Mister Brisbane: Good fortune
Also: How about this heat? Beer, books, Shaun the Sheep and other shows.
My friend Noel posted a picture of the Brisbane Arcade the other day and it reminded me of three things: the old tea rooms, the magic shop and The Mayne Inheritance. First, the Rendezvous tea rooms (above, a long time ago) — a fixture on the balcony level of the grand arcade for decades. It was a Brisbane institution and although many people went there to get their fortunes told, the staff were at pains to let you know that the readings were for entertainment purposes only. That’s because it was against the law for anyone to claim to tell your fortune. I believe that the Rendezvous, which was one of many such places in Brisbane back in the day, moved to the Gabba, but it closed after the death of its owner. I’m not sure if other tea rooms are still operating.
I can’t find any mention of the magic shop online, so maybe it’s a figment of imagination. Or maybe it was a costume shop. Or both.
As for The Mayne Inheritance, well it’s a book by Rosamond Siemon about the family who owned great swathes of Brisbane, including the land where the University of Queensland now stands, the Mayne Junction railway yards, the aforementioned Brisbane Arcade and the Regent Theatre. There’s a story that the Mayne family, who lived at Moorlands, which is now part of the Wesley Hospital, was cursed due to a murder committed by its patriarch, Patrick Mayne. That’s where the book and its play adaption by Errol O’Neil come in. I don’t know about the rest of it, but the Regent was certainly cursed once the trustees decided to sell it off to a developer. That’s a story for another day.
Join Brett Debritz and Spencer Howson for the Mister Brisbane show on Reading Radio at 1296AM or DAB+ in Brisbane on Tuesdays at 6.30pm, Wednesdays at 4am and 7am, Fridays at 4am, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 5pm. It is also available as a podcast on popular platforms including Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts.
HOT STUFF
“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that. The thing, of course, is that whichever way you try to explain it, things get very uncomfortable outdoors at this time of year. I’ve been told that I’m lucky to have air-conditioning in my house, and that I shouldn’t complain. So I won’t. I also won’t get into the debate about whether humans are contributing to global warming (spoiler: they totally are), but I will note that the weather pattern is different to the way I remember it when I was a kid.
My memories of December and January certainly involve scorching heat, but also days and days of torrential rain, and on a couple of occasions, cyclones that rolled down the coast as far as Brisbane and the Gold Coast. I know memory can play tricks on us, but — although we’ve had some big storms, including on Monday — it’s a long time since we’ve had a cyclone tear through these parts. I’m certainly not wishing for one, because I know how destructive they can be, but wild weather quite excited me when I was a child. And I really do wish we’d get more rain. A lot more rain.
CERTIFIED DRINKER
I’ve just rediscovered a certificate (above) bestowing on me life membership of the Power Brewing Drinking Team. I acquired it in 1988 when, along with other Brisbane journalists, “celebrities” and various desperados, I was invited to enjoy a pre-launch tipple at the Powers Brewery at Yatala. Power’s Bitter was the brainchild of publican Bernie Power who saw a market for a new Brisbane beer after the Castlemaine Fourex brand fell into the hands of Perth millionaire Alan Bond.
While new beers are 10 cents for 12 these days, the launch of Power’s really shook up the Brisbane beer scene at a time when you were lucky if there was more than one tap at the local bar. It was a big thing for a while, with sponsorship of the Brisbane Broncos bringing it national exposure. However, by 1993 the company had been bought out and, while the brewery continued under the ownership of Carlton United Breweries, the Power’s products disappeared. I assume my lifetime membership expired with the brand, but I’d be happy to be corrected on that.
BY THE BOOK
I was quite taken by the recent ABC story about a book being returned to the Townsville library 33 years after it was taken out. The book, Born to Win by America’s Cup-winning captain John Bertrand, had spent the past few decades being passed from yacht skipper to yacht skipper, who took it around the world and annotated (defaced?) it. I’ve been going through a lot of my old stuff in recent weeks, and I wonder what I’d do if I came across something that didn’t belong to me. I think I’d keep quiet about it.
MEANWHILE
The latest show from Vulcana Circus (above) is called Rear Vision and it’s being held in a car park at Morningside. Vulcana calls it “drive-in circus that is a response to our collective experience of dislocation, isolation and craving for connection, using circus, poetry and sound”. Details for performances from December 17-19 are here.
With the lifting of Covid restrictions, QPAC has not only announced some great new shows for next year, it has released extra seats for shows this month including A Christmas Carol and Circa’s Carnival of the Animals.
The Queensland Ballet’s 60 Dancers: 60 Stories series runs from December 9-12 at the QPAC Playhouse. Details here. And Opera Queensland’s 2021 season begins with Lorelei at QPAC from March 6-13. Details here.
Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show — an international collaboration and significant departure for Brisbane company Circa — will have its world premiere at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre in March. Details here.
FEEDBACK
Brad on Twitter had some high praise for the Mister Brisbane podcast: “I rarely, if ever listen to podcasts. Partly … because I have been disappointed in the past. I’ll be waiting for ep 17. In respect to The Valley, I was a young teen in the mid-to-late 70s and it was one of my favourite haunts. I’d jump the train from Strathpine on weekends and spend hours in there, mainly at the “pinnie” parlour opposite the station entrance. I’d also explore the old cathedral site. I never considered the Valley a dangerous place.”
In response to last week’s item about Fortitude Valley, Fred recalled how his band was playing at one of the clubs on the night Four Corners journalist Chris Masters dropped in. The resulting documentary, The Moonlight State, sparked the Fitzgerald Inquiry, which eventually led to the downfall of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the imprisonment of politicians and police officers, and important reforms. Fred also noted that the 1987 expose is still available to view online.
And, last but not least, Mister Brisbane got a shout-out from the @WhoonBritbox Doctor Who fan Twitter account. They tweeted: “Huge thanks to our new supporter @debritz for featuring us in his newsletter @misterbrisbane. It is much appreciated!” All I can say is thank you — and everyone who supports the newsletter and the podcast.