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AFI research collection
   
Reference Type The Argus newspaper
Title Treat for Fitzroy Children
Author(s)Samuel Rosen
Section News
Town Melbourne
State VIC
Country Australia
Publication Date 16-12-1930
Citation Date
Page Number 8
Comments Announcement by the Mayor of Fitzroy that an event will be held on December 24 to give "a Christmas treat to the children of the unemployed of Fitzroy and North Fitzroy". It asks for public donations to make it possible to give each child a small gift.

Other articles on the page give context to the deprivation that is being suffered by people in Melbourne at this time: "Mortgage relief Proposals", "Traders Not Optimistic", "Further Rationing Ordered", all give an indication of the poor state of the economy in Australia at the time.

The announcement indicates that Fitzroy was suffering bad unemployment at the time. The use of the Lyric for this function contrasts to the opening at a similar time of year in 1911, when the venue was described in very optimistic terms and the economy was bright enough to support the building of new theatres such as the Lyric to entertain people. As money got tighter, luxuries such as tickets to the "pictures" would have been one of the first things to be cut by families in the grip of high unemployment. The Lyric may well have suffered reduced patronage at this time, particularly in a working class area such as Fitzroy.

The proprieters of the Lyric (given here as Hoyts) may have indeed been struggling at this time.

Synopsis Announcement of "Treat for the children of the unemployed" to take place December 24 at the Lyric Fitzroy.
tags: Hoyts unemployment 
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