent training of the young dancers, coupled with the impeccable running of the competition, made their job pleasurable. There was much to celebrate: • We welcomed a school from Perth – wonderful for our reputation and what an enormous effort to bring students across the Nullarbor! • Volunteers embraced MyStage - a positive step forward. • The Australian Ballet School sent Andrew Murphy to attend at the Courier Classical Ballet Championship and award the five day Summer School Scholarship. Andrew told the audience and students how impressive the calibre of dance he observed was and how valuable a reputable Competition like RSSS is to young dancers. We are very grateful to the ABS for their continued support. • Re-introduction of Junior and Senior Masterclasses, taken by our Adjudicators onstage during the Comp. A very successful and well received incentive, to be continued. Proceeds of $1,075.00 were donated to the Meningococcal charity “4 EK”. • To mark Energetiks’ 10th year as our major sponsor, a new event called “Dance for Life” was introduced for the winners of the 14 years and over Solo Sections. The prize pool was exceptional; the event on our last night was a great success and is to be ongoing. We are so grateful to Energetiks for their generous sponsorship. • Two new Trophies introduced: - The Barbara Lynch Perpetual Memorial Trophy, for the winner of 16 years and Over Song and Tap Solo; and
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Energetiks Dance Competition
- The Emma-Kate McGrath Perpetual Trophy, for the winner of the Open Modern Groups. We convey our thanks to ALL the SLC technical crew. They were exceptional to work with and their skills and professionalism resulted in a very positive vibe backstage. To EVERY Volunteer - FOH, security and backstage. We sometimes don’t cross paths because of our respective hives of activity but we extend our sincere appreciation – you are all wonderful human beings! Sincere thanks to all office staff, in particular to Julie Wiseman for her vision and events management skills in planning Founders Theatre. We are indebted to our Committee – Dr. Anthony Cole ‘RSSS Oracle’, whose assistance and knowledge was invaluable in my first year; Ray Pezzutti – very experienced Stage Manager who keeps backstage calm and flowing; Vivienne Edlund and Barbara Lowe – new to Dance with previous RSSS knowledge/admin skills; also thanks to Sharon Richardson – valued honorary technical dance brains-trust/former Company dancer. Lastly, thanks to our competitors – we love doing what we do because of them. We are confident that a return to ‘Her Maj’ and some much needed marketing in 2019, will see the Dance Discipline reinvigorated. Live, Love, Dance... Kerryn Gledhill Energetiks Dance Chair
COMMBANK CALISTHENICS COMPETITION Wow! What a year we had in 2018. In February, we learned from theatre management that our beloved Her Majesty’s Theatre would be unavailable for this year’s competition. An enormous thank you must go to those in the calisthenics community who trusted Royal South Street to be able to hold a successful and quality competition despite not having the theatre we have come to know as the venue for “Ballarat”. Sadly, the Victorian Championship teams decided not to enter the competition for the year. That decision had an impact not only on our entry numbers but also on the two elite solo sections. After some minor amendments to the rulings however, we now allow girls to enter the solo competition whether or not they are competing in a team at RSSS. This change also gives the top competitors from other states and territories the opportunity to compete, and in the end only the Northern Territory were without a representative in 2018. The year’s competition was held over 23 full days (27 last year) without the need for any evening/morning split competitions – which I believe was well received by all. We saw approximately 3,520 competitors grace the stage in approximately 1,860 items (in 2017 we saw 4,517 in 2,313 items). Of the 223 clubs competing (263 last year), 29 (30 last year) were from interstate (13% up from 11.4% last year). There were 446 competitors from interstate (464 last year) and they represented 13.2% of competitors (10.4% last year). The feedback we received from competitors, coaches and supporters was really positive. The relaxed feel of the theatre, the dressing and warm-up options, and the limited other restrictions were enjoyed by all. I would like to express my thanks to every volunteer, and every staff member of RSS, Founders Theatre and SLC who went above and beyond to make the event possible. Roll on 2019. Pam McKee CommBank Calisthenics Chair
CommBank Calisthenics Competition
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RACV GOLDFIELDS RESORT - THE ARTS FOR ALL What a thrill it was to welcome back The Arts for All for a second year at the RACV Goldfields Resort in Creswick, this time in September. The event moved from November in 2017 to ensure it didn’t clash with the Melbourne Cup holiday, making it easier for out of town competitors to get to Ballarat. The move worked with entries just about doubling to around 100. The Ballarat Specialist School were there in big numbers, performers from Karden, Scope and Pinarc returned, we had soloists from Mitcham, Kyneton and Geelong and we even saw a very ‘edgy’ dance crew from the Broadmeadows Specialist School. Entry numbers demonstrated the success of the event but I believe the true measure was the feeling in the RACV Ballroom, it was electric! Our performers had so much fun and really fed off the energy of Bryce Ives our adjudicator. Bryce was fabulous with his verbal and written crit sheets taking feedback to another level. The highlight for me was seeing two young ladies performing as a dance duo in their motorized wheelchairs, it brought tears to the eyes of many watching. No matter who you are you can perform at South Street, that’s what The Arts for All is all about… inclusivity. Thanks to the members of the working group who offer their specialist advice throughout the year and thanks to the RSSS Eureka House team for all the work that happens behind the scenes. Thanks also to Martin Zumstein and his team at the RACV Goldfields Resort for being amazing hosts and sponsors, to the Ballarat Specialist School for providing their instruments and amps and to Ballarat Connected Communities for another generous donation. Planning has begun for 2019 with a third day slotted into the schedule to accommodate the expected growth in entries. Bigger, better and inclusive… that’s The Arts for All. Brett Macdonald The RACV Goldfields Resort ‘ The Arts for All’ Chair
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RACV Goldfields Resort - The Arts for All
HISTORICAL SUB-COMMITTEE Our team of archive volunteers has been entering the results of 128 years of competitions into a web database, which is part of the main RSSS web page. This database is searchable and is now being used for all current competitions. All Prize Winners have been entered (apart from some extra sections from early decades) and we are now entering the names of competitors who took part but were not placed. We are also in the process of transcribing the minutes of the Executive and Administrative Committees into digital text files, and with more than 1500 meetings, many with minutes in poor handwriting, this is a major task. Our photo albums and newspaper cutting volumes are being listed in detail in the main index, which is being expanded into much greater detail in many areas. Eventually every individual document will be listed. The most extreme case is of a scrapbook with items from 1917 through to 1972 pasted into it. A detailed listing showed 1400 documents. The timetables in it were photographed for the volunteers entering data for the webpage, but there are still 1300 or so documents to be done. We are also photographing the last main sections of the collection and looking at material from more recent decades. While we have a large volume of material saved from previous decades, there is much that was never saved and we rely on research or donations to fill out our knowledge. A Prize Certificate from 1896 has just been sent to us, which will be our oldest such item. Also, there are three large Prize Winners photo montages from 1898, 1901 and 1912, owned by the Ballarat Historical Society and stored at the Gold Museum. We are working to obtain grants to have these items professionally conserved. We now have lists of people involved with the society in its earliest decades, which has been of great help to those volunteers interpreting the handwritten minutes. Work is also being done on a history of the venues used for each section in each year’s competitions. Thank you to Judy Mander-Jones, Lynda Grant, Tarja Ralston, Silvia Wetzel, David Evans, Jennie Thomas, Jenny Jeffree and Michael Pedersen for all the excellent work you put in. David Callinan Team Archive/ Historical Sub-Committee
Historical Sub-Committee
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Below: South Street Volunteers tour Stems Flower Farm. Right: Ballarat Gold Museum
VOLUNTEER MILESTONE AWARDS
5 YEARS Kerry Daniell Chris Gardner Barb Howes Judy Mander-Jones Verna Martin Karen Pengelly
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Volunteer Milestones
10 YEARS Kerryn Gledhill Carolyn Greedy Gail Hirst Mary-Rose McLaren Marian Waldron
15 YEARS Kristen Carroll
35 YEARS
Helen Emery
Anthony Cole
Helen Kinnersly
Dawn Harrington
James McKee
Ron Harrington
Pam McKee
Peter Zala (36)
Amanda Milton
THANKS TO OUR 2018 ACTIVE VOLUNTEERS Christine Allen Bianca Alvarez-Harris Alex Ball Susan Beechey Yvonne Biggs John Blythman Marion Blythman Lorinda Bolton Allison Boucher Carolyn Bourke Ralph Broemmer Louise Brooks Andrea Brown Lexie Brown Ben Brown Cherie Brown Helen Brown Nora Cain David Callinan Kristen Carroll Caron Cavalier Rachel Cheah Sheree Chevalier Peter Cocks Anthony Cole Janelle Coombes Hettie Crouch Arnie Currie Joyce Currie Kerry Daniell Karen Daniell Noreen Daniell Sue Deans Judy D'Ombrain Melanie Dunbar Barbara Dunlop Maurie Edlund Vivienne Edlund Gayle Ellen Robert Elshaug Beverley Elshaug
Helen Emery David Evans Amanda Fewell Jill Filmer Sandra Fishwick Ron Fleming Donna Flynn Naomi Frawley Marilyn Furness Chris Gardner Sally Gibson Pamela Gilbert Deborah Gilchrist Ann Gladman Kerryn Gledhill Robyn Gould Lynda Grant Carolyn Greedy Andrew Greenwood Glenys Grigg Allyson Hankin Ron Harrington Dawn Harrington Merle Hathaway Mary Higginson Gail Hirst Jill Hobby Kelvin Hobby Jo Hocking Colleen Holloway Les Holloway Yvonne Horsfield Margaret Howell Barbara Howes Ian Howes Laura Hudson Julie Hunneybell Joan Jamieson Geraldine Jenkins Barry Johnson Karen Jones
Helen Kinnersly Annette Lawson Shirley Leffanue Aileen Linahan Stella Loverso Barbara Lowe Brenda Ludbrook Dorothy Ludwell Judy Mander-Jones Verna Martin Bob Matthews Christina Mauseth Douglas McGregor Brian McInnes James McKee Naomi McKee Pam McKee Mary-Rose McLaren Eric McLeod Amanda Milton Wayne Mitchell Peter Morton Keith Murdoch Rebecca Norris Virginia O'Brien Anita O'Neill Marion Parker Graham Paulin Michael Pedersen Karen Pengelly Ray Pezzutti Michael Porter Penny Powell Graeme Ragg Gwenda Ragg Tarja Ralston Leo Rennie Helen Rennie Gordon Reynolds Shirley Reynolds
Sharon Richardson Christine Rickard Brenda Robertson Anthony Rowlands Kristen Rowlands Cheryl Russell Bradley Saul Jeff Schoer Kathy Schoer Jennifer Searl Janice Shelmerdine Rosemary Sheludko Anne Slattery Heather Smith Yvonne Smith Nicola Somers Katrina Southurst Danni Stonehouse Graeme Sutton Jennie Thomas Peter Thorpe Claire Thorpe Tracey Trezise-Barrett Heather Turner Melinda Unmack Kaye Valpied Marian Waldron Heidi Walsh Sophie Walters Irene Warfe Marilyn Watts Silvia Wetzel Helen Whatman Lynette White Margaret Wilson Kerry Wilson Virginia Wise Julie Wiseman Vikki Woodburn Peter Zala
Active Volunteers
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OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS
OUR STAFF
Fiona Gregor Volunteer Coordinator
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Sponsors & Staff
Susan Hughes Finance & Administration Officer
Julie Wiseman Competition Officer
CEO REPORT 2018 was one of the most challenging years the Royal South Street Society (RSSS) has ever faced in our long and proud history. The necessary closure of Her Majesty’s Theatre, our prime venue, saw entries fall by around 18%. The associated drop in revenue and increase in expenses (with the move to Founders Theatre) has seen RSSS lose a substantial amount of money. It was not just the number of entries; it was also the calibre. Elite Championship Calisthenics Clubs and Melbourne Dance schools chose not to come to Ballarat because Her Majesty’s was closed. These are the sections that drive full houses in Her Majesty’s auditorium. The history, prestige, amazing stage and central location of Her Maj provides the South Street Competitions with a massive comparative advantage over other eisteddfods, thus attracting entries from all over Australia, which provides a substantial benefit to the local economy. RSSS attracts thousands of competitors to our stages each year, but it is not just these talented young people who are affected. The local business community very much relies on its RSSS trade every year to boost business at the tail end of winter and early spring. It is estimated around $1.5m was lost from the economy in 2018 with the dip in entry numbers and, of course, audiences. In positive news, we have been informed that Nicholson Construction will have finished stage 1 of the capital works program in early July, allowing RSSS to return to the theatre in time for this year’s competition. If you are in a position to donate to RSSS it would be greatly appreciated. Your support will enable us to rebuild through concerted marketing and promotional efforts so we can get back to doing what we do best, running Australia’s oldest and largest Eisteddfod. We ask that you also support our drive to encourage the
Federal Government to provide the final $5m needed for the works at Her Majesty’s by signing our petition at www.change.org; to date almost 2300 people have. There was still much to be proud of across 2018, in fact our satisfaction rating from the end of year survey went up to 88%. Entries were healthy across disciplines such as Debating, Festival of Bands and Strings and Contemporary Vocal. The second year of The Arts for All was a wonderful success with entries almost doubling. Energetiks Dance for Life burst onto the stage showcasing the best of the best dance soloists at RSSS. Celebrating Chopin returned to the Art Gallery with a huge increase in prize money thanks to the generosity of Andrew Cochrane, in fact Tian Tian Lan from Kew took home $5000 for winning the competition. We used Connors Hall at ACU as a venue for the first time which worked fantastically. Founders Hall, whilst not as central as we would like was a wonderful home away from home, and the parking was the right price! My thanks to Federation University for being gracious hosts. On a technical note, MyStage was embraced across all disciplines in 2018 creating efficiencies we’ve long hoped for and we continued to live steam events, not only calisthenics but for the first time all our sections featuring bands and orchestras. My thanks to our key sponsors once more, they are all noted in this annual report. In particular Bernie’s Musicland who supplied not one but two grand pianos and Energetiks who celebrated their 10th year as our dance sponsor - what an amazing milestone. A special thanks to the volunteers of RSSS, what a hardworking crew. The unsettled year saw numbers drop by 15% but the 188 people who did volunteer adapted well to the new venues. In Eureka House we said farewell to Jacqui Olston and welcomed Dayle Long. Susan Hughes, Julie Wiseman and Fiona Gregor took the ‘can do’ attitude to a whole new level, thank you ladies. A final note of thanks to the RSSS board; a hardworking group of volunteers who were faced with difficult decisions throughout the year, but had the vision to adopt a ‘show must go on’ attitude. So, we now turn our attention to 2019, a year to re-build as we head back to Her Majesty’s, our unfair advantage. Brett Macdonald CEO
CEO Report
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Other Expenses
433,343
455,054
Total Expenses
872,481
913,363
Net Operating Profit from Ordinary Activities
(189,002)
19,465
Other Comprehensive Income Net Unrealised Gain/(Loss) on Revaluation of Financial Assets Total Comprehensive Income
(13,679) (202,681)
1,738 21,203
ABRIDGED FINANCIAL REPORTS
ROYAL SOUTH STREET SOCIETY ABN 33 764 110 838 ABRIDGED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018
Income Admissions Entry Fees Other Income
2018 $
2017 $
247,862 167,342 268,275
405,468 187,660 339,700
Total Income
683,479
932,828
Expenses Adjudicators & Writers Prize Money Salaries & Superannuation Other Expenses
79,505 68,073 291,560 433,343
89,287 83,754 285,268 455,054
Total Expenses
872,481
913,363
Net Operating Profit from Ordinary Activities
(189,002)
19,465
Other Comprehensive Income Net Unrealised Gain/(Loss) on Revaluation of Financial Assets Total Comprehensive Income
(13,679) (202,681)
1,738 21,203
These abridged financial statements are a summary of the audited financial statements, which can be obtained upon request.
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Abridged Financial Reports
ROYAL SOUTH STREET SOCIETY ABN 33 764 110 838 ABRIDGED BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2018
Current Assets Cash Receivables
2018 $
2017 $
219,122 42,229
286,018 22,957
Total Current Assets
261,351
308,975
Non Current Assets Fixed Assets Investments
171,702 632,163
182,984 701,004
Total Non Current Assets
803,865
883,988
1,065,216
1,192,963
Current Liabilities Employee Provisions Payables
17,715 152,716
19,605 85,136
Total Current Liabilities
170,431
104,741
Non Current Assets Employee Provisions
9,244
-
Total Non Current Liabilities
9,244
-
Total Liabilities
179,675
104,741
Net Assets
885,541
1,088,222
Members' Funds Piano Revaluation Reserve Trust Fund Reserve Financial Asset Reserve Retained Earnings
111,766 277,377 (11,941) 508,339
Total Members' Funds
885,541
Total Assets
111,766 276,430 1,738 698,288 1,088,222
Abridged Financial Reports
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Pure Performance Gold
Professional images courtesy of Capture My Event and The Herald Sun. Design by Jacqui Olston
PH: 03 5332 1054 I E: info@royalsouthstreet.com.au I royalsouthstreet.com.au