THE SHOWIES Revelations of Australia's Outdoor Side-Showmen
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THE SHOWIES Revelations of Australia's Outdoor Side-Showmen BOB MORGAN This generously illustrated book covers a history of the Australian outdoor side-showmen almost from the turn of the twentieth century. It is a colourful profile of seven legendary show people, and records a very special and unique chapter in the history of our community — the entertainers. `The Showies' is synonymous with this special life, they are: Tommy Castles, his wife Shirley (now both deceased), Jimmy Sharman, Tom Wittingslow, Bill Dwyer, Jack Allan and Frankie Foster. Tommy Castles — this ventriloquist, magician, illusionist and famous spruiker, must be classed as the complete showman as will be shown in his contribution The Magic has Gone'. His wife Shirley's story, 'The Front of the Show Gets the Dough', was selected to place on record an appreciation of all those female showies who worked alongside their partners through tough times and good times, and filled in for the men folk either in the drag, up on the line-up board, or in a more domestic role. Jimmy Sharman's story, 'Who'll Take a Glove?' fully covers the life and story of his famous father, and his own fascinating story as a top footballer and a 'follow-up' to his father in one of the toughest of all side-shows — the boxing troupe. From Tommy Wittingslow we have a wonderful life story in his contribution, 'Ladies by Observation, Gents by a little Investigation'. In this he tells of his early struggles, his time as a POW of the Japanese, and ultimate rise above all odds to be sitting on the top of the pile as Australia's best known rides operator. Bill Dwyer's story, 'They Bridged the Gap', is a clasic overall account of how the young people in Sydney survived the Great Depression, and some historical information on the formation of the Showmen's Guild. Jack Allan's contribution, 'The Colour has Gone', tells the story of a 'show-struck' kid who only ever wanted to be a showie, and how he was able to rise above all the odds to become one of our top rate spruikers in this competitive industry. He frankly tells of his association with Chief Little Wolf, and their sometimes stormy relationship over almost 20 years. From Frankie Foster's story we are able to live again the trials and experiences of the old showie family, with his graphic description of his whole family. All these stories are repeated in the way they have been told by a special band of people. It is a valuable record of those who 'bridged the gap' for so many Australians for almost a century. Upon discharge from the Army in 1946 — after seven years service — Bob Morgan took up farming in Gippsland. Due to war disabilities he was forced to change his vocation, and in 1950 became an officer in the Victorian Department of Agriculture, an appointment he held until 1956 when he was recruited to the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria by the then Director, Mr Colin Woodfull, to take charge of the Young Farmers Clubs in the Gippsland Region. In 1963 he was called to Melbourne to edit a number of RASV in-house publications including, the 'Victorian Young Fanner', the `KCC Gazette', `V.A.S.A.', and 'Feline Focus', and to understudy the then Public Relations Officer, Mr Allan Daws. He was appointed Public Relations Officer in 1964 and it was in this capacity that he met and worked with a number of well known members of the Showmen's Guild including the then President, Mr Tom Wittingslow, and his Guild Secretary, Mr Dick Holden, and Mr Jimmy Sharman. He retired from the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria in October 1977, having spent the last fourteen years in the position of Public Relations Manager. Always interested in the historical background of the RASV, he was co-author with the late Mr Fred Noble of the history of the Society — 'Speed the Plough'. That same interest in historical activities prompted him to take on the task of producing 'The Showies'. Frank Foster, Jack Allan, Bob Morgan, Jim Sharman, Tom Wittingslow THE SHOWIES Revelations of Australian Outdoor Side-Showmen BOB MORGAN 1995 Bob Morgan 225 Mitcham Road Mitcham 3132 ISBN 0 646 27021 4 © Copyright Designed by Peter Buckmaster Printed by Brown Prior Anderson (BPA) Pty Ltd Dedication Dedicated to the memory of Georgie Magdziarz 1970-1995 Acknowledgements Putting together 'The Showies' has been a most satisfying and absorbing experience, and has given me a much greater appreciation of the trials and tribulations faced, and conquered, by this intrepid group of people. At the outset I express my deep gratitude to all those people who have helped me, and who have shown an interest in this work. Starting from scratch, the need for such a work should have been obvious long before now, because before our very eyes the entertainment industry — especially that of the outdoor showman — changed dramatically with the advent of television, and remem- ber, that happened four decades ago! My interest in the work was fired by three people. First, my son Tim, from the comfort of his desk at the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, was obviously more discerning that I was — or maybe he just wanted me to have an interest in my retire- ment? However, he kept suggesting that 'something should be done about the old travelling showies before they all disappear'. His view was reinforced by two prominent outdoor showmen in Jimmy Sharman and Jack Allan. (I am still not satisfied that this was not some kind of conspiracy!) In all cases the emphasis was placed on the 'disappearing' showman. And in fact this was not too far from the truth, because most of the subjects had reached octogenarian status, this however did not in any way retard them from telling their stories. It was Jimmy Sharman who supplied names of a variety of show people, covering the tent shows, rides and games. Tommy Castles was on top of the list, and although he and his wife Shirley were not enjoying the best of health, they welcomed me to their home in Cowra and spent time with me outlining the roles of the travelling showies, and sharing their experiences 'on the road'. Further, Tommy Castles unstintingly produced many of the pictures illustrating 'The Showies'. It is a great sadness to me that neither of them shall see their story in print. Tommy passed away on 14 June, 1992 and Shirley joined him almost three years later, on 28 May, 1995. Tom Wittingslow also gave freely of his time, and his story is one not many people would have been aware of. He also has been generous with supporting pictorial material. The Sharman family has been synonymous with tent shows for more than 80 years, and this father and son combination comes freely to the fore whenever mention is made of our old time entertainers. Jimmy Sharman Junior kindly supplied the vintage pictures used to illustrate 'Who'll Take a Glove?'. From Bill Dwyer we got a different slant on this game in that his is a story of a city kid vii VIII who had the audacity to try and break into the world of the outdoor showmen without an invitation! Over the years show business has been good to Bill and he in turn has been good for show business. Another city boy to adopt show business is Jack Allan, who has no hesitation in admitting that all he ever wanted to be was a showie. He too has been most generous in supplying an outstanding part of this publication in his submission 'The Colour has Gone', supported by illustrations scattered throughout the book. Frank Foster brings to 'The Showies' a continuity of family involvement from before the turn of the century — stretching back to the home of the outdoor showman, the United Kingdom — right up to the present day. He gave freely of his time and was also generous in supplying pictorial support. To my family, especially my wife Kath, who spent hours with me unravelling my drafts, I express my thanks and I trust that they will enjoy the finished work. Melbourne Bob Morgan 1995 Contents Acknowledgements vii Foreword xiii Introduction xv 1 The Magic Has Gone (From the Tom Castles tapes) 1 2 It's the Front of the Show that gets the Dough (From the Shirley Castles tapes) 20 3 Who'll Take a Glove? (From the Jimmy Sharman tapes) 40 4 Ladies by Observation, Gents by a little Investigation (From the Tom Wittingslow tapes) 57 5 They Bridged the Gap (From the Bill Dwyer tapes) 78 6 The Colour has Gone (From the Jack Allan tapes) 96 7 The Camp Fires have Gone out (From the Frank Foster tapes) 113 ix List of Illustrations The Magic Has Gone: Tom Castles 1. The Greenhalgh Family 2 2. Margaret Castles, Frank Durkin in the Globe 5 3. Tommy Castles grabbing a pitch 7 4. `Anopia' the Living Head on the Sword 11 5. Tommy Castles and the Floating Lady 1 1 6. Tommy Castles with his ventriloquial doll 'Jerry' 16 7. Australia's three greatest showmen — Jimmy Sharman, Arthur Greenhalgh and Dave Meekin 17 It's The Front of the Show that gets the Dough: Shirley Castles 8. Before amplifiers, Tom Castles on the Line-up board 21 9. The Line-up show — Still Towning 24 10. Shirley Castles makes the grade as a Spruiker 26 11. The Fat Lady 28 12. Shirley Castles grabbing a pitch 34 13.