Sir Frank Tait 1883-1965

The Taits’ earliest presentations were centred on the Athenaeum Hall in Collins Street. Their concerts often included short films, and this led them to join with Millard Johnson and William Gibson in the production of The Story of the Kelly Gang which premièred on 26 December 1906. Running for more than an hour, it was the longest narrative film yet seen in Australia, and possibly the world. It cost £1000, and was said to have returned at least £25,000 to its producers.

The Taits, Johnson and Gibson merged their film interests in 1911 to form Amalgamated Pictures, which continued to produce features and newsreels. After Amalgamated combined with its main opposition, Australasian Films, in 1912, the Taits concentrated on concert presentation and occasional film exhibition.

In 1913 J. & N. Tait took a 20-year lease on a prominent site in Collins Street and constructed a large, luxurious concert-hall, the Auditorium, which opened in May with a gala concert by the British contralto Clara Butt. It was the Taits’ principal Melbourne concert venue until 1934, when it was remodelled as a cinema – the Metro – and leased to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

E.J. Tait left J.C. Williamson’s in 1916 and joined the J. & N. Tait organisation, looking after business in Sydney. A few months later Nevin moved permanently to London to act as their overseas ‘anchor’. Soon J. & N. Tait expanded to include theatrical presentations and so challenged J.C. Williamson’s domination of Australian live theatre. The Taits’ first production was Peg o’ my Heart, a comedy romance which proved highly popular. Other plays, pantomimes and musicals followed.

Nevertheless J. & N. Tait continued as a separate company, promoting celebrity artists and occasional theatrical attractions. Through the next decade many of the world’s greatest concert and stage stars appeared in Australia under the Williamson/Tait aegis, among them Melba, Amelita Galli-Curci, Toti dal Monte, Feodor Chaliapin, Jascha Heifetz, Percy Grainger, Ignace Paderewski and Anna Pavlova.

Alert to the early possibilities of wireless, in 1924 the Taits formed the Broadcasting Co. of Australia Pty Ltd, which was granted the licence for 3LO, Melbourne’s second radio station. Eight years later, when 3LO came under the control of the government-franchised Australian Broadcasting Co., Williamson’s, Allan’s and The Age founded 3AW which initially broadcast from studios in His Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. Later, a modern studio complex was built in La Trobe Street.