Dame Judith Anderson

Dame Judith Anderson

Dame Judith Anderson in the role of T'lar in Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock.

Another of South Australia’s fine but forgotten actors (see earlier blog about Otto Peter Heggie.)

 Dame Judith Anderson was born in Rose Park, South Australia in 1897 as Francis Margaret Anderson. She used the stage name Francee Anderson during her stage debut in Sydney in 1915.

Anderson later pursued her acting dreams and moved to Hollywood,  Los Angeles USA, where, via a letter of introduction she was introduced to Cecil B De Mille.
 Despite her talents and contacts, the West Coast was not for her, so she moved to New York City to work at the Fourteenth Street Theatre.

 Anderson made her Broadway debut in 1922. In 1924, Anderson changed her stage name, this time to “Judith Anderson” and with the new name came the success she had dreamed about with the play “The Cobra”, which proved to be extremely popular.

The 1930s proved to be a very successful decade for Anderson.  Returning to the USA after a successful theatre tour in Australia that had started in 1927, Anderson now found herself much sought after. With work offers to star opposite screen and stage legends such as Humphrey Bogart, John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier.

 Anderson starred in such notable plays as Hamlet, Macbeth, Mourning Becomes Electra and The Mask and the Face.

 It was not long before Anderson made her television debut, starring in two small screen adaptions of Macbeth, which won her two Emmy Awards, the first female to ever win two awards for the same role in different productions.

 Soon the silver screen beckoned with Anderson debuting in 1933’s Blood Money. This led to supporting roles in Alfred Hitchcock's “Rebecca”, the movies “Laura” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, “A Man Called Horse” and in sci-fi hit "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" in 1982.

In 1960 Anderson was made “Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire",  the first Australian-born actress to be given the title of "Dame".

Anderson was also nominated for a Grammy for her spoken word rendition of Emily Bronte classic “Wuthering Heights” and won a Tony Award for playing the role “Medea” opposite John Gielgud

Anderson also appeared in the television soap “Santa Barbara”.

Dame Judith Anderson was awarded in 1986 with a Living Legacy Award by the Women’s International Centre and made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 199.


Judith Anderson passed away in 1992 in Santa Barbara USA. An Off-Broadway theatre is named in her honour in New York

If you are interested in learning more about Judith Anderson, the Performing Arts Collection of South Australia, held at the Adelaide Festival Centre, features costumes worn by Judith, photos and memorabilia.

 Dame Judith Andersons Ashes and a memorial plaque are also housed inside one of the walls of the Festival Theatre on King William Road, Adelaide.

Dead Dog Creek - Adelaide Botanic Gardens

Dead Dog Creek - Adelaide Botanic Gardens

 

   In 1868, Benjamin Ellis was a local dog catcher employed by the Corporation of Adelaide (Adelaide Council). He was given carte blanche to shoot any unlicensed dog he found in the city boundaries and dispose of them as he saw fit.

   Either lacking a good burial site or just being plain lazy, Mr Ellis decided it was perfectly fine to dispose of the dead dog bodies under a bridge in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

  The little bridge, which crossed a little creek, was near the rear entrance of the gardens and was often used by the public. The smell was overwhelming, and complaints began to come into the main office of the Botanic Gardens. Doctor Schomburgk inspected the bridge and counted 13 dead dogs – he quickly wrote a letter of disgust to Mr Ellis – and the dead dogs soon ceased to be left in the gardens.

The following story was printed in Adelaide Observer, April 11^th 1868;

From Dr Schomburgk, stating that the person employed by the Corporation for killing dogs threw the carcases in the creek below the Botanic Garden, I and requesting that the nuisance might be removed.

In reply, Benjamin Ellis wrote, admitting that some dogs had been thrown there, but that since the complaint he had removed them.

His Worship said the Act distinctly required that the carcases should be buried. Mr. Sundry considered that Mr. Ellis was deserving of severe censure; but he apprehended he was employed by the Registrar of Dogs.

The Town Clerk, in reply to Mr. Bundey, said the man had received fees for the dogs upon making declaration that they were buried.

Mr Bundey considered certainly some steps should be taken, and if the thing was brought before the Council again he would see that steps were taken to prosecute the party for obtaining money under false pretences.

His Worship pointed out that according to the Act the fee was only to be paid on a declaration being made such as to satisfy a Justice of the Peace. Then, if the man committed perjury, he could be prosecuted.

The Council resolved that no fees be paid without a certificate from a Justice of the Peace.

  An interesting side note to this story is that a Benjamin Ellis, in this same period was also the hangman at Adelaide Gaol, and is today rumoured to haunt the gaol. 

Links:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/158930409?searchTerm=%22benjamin%20ellis%22&searchLimits=l-state=South+Australia|||sortby=dateDesc

©2015 - Allen Tiller

Closed Hotels of South Australia: The Windsor Castle Hotel

The Windsor Castle Hotel 

Situated on Victoria Square in Adelaide’s West End stood the Windsor Castle Hotel. For 103 years it operated as a city watering hole. the hotel had a reputation for being a rough pub. Its proprietors and barmen were very well known locally for causing fights and for their run-ins with the local law.

 Illegal gambling, opening after hours and selling alcohol illegally were just a few of the laws broken by the staff of the hotel.
 The clientele was also known for getting a little rowdy too!

 One Mr James Turner, an elderly drinker, once caused an uproar that made the local newspapers. It was noted in The Advertiser that Mr Turner had had a little too much to drink and became enraged – he threw two glasses at the barman (smashing four other glasses at the time). In court, Mr Turner admitted to being drunk before even entering the hotel. He wasn’t sure when, but someone cut a string on his waistcoat and stole his watch. When refused a drink at the bar, he got enraged and grabbed a decanter, throwing it at bar staff before storming out of the hotel.

 

In earlier years there was a near shoot out in the rear stables of the hotel when a customer refused to leave after being asked by the proprietor. 
 The customer pulled a revolver and went into a rage promising to kill the owner if he didn’t get his way. The man was subdued and dutifully reported to the police. He was arrested and charged in a heated court case which saw the accused rant uncontrollably, and eventually, be forced to serve time for his threats.

 There was a death on the hotel's grounds as well. An old man who worked in the rear stables was standing on a platform some 8 feet high, when he fells backwards onto the ground below, fracturing his skull. He was taken to the hospital but died early the next morning.

In the late 1940s, the hotel was bought by the Mutual Life and Citizens Assurance Co. Ltd. who intended to build an apartment complex on the site. After waiting for the hotel license to expire, the hotel was finally pulled down in 1954, with interior features sold via auction.

The hotel lasted 103 years, originally licensed by Mr Thomas Chalk on the 3^rd of April 1851.   Legend has it, the land was originally purchased for 50 pounds and a wagon and oxen team.

Now on the corner of Victoria Square and Franklin Street stands the MLC building. The building was ahead of its time when completed in 1957. At the time it was the tallest glass building in Adelaide. It also featured a weather beacon on top!!

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2015

Ghost of the Hangmans Noose

Ghost of the Hangmans Noose

Ben Ellis: Executioner at Adelaide Gaol

   Most people take pride in their work, but Ben Ellis, Hangman for the Adelaide Gaol from around 1860 until the mid-1870s, and also hangman at Mount Gambier Gaol in the same period took exceptional pride in his efforts to make sure he did his job precisely.

  The Adelaide Gaol hangman lived on-site within the gaol, part payment for being the most unpopular man in Adelaide, and doing the dirtiest job of all. Partly to keep him safe from the general public, and from released prisoners who may have made promises to condemned prisoners.

 His quarters were in a small apartment under the female dormitory. In an observation in an Adelaide newspaper in the late 1860s, it was noted how filthy Mr Ellis kept his room. It was also noted that fires would often break out inside, or near his particular dwelling.

 Mr Ellis only had one execution go wrong in his time as hangman, and that was of prisoner Charles Streitman in 1877. In this particular instance, Mr Ellis was hasty in his preparations and didn’t go about his job in his usual way. When it became time for the trap door to drop, Streitman, rebounded and got caught on the platform – it took him 22 minutes before death took him from hanging – an insufferable way to die.

 Ben Ellis was described in one old newspaper as;  "a hulk of a man with “alcohol” blemishes on his nose, a whisp of grey head and a shabby beard. A grumpy looking fellow who lived in squalid conditions."

 Ellis went about his job without no complaint, until 1873, when Elizabeth Woolcock was due to be hung in the gaol. The first woman to be executed in Adelaide. Ellis protested her execution and from then on questioned his position as executioner.

 It wasn’t too much longer until Ellis found himself unemployed, and unemployable. Ellis ended up in the district court for vagrancy. His solicitor stated that he could not get a job anywhere in Adelaide due to his incredible unpopularity, from his previous career, and since being released from his position, had lived on the streets of Adelaide.

Ben Ellis would eventually pass away a vagrant, and be buried in a paupers grave in West Terrace Cemetery.

  It is alleged Mr Ellis now haunts the Adelaide Gaol. The spirit of a person matching his description is often seen around the area of the old bakery, and in the tunnel that joins the main gaol to the 'New Building' yard.

© 2015 - Allen Tiller