Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
Encyclopedia
The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust (AETT) was set up in September 1954 under the guidance of H. C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs
, Governor of the Commonwealth Bank, Sir Charles Moses
General Manager, Australian Broadcasting Commission
and John Douglas Pringle, Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. It aimed to establish drama, opera and ballet companies nationally. Named to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Australia, the Trust raised £100,000 by a public appeal. The trust had an agreement with the Commonwealth government to match public donations 'in the ratio of 1:3 and to provide ongoing funding'.
In the 1970s, the AETT went into receivership and its operations were scaled back. Its arts promotion role passed to the Australia Council.
Since 1999 the Trust has offered overseas music scholarships; 80 scholars have been supported, with grants totaling over A$1 million. The Trust is also the owner/proprietor of the Independent Theatre, North Sydney
.
The Trust played a key role in establishing high culture
in Australia through its involvement in setting up:
It has also supported:
Following the establishment of the Australian Council for the Arts (later the Australia Council
) in 1968, it ceased to be a funding body for opera and ballet in 1970.
During the 1980s the Trust scaled back its operations and in the 1990s had a Sydney focus and operated a ticketing agency and organised theatre parties.
H. C. Coombs
Herbert Cole H.C. "Nugget" Coombs was an Australian economist and public servant.-Early years:Coombs was born in Kalamunda, Western Australia, Australia, one of six children of a country railway station-master and a well-read mother.Coombs's political and economic views were formed by the Great...
, Governor of the Commonwealth Bank, Sir Charles Moses
Charles Moses
Sir Charles Moses CBE headed the Australian Broadcasting Commission from 1935 until 1965....
General Manager, Australian Broadcasting Commission
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
and John Douglas Pringle, Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. It aimed to establish drama, opera and ballet companies nationally. Named to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Australia, the Trust raised £100,000 by a public appeal. The trust had an agreement with the Commonwealth government to match public donations 'in the ratio of 1:3 and to provide ongoing funding'.
In the 1970s, the AETT went into receivership and its operations were scaled back. Its arts promotion role passed to the Australia Council.
Since 1999 the Trust has offered overseas music scholarships; 80 scholars have been supported, with grants totaling over A$1 million. The Trust is also the owner/proprietor of the Independent Theatre, North Sydney
North Sydney, New South Wales
North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. North Sydney is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney...
.
The Trust played a key role in establishing high culture
High culture
High culture is a term, now used in a number of different ways in academic discourse, whose most common meaning is the set of cultural products, mainly in the arts, held in the highest esteem by a culture...
in Australia through its involvement in setting up:
- the Elizabethan Theatre Trust Opera Company (now Opera AustraliaOpera AustraliaOpera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne...
) in 1956 - the Elizabethan Opera Ballet Company, a short lived ballet company set up in 1957, and with J. C. Williamson Ltd the Australian Ballet FoundationAustralian Ballet CompanyThe Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd. and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English ballerina Dame Peggy van Praagh as founding artistic director...
in 1961 and the Australian Ballet SchoolAustralian Ballet SchoolThe Australian Ballet School was founded in 1964 as the primary training facility for The Australian Ballet by Dame Margaret Scott. It is part of the Australian Ballet Centre, which is located in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, Southbank in Melbourne, Victoria...
under the direction of Margaret ScottMargaret Scott (dancer)Dame Catherine Margaret Mary Scott, AC, DBE , best known as Margaret Scott, arrived in Australia in 1947 on tour with the Ballet Rambert and stayed there. She danced with the Sadler's Wells Ballet, appointed a principal dancer in 1941, and Ballet Rambert as a principal from 1943 to 1948... - the Elizabethan Trust Orchestra in 1967, which in 1969 split into two orchestras, one each resident in Melbourne and Sydney.
- the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship in 1977, to further the musical education of professional opera singers. Since 1986 the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship has been awarded in the Opera AwardsOpera Awards (Australia)The Opera Awards is a singing competition, open to professional Australian opera singers. Held annually in Australia, the Opera Awards was established in 1986, its purpose is to assist and develop professional Australian opera singers by providing overseas study and travel opportunities...
, administered by Music & Opera Singers Trust Limited (MOST).
It has also supported:
- National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA)
- Marionette Theatre of Australia
- Australian Theatre of the Deaf
- Old Tote Theatre CompanyOld Tote Theatre CompanyThe Old Tote Theatre Company began as the standing acting and theatre company of Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art and was the precursor to the Sydney Theatre Company.. It was one of the leading Australian theatre companies of the period.The Old Tote began in a converted tin shed on...
- Melbourne Theatre CompanyMelbourne Theatre CompanyThe Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner Theatre and the 150-seat Lawler Studio – located in Melbourne's Arts...
- South Australian Theatre CompanyState Theatre Company of South AustraliaThe State Theatre Company of South Australia is South Australia's leading professional theatre company. It is based in the Dunstan Playhouse at the Adelaide Festival Centre. The current artistic director is Adam Cook...
.
Following the establishment of the Australian Council for the Arts (later the Australia Council
Australia Council
The Australia Council, informally known as the Australia Council for the Arts, is the official arts council or arts funding body of the Government of Australia.-Function:...
) in 1968, it ceased to be a funding body for opera and ballet in 1970.
During the 1980s the Trust scaled back its operations and in the 1990s had a Sydney focus and operated a ticketing agency and organised theatre parties.
Chairs of the Board
- H.C. Coombs (founding chair)
- Aubrey GibsonAubrey GibsonAubrey Hickes Lawson Gibson was an Australian businessman, arts patron and art collector. Born and educated in Melbourne, Gibson became a successful businessman in the city, establishing his own company, A.H. Gibson Industries, which was listed on the stock exchange in the 1950s...
(1971-1972) - Ian PotterIan PotterSir Ian Potter was an influential Australian businessman and philanthropist. The Ian Potter Foundation, which he established in 1964, has made large grants to dozens of research institutes, charities, universities and arts organisations...
(16 years)
See also
- Australian Opera and Ballet OrchestraAustralian Opera and Ballet OrchestraThe Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra is one of two full time, permanent orchestras employed jointly to provide music for Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet, the other is known as Orchestra Victoria...
- Orchestra VictoriaOrchestra VictoriaOrchestra Victoria is an orchestra based in Victoria, Australia. In addition to its own concert and education events, it is the performance partner of the following major performing arts companies: The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera...
- Regional Arts AustraliaRegional Arts AustraliaRegional Arts Australia is the national peak body for regional arts organisations throughout Australia. Formed in 1966 as the Arts Council of Australia, it is a federation of the peak non-metropolitan community arts organisations in each of the Australian states and territories. It advocates better...