History - How It Started
In 1960 South Australia was a world away from how it looks today. The famous Sir Thomas Playford was still the Premier, the city only had one motel, pubs closed at six and hedonists couldn't order wine in restaurants after 8pm. There was the need for a change to bring Adelaide alive.
The original Adelaide Festival was set up by two people. The first was Sir Lloyd Dumas. He started his career as a cadet reporter for the local newspaper The Advertiser, the beginning of a glittering career that included being Press Secretary for Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes, Chief of Staff for the Melbourne newspaper Argus, Editor of the Sun News-Pictorial and Managing Director and Chairman of Directors of The Advertiser. He also helped start Adelaide's annual Carols by Candlelight and the South Australian National Theatre Movement.
He was excited by the potential within the state to stage a festival. He began the process of realising this potential in 1958 by hosting a dinner where many well-respected businessmen greeted with enthusiasm his proposal for a major arts festival and indeed they formed the nucleus of the first Festival Board of Governors. They were all keen for the state and its people to overcome the tyranny of distance in bringing to South Australia the culture which arts-lovers in other countries experienced.
"The Edinburgh Festival of Arts had been going for so long and so successfully that I felt that Adelaide had the characteristics which would make a similar Festival successful here," he said.
During this time Sir Lloyd was approached by John Bishop, Professor of Music at the University of Adelaide. He was also keen to have a Festival of Arts in Adelaide. The two worked out it would cost fifteen thousand pounds to run a festival and they would need financial backing to run it. Lord Mayor 'Gerry' Hargrave called a meeting of public-spirited notable locals including Clyde Waterman, Ken Wills and Roley Jacobs and they all backed the ambitious proposal.
In the end it cost just over fifteen thousand pounds to run, but firms and private individuals had contributed more than forty thousand. The wheels had been set in motion.
So which prominent companies supported that first Festival? Those that put in a thousand pounds each included The Advertiser, Bank of Adelaide, John Martin and Co, The Adelaide Steamship Company, Allan's, SA Associated Brewers and Kelvinator.
Sir Lloyd and Professor Bishop convinced Artistic Director of the Edinburgh Festival Ian Hunter to help run the first Festival, although Professor Bishop was the inaugural Artistic Director. The Festival ran from 12 - 26 March 1960, and its patron was the Queen Mother. All aspects of the arts were covered except for ballet. There were 74 shows for adults and 31 shows for children.
The first Adelaide Festival was declared a resounding success, drawing local, national and international praise as well as healthy crowds.
"Something has been born that will live... this thing will go on... But it is important to keep up standards. It is important too, to stir people up," Professor Bishop declared.
The Adelaide Festival was born.
