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82-466: Brian Gregory Syron was born on 19 November 1934 in the inner city suburb of Balmain , Sydney , New South Wales. His mother, Elizabeth Murray, was from Newcastle-upon-Tyne , England, while his father, a general labourer, was a Birrbay man. Brian was one of eight children. Syron also lived an Indigenous life with his paternal Aboriginal grandmother, Suzie Syron, in his ancestral Birrippi lands at Minimbah, New South Wales , 11 km (6.8 mi) up

164-568: A National Aboriginal Theatre, and provided advice to a number of Aboriginal and non-Indigenous production companies, theatre companies and educational institutions, and individuals. In May 1988 ANTT staged The Keepers , by Bob Maza , at the Belvoir Street Theatre , which was the first all-Aboriginal production staged in Australia. The Second National Black Playwrights Conference was held in 1989 at Macquarie University , which gave rise to

246-553: A foundation member of the Peter Summerton Foundation, Syron organised with his mentor Stella Adler to travel to Australia and conduct a series of master classes for people from all areas of the Australian entertainment industries. He then instigated The Artists' Group Theatre, with the first workshops being held in the sculpture studio of Ron Robertson-Swann before moving to The Stables , Kings Cross. During this year he

328-523: A metal foundry, engineering, boilermaking and the Mort's Dock & Engineering Company works which opened in 1855—in 1958 Mort's Dock closed and is the site of Mort Bay Park. Increasing industrialisation at Balmain created a demand for cheap housing. This was satisfied by the dock owners selling small blocks of land to entrepreneurs who then built tiny cottages and rented them to the workers. The Balmain Reservoir

410-974: A number of heritage-listed sites, including: At the 2021 census , the population of Balmain was 10,454. At the 2016 census , it had a population of 10,453. In 2021, 64.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 9.1%, New Zealand 2.8%, United States 1.7%, Ireland 1.3% and China 1.2%. 83.4% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 1.5% and Italian at 1.2%. The most common responses for religion in Balmain were no religion 51.9%, Catholic 20.7%, Anglican 9.9%, not stated 5.3% and Eastern Orthodox 2.2%. 37.6% of dwellings were flats, units or apartments, 39.9% were semi-detached terraced houses or townhouses and 21.8% were separate houses. Darling Street , Balmain's main thoroughfare, features boutique shops, quality restaurants and cafes alongside old drinking establishments . Landmarks on this street include

492-551: A series adapted from the Ethel Turner novel of the same name. In 1976 Syron was cast as Sweet William in the television adaptation of the Robert Merritt play The Cake Man (1977). Almost immediately after this production Syron was cast as Ray in "Ray's Story" a one-hour episode of Pig in a Poke (1977) a five-part series screened on ABC TV starring Justine Saunders, Athol Compton , Gary Foley and Paul Coe , and described as

574-419: A story about an elderly Aboriginal woman, who had never been in a theatre before and was sitting in the front row, who got up to help protect the actress from the husband's blows. Roberts said: "That was when I realised we'd really made a point. Aboriginal people were seeing art that mirrored their lives". In June 1991, after its board of directors in protest against the lack of financial support from government,

656-669: A theatre company based around the Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs in 1966, upstate New York while touring as a director with the Boston Herald-Traveler 's Shakespeare Company and doing stints as a teacher for Adler's studio. Syron then returned to New York, where he worked as an actor on various American Shakespeare festivals and with the Establishment Theatre Company and The New Theatre , and also toured through

738-673: Is a community theatre company in the Inner West Sydney suburb of Newtown , Australia. Its origins are in the international New Theatre movement of the 1920s, and it is the oldest theatre company in continuous production in New South Wales . New Theatre in Australia was inspired by similar movements abroad: the Workers' Theatre Movement in the 1920s in the UK, and the New Theatre League in

820-526: Is history." { Lloyd G. Richards , 9.5.1993} Syron returned to the theatre again in 1976 with his direction of Dimboola (written by Jack Hibberd ) in Newcastle as well as at Bonapartes Theatre Restaurant, Kings Cross , Sydney, where his stage production ran continuously for the next two years and four months. He followed "Dimboola" with a production of the American play Falling Apart by Monte Merrick at

902-917: Is home to the Balmain Tigers district rugby league football club that is now represented in the NRL by Wests Tigers rugby league club. The club was formed in mid-1999 by a joint venture between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs Magpies in preparation for the 2000 season. In 2005 the Tigers defeated the North Queensland Cowboys in the Grand Final to win the premiership . The Balmain Rugby Football Club , founded in 1873, took part in

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984-778: Is to communicate with our people first.{Syron, HREOC, 15.11.92} Brian Syron died of leukaemia on 14 October 1993 in Sydney and was buried in Botany Cemetery in Matraville . Syron did not identify as Aboriginal through the 1950s and 1960s. He moved to King's Cross in Sydney , and began his artistic career in 1960 at the Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli , Sydney under the guidance of New York-trained American actor/director and esteemed teacher of

1066-782: The American National Playwrights Conference wrote to the Aboriginal Arts Board of the Australia Council in September 1993: The National Playwrights Conference of Australia exists because Brian Syron visited the National Playwrights Conference in Waterford, Conn. and recognised it as an important idea for Australia, and he went back to champion the possibility. Others visited and the rest

1148-542: The Bangarra Dance Theatre . Lowitja O'Donoghue , Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission wrote saying Mr Syron is held in high esteem by both indigenous and non-indigenous Australians for his work as our first indigenous feature film director..He has made a valuable contribution to indigenous art in this country and has been a strong and articulate advocate in the movement to raise and promote

1230-565: The Cross Harbour ferry services . Services run to Circular Quay . Transdev Sydney Ferries ' maintenance and repair base is at Balmain Shipyard. Balmain's road network feeds into three main roads—Darling Street, Beattie Street and Montague/Mullen Street. These streets have limited speeds, typically 40 km/h and are all single carriageway with parallel parking. Due to the geography of the peninsula, all of these roads feed into Victoria Road and

1312-877: The National Premier Leagues NSW 3 . In 2015 they qualified for the Australia-wide FFA Cup Round of 32 and were drawn against A-League club Melbourne Victory FC in which they were defeated 6–0 in front of 5,000 fans at Leichhardt Oval . Balmain Sailing Club is located in nearby Birchgrove and is home to the annual Balmain Regatta. Balmain Rowing Club was formed in July 1882, and still occupies its original White Street location. The club adopted black and yellow colours from its formation, which soon became

1394-716: The New Theatre , Newtown , Sydney, and in 1978 he played the role of "The Actor" in a production of Maxim Gorky 's The Lower Depths which ran for six weeks at the Sydney Opera House . In this same year, he opened the New Group Theatre at the All Nations Club, Kings Cross, where he directed among other productions A Tribute to Tennessee Williams , before the ongoing costs of keeping an independent theatre going forced Syron to close after 12 months. In conjunction with

1476-457: The RW Miller industrial conglomerate. By 1924 his family had moved to Louisa Road. The opening of the tramway in the 1920s further established Balmain and it gained a reputation as a rough working-class area of Sydney. A large influx of immigrants boosted Balmain's population in the 1950s. Gentrification of Balmain began in the 1960s as industry waned. Balmain's desirability to the middle class

1558-577: The Stella Adler Los Angeles Acting Studio on Hollywood Boulevard . Leading Indigenous academic and Harvard University graduate Roberta Sykes set up the Black Women's Action (BWA) group in 1976 with Syron as a foundation member, joining other Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in the support of the educational advancement of Indigenous women in their pursuit of academic success at leading international universities. Over

1640-800: The Strasberg Method , the late Hayes Gordon . Syron decided to go to the United States because he was unhappy with the English style of acting being taught in Australia. He was forced to deny that he was Aboriginal in order to obtain an Australian passport . This was because Indigenous Australians were not allowed to have passports. Syron left Australia in 1961 to work in Europe as a fashion model with Dior , Cardin and Balenciaga . In 1961, he moved to New York City , living initially on Fifth Avenue with one of Australia's first " supermodels ", Pauline Kiernan. He

1722-558: The southern states . Syron returned to Perth , Western Australia , in 1968, following the 1967 referendum . In Perth, he directed at Aarne Neeme's The Playhouse , Perth for a short time, before being invited to return to Sydney and direct Fortune and Men's Eyes at his old alma mater the Ensemble. For this he received the inaugural Drama Critics' Award for Best Production and his leading man Max Phipps received Best Actor for his role of "Queenie". He began teaching master classes to in

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1804-610: The 1930s and early 1940s, and spent time as a 14- and 15-year-old in Grafton Correctional Centre . Even with this background, Syron told the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) on 15 November 1992: I have no mortgage on being dispossessed or having a tough life. We've all had it. Every Aboriginal person I know of in my generation has had one hell of a time. Nobody has a mortgage on that. We've all been through it. Our obligation, our mandate, as artists

1886-508: The 1970s, older Balmain people would refer to "going to Sydney". The Post Office/ Court/ Police building and vicinity was generally referred to as the "Town Hall", with the Post Office clock often called the Town Hall clock. This was probably due to the Post Office & Court Building being built in between the earlier Town Hall & Town Hall Hotel. In the mid-1960s Balmain was the setting for

1968-597: The 1987 Australian National Playwrights Conference. The film featured Lydia Miller and Ernie Dingo and screened at the Sydney Film Festival in 1987 and on ABC TV. In 1988 he was appointed head of the ABC 's new Aboriginal unit. Syron and Saunders were co-presenters of the ABC TV Aboriginal entertainment series The First Australians (1988–1990). This series of 18 × 1-hour programs featured leading Aboriginal people in

2050-520: The 1992 HREOC submission. Balmain, New South Wales Balmain is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney , New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located two kilometres ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles) west of the Sydney central business district , in the local government area of the Inner West Council . It is located on the Balmain peninsula surrounded by Port Jackson , adjacent to

2132-485: The 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Balmain had a Median weekly household income of $ 3,039, and a 2021 article on the Domain website called Balmain comparable to Paddington Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by indigenous Aboriginal Australian , Gadigal and Wangal people. Stories from early settlers in the area tell of how the local indigenous people used to hunt kangaroo by driving them through

2214-711: The ANTT ceased operations. Syron carried out a two-week workshop, a stage reading, plus a production in 1991 at the Belvoir Street Theatre , Redfern, Sydney of Mudrooroo Narogin 's "courageous and brave new play" The Aboriginal Demonstrators Confront the Declaration of the Australian Republic on 26 January 2001 with the Production of " Der Auftrag " by Heiner Muller and starring Justine Saunders, Michael Watson, David Kennedy, Pamela Young, Ray Kelly and Graham Cooper. The play and

2296-713: The Aboriginal Educational Unit of TAFE, Syron founded the Eora Centre in Redfern, Sydney . He co-founded the Aboriginal Theatre Company (ATC) in 1981 with scriptwriter/playwright/director Robert Merritt in order to tour Merritt's play The Cake Man , under Syron's direction, to the 1982 World Theatre Festival in Denver, Colorado , where the play received a tremendous audience response. Following this success,

2378-622: The Actors Master Class for those interested in studying the Stanislavski/ Adler technique and for which Syron had applied to his award-winning production. Following the success of the Master Class, Syron was requested to introduce an Intermediate classes and then a Beginners class, both of limited numbers. The School was kept open on an ad hoc basis over the next 23 years and moved many times between 1969 and 1992. In 1969 Syron taught

2460-607: The Australia Council), Michael Johnson (who presented two SBS Television series in 1989 and 1991), Suzanne Butt, and Lesley Fogarty, with Justine Saunders as adviser, proposed and co-founded the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust (ANTT). ANTT was constituted as a limited company in May 1988, and was staffed by Aboriginal artists who were committed to the promotion and protection of all Aboriginal arts. It founded

2542-745: The Coolongolook River from Forster and 200 miles (320 km) north of Balmain. Minimbah means in Birrippi dialect "home of the teacher". His traditional country encompassed Taree , Forster and the Great Lakes area of the Wang Wauk and Coolonglook rivers on the North Coast. His paternal Dreaming was the eagle, although he described himself as a magpie - half black, half white. He was also exposed to Aboriginal reserve life at Purfleet and Forster through

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2624-534: The Corroboree of Aboriginal National Storytellers. In March 1990 ANTT staged the world premiere of Munjong , by Richard Walley and directed by Vivian Walker (son of Oodgeroo Noonuccal ), at the Victorian Arts Centre . The actor David Field (brother of Rhoda Roberts' partner Steve Field) played a violent husband of Roberts' character, a woman who doesn't know that she's Aboriginal. Roberts later related

2706-578: The Narrator Jack Thompson , shot on location at Thompson's property at Upper Bo Bo, via Ulong, northern New South Wales. The film went on to win Best Film, 1982 Women's International Film/Video Festival, Tucson, Arizona , USA. Syron was employed on director Peter Weir 's feature film The Last Wave (1977) as a consultant. The Australian Film Commission awarded Syron a grant in 1980 for his script Australian Aboriginal Achievers (1980), which

2788-749: The New Theatre League (NTL ) analogous to the newly-established New Theatre in Melbourne . Both theatres staged first Clifford Odets ' play Waiting for Lefty , with the purpose of raising money for strikers, to great acclaim. With the rise of Nazism in Germany, then prepared to stage his play Till the Day I Die . After the German Consul General complained to the Commonwealth Government ,

2870-468: The New Theatre League and then New Theatre had its home at 167 Castlereagh Street . From 1954 to 1962, the New Theatre staged its productions at the Waterside Workers' Federation Hall in Sussex Street . Rented premises at 8 St Peters Lane in Darlinghurst was the theatre's home from 1963 to 1973, when, after raising enough money to have its own theatre built, it moved to its current location at 542 King Street, Newtown. The New Theatre in Sydney

2952-498: The Post Office and Court House, alongside Balmain Town Hall, the historic Westpac Bank, Balmain Fire Station and Balmain Working Men's Institute. Other commercial developments are scattered throughout the suburb. The headquarters of the NSW Water Police moved to Cameron Cove in Balmain in late 2007. Balmain has several ferry wharves including Thames Street Balmain serviced by the Cockatoo Island ferry services , Elliot Street, Balmain West and Darling Street, Balmain East serviced by

3034-444: The Skin - An Irish Immigrant's Experience of Aboriginal Australia . In 1981, Syron played a small role of "The Neighbour" in The City's Edge (1983) (aka Running Man Edge of the City )", co-written by Robert Merritt the first Australian Indigenous scriptwriter of a feature film and the Nightclub Manager in Coolangatta Gold (1983). Backlash (1986) directed and produced by Bill Bennett featured Lydia Miller with Syron in

3116-401: The Stella Adler method to Aboriginal students. Syron was invited to join Sydney's Old Tote Theatre by Robert Quentin, Head of Drama at the University of New South Wales , and Robin Lovejoy, Artistic Director. He was the first Indigenous Australian to work as a director in the mainstream Australian theatre industry and in 1972 was appointed Theatre Consultant for the Aboriginal Arts Board of

3198-409: The Street Royal Commission); "You can take the boy out of Balmain, but you can't take Balmain out of the boy" (Unknown); "There are only two types of men in this world: those who were born in Balmain and those who wish they were" (a Police Commissioner of New South Wales). Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating commented on the suburb's gentrification by using the term "Basket weavers of Balmain". Until

3280-559: The United States. They were all affiliated with the Communist Party , and the plays were in the agitprop style of theatre favoured by the Soviet Union . Themes usually related to the class struggle . Referred to as workers' theatre in the early days, groups subsequently formed in other cities around Australia, with Workers' Theatre Groups in Melbourne and Perth and similar groups in Brisbane , Newcastle , and Adelaide . Some disbanded and then got re-established, but only Sydney's New Theatre still exists (as of 2022 ). Themes explored in

3362-460: The West End Hotel. The Riverview Hotel is a heritage-listed corner building built in 1880 in the Arts and Crafts style. Between 1888 and 1913 the pub was named Bergin's Hotel after the publican Joseph Bergin. Australian swimming champion Dawn Fraser was publican of the Riverview from 1978 to 1983. Numerous phrases have been used to describe the suburb and its inhabitants, including "Balmain boys don't cry" (former NSW Premier Neville Wran at

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3444-410: The Western Distributor. Sections of Balmain were to be demolished to make for the North-West Expressway but this was prevented after green bans were placed by the NSW Builders Labourers Federation. Trams once ran all the way down Darling Street to the wharf at Balmain East. Due to the very steep incline at the bottom of the street, the trams used a complex 'dummy' counterweight system constructed under

3526-434: The arts in its diverse forms: "music, drawing, painting, literature, drama and craftsmanship, embracing practically every profession and trade in the community". It was then located at 273 Pitt Street, Sydney . The first play presented by the Club in 1932 was Pygmalion . In November 1934, it staged a play called November , about the Russian Revolution , at premises at 36 Pitt Street. In 1936, Workers' Art Club became

3608-410: The black and gold of Balmain, colours still worn proudly by today's players in their socks. Drummoyne Rugby Club is still in existence and still upholds it proud history and traditions. The suburb is also home to the Balmain Australian Football Club , a founding member in 1903 of the Sydney Football League . Balmain is also home to Balmain FC , who are a semi-professional football club, playing in

3690-426: The bottom of the shafts a decline led down to a seam of coal situated under the harbour between Ballast Point and Goat Island . Because of the availability of the coal, Balmain Power Station was erected in stages from 1909. However, there were major industrial disputes in the 1920s and calls were made by some shareholders in 1928 to close the mine. The following year the colliery still employed 299 miners. By 1930

3772-405: The bushy peninsula, down the hill to Peacock Point at the east end, where they were killed. The area now known as Balmain was part of a 220-hectare (550-acre) grant to colonial surgeon William Balmain (1762–1803) made in 1800 by Governor John Hunter . A year later, Balmain transferred his entire holding to settle a debt to John Borthwick Gilchrist before returning to Scotland. The legality of

3854-424: The colliery owners had given up and it had been taken over by the Balmain Coal Contracting Company, established by the Miner's Federation to keep the pit operational, to no avail as disputes continued. On 13 October 1930 the Miners' Lodge declared the mine "blacked" as well as the manager, whose dismissal they demanded. The colliery closed in 1931. In 1933 it was proposed to extract natural gas for commercial use from

3936-445: The conference. During the conference, the delegates awarded Syron the 1987 inaugural Harold Blair Award for his Lifetime Achievements in the Performing Arts, which brought with it the additional honour of the title "Elder". As a result of the first NBPC, Syron, as a member of a steering committee which included Rhoda Roberts , Kevin Gilbert , Lydia Miller (later executive director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts at

4018-436: The district colours. The great Illawarra sculling champion Bill Beach had a close association with the club and wore their black and gold colours in competition. The post-industrial gentrification of Balmain has resulted in a suburb of considerable charm and interest where the modest, pretty houses command high prices. However, Balmain still retains a diverse mix of residents due to the Housing Commission unit blocks in

4100-444: The end of each evening the actors had to be ferried back by taxi to their homes in Redfern , about 10 minutes' walk away, to avoid arrest by the police. He followed this in the early 1972 with workshops and acting classes held at the Black Theatre Arts & Cultural Centre (aka Black Theatre ), Cope Street, Redfern where his pupils included Jack Davis , Hyllus Maris, Lester Bostock, Maureen Watson and Gerry Bostock . In 1973, as

4182-485: The fields of performance, music and art, and presented Indigenous Australian political and commercial leaders in discussions on various topics important to Indigenous Australians. In 1970 Syron left Australia for the USA where he took up a position as Attachment / Assistant on the feature film What's Up Doc? directed by Peter Bogdanovich . Syron's next film project was the short film Jeremy and Teapot (1976) starring Patrick Thompson as Jeremy and Syron as Teapot with

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4264-399: The first group of urban Aboriginal actors to every study Stanislavski or acting from an Indigenous perspective. The classes were held at the Foundation of Aboriginal Affairs, George Street (near Central railway station ), Sydney CBD and the actors included political and cultural historian/actor Denis Walker and actor/director/historian Gary Foley . The situation was still so bad that at

4346-403: The first modern urban Aboriginal drama screened on Australian television. Syron then played the leading role of "The Wife Abuser" in director Stephen Wallace 's telemovie Women Who Kill (1983) which screened on ATN Channel 9. In 1987 Syron was executive producer of the documentary-drama film production Karbara: First Born (1987), directed and produced by Richard Guthrie, during and following

4428-399: The inaugural Australia Council for the Arts , headed for the first time by an Indigenous person, the artist Wandjuk Marika . The following year, 1973, Syron co-founded the Australian National Playwrights Conference (ANPC) with Katharine Brisbane , which continued to take place annually until at least 2006. Lloyd Richards , then head of acting at Yale University and artistic director of

4510-420: The land transfer from Balmain to Gilchrist for only 5 shillings was challenged by Balmain's descendants and further development of the area was blocked. The area subsequently became known as Gilchrist's place, though court documents refer to the area as the Balmain Estate. During the many years of legal challenges, the land was leased for farming and cattle purposes. In 1814 the adjacent homestead of Birchgrove

4592-401: The now disused mine. In 1936 calls were made for the Sydney City Council to take over the mine to no avail. One local waterman who benefited from the Balmain coalmine was Bob Miller, who resided at 102 Glassop Street. He purchased a small tug and barge and secured a contract to remove the mine tailings, which he on sold to local councils as fill for a handsome profit. This was the beginning of

4674-481: The period 1986–1987 Syron became the first Indigenous Australian to lecture at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). In Australia's Bi-Centennial Year , 1988, Syron, as representative of actors and the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust, was invited back to AFTRS as a guest lecturer for the "Writing '88" Course. Syron was employed as children's dialogue coach on ABC Television 's award-winning television production Seven Little Australians (1974),

4756-415: The place where the Australian Labor Party formed in 1891 and its social history and status is of high cultural significance to both Sydney and New South Wales. Today, the ALP contends with the Australian Greens for political prominence in Balmain, and Kobi Shetty of the Greens holds the State seat of Balmain . In the 21st century however, Balmain is often considered to be an affluent area. According to

4838-447: The play then toured various colleges around the United States. The Cake Man was performed at the World Theatre Festival in Denver, Colorado , Returning to Australia, Syron directed a season of The Cake Man at the Universal Theatre in Fitzroy, Melbourne after which it was funded by Australian federal government's Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs to play at the 1983 Warana - Commonwealth Arts Festival, Brisbane in Queensland where it

4920-533: The play was banned by Frank Chaffey , then Chief Secretary, but the theatre defied the ban and staged the play in private premises. Its slogan was then "Art is a weapon". When the play moved to Melbourne's New Theatre, it proved hugely popular and attracted new adherents to the theatre. Prior to the war it staged performances with a pacifist message, but as it became inevitable, the theatre continued to stage performances through World War II, including taking performances to soldiers' camps. Its revue I'd Rather Be Left

5002-447: The popular Seven Network situation comedy series My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? , starring Gordon Chater , John Meillon and Judi Farr . Balmain was the setting for the 1994 Australian film The Sum of Us , which starred Jack Thompson , John Polson and Russell Crowe . The former Pacific Hotel (from 2019, now converted into a residential property) - as well as several other locations in Balmain - were used extensively as

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5084-420: The production are also the subject of Mudrooroo Narogin's book The Mudrooroo/Muller Project - A Theatrical Casebook , with a chapter by Syron and edited by Gerhard Fischer in collaboration with leading Indigenous academic Paul Behrendt and Syron. Syron was too ill to do more than direct the stage reading of the play. Following the success of "Fortune", Syron was approached by Sydney drama professionals to set up

5166-465: The productions were mostly related to exploitation of the working class , sexism , racism in Australia , and against war. It has been estimated that the total number of plays produced by all of the New Theatres was over 400. The Workers' Art Club was established in July 1932, with George Finey as president. Its aims were reported as "to give the worker an opportunity of intellectual and cultural development free from financial embarrassment", presenting

5248-692: The road surface. The trams were pushed up the steep hill by the dummy, and rode the dummy on the way down to safely descend the hill. Transit Systems bus services that service Balmain are: The Balmain bug ( Ibacus peronii ), a type of slipper lobster commonly eaten in Sydney, is named after Balmain. Balmain is home to many historic hotels, including the Cat and Fiddle Hotel , Cricketer's Arms Hotel , Dick's Hotel , Dry Dock Hotel , Exchange Hotel , Forth & Clyde Hotel , Kent Hotel , Unity Hall Hotel, London Hotel, Mort Bay Hotel, Norfolk Pines Hotel, Pacific Hotel, Royal Oak Hotel , Shipwright's Arms Hotel , Star Hotel , Town Hall Hotel, Volunteer Hotel and

5330-515: The role of The Executioner or Kadachi Man. Syron and the lead actors were the co-writers of this production although they were uncredited by Bennett. The script improvisation by the actors is confirmed by Encore "Bill Bennett's "Backlash", for instance, is a film for which the principals improvised their dialogue...in this his latest effort he tested this technique to its limit" ( Encore , 24 April - 7 May 1986 : 6) Syron and Rosalie Kunoth-Monks were employed as Co-Aboriginal Consultants on

5412-404: The set of the Australian television soap opera , E Street . Balmain has a number of parks including Gladstone Park, Birrung Park and White Bay Park. The wider peninsula has many more parks in close proximity, particularly along the foreshores. In earlier times Punch Park was the goto place for park footy (rugby league), though it was always referred to by the boys then as Punch's Park Balmain

5494-436: The site of a small oval which Glebe and Balmain had used for junior matches since 1892. To ensure longevity of tenure, and because there were just not enough sporting grounds in Sydney—with some reluctance—the Glebe-Balmain Club decided to change its name to the Drummoyne District Rugby Football Club . It did so without giving up its long-held traditions, the scarlet jumpers of Glebe and its world-famous tag, "The Dirty Reds" and

5576-517: The status of indigenous theatre and film as an integral part of Australia's cultural heritage" (O'Donoghue, letter to Russell Mulvey, Edmonton, Canada, 8.12.1992) Briann Kearney and Syron applied in a joint application for a Literary Fellowship from the Australia Council and were awarded $ 20,000 to co-write Kicking Down the Doors - a History of Indigenous Filmmaking from 1968–1993 including non-Indigenous films for and about Indigenous people , based on research collected by Syron for his submission to

5658-477: The suburb. Much of the suburb is a heritage conservation area and creative design is required to modernise the Victorian and Edwardian housing stock. In 2013 a contemporary Balmain house designed by architect Harry Seidler sold for $ 6m. The Tom Uren House in Gilchrist Place was designed by Richard Leplastrier . Notable past and present residents include: New Theatre (Newtown) The New Theatre , formerly Workers' Art Club and New Theatre League ,

5740-441: The suburbs of Rozelle to the south-west, Birchgrove to the north-west, and Balmain East to the east. Iron Cove sits on the western side of the peninsula, with White Bay on the south-east side and Mort Bay on the north-east side. Traditionally blue collar , Balmain was where the industrial roots of the trade unionist movement began. It has become established in Australian working-class culture and history, due to being

5822-426: The television production Naked Under Capricorn (1989) directed by Rob Stewart, produced by Syron's brother-in-law Ray Alchin and starring Nigel Havers . From 1990 to 1992 Syron directed the first feature film by an Indigenous Australian, Jindalee Lady (1992), and he is recognised as being the first First Nations director of a feature film. Nearly all cast and crew were also Aboriginal, and one scene featured

5904-616: The very first competition structure and in fact winning their first premiership in 1875. Players lost fighting in World War I forced the club to merge with the Glebe "Dirty Reds" RUFC in 1919, to form the Glebe-Balmain RFC. As a merged club they had enormous success during the Twenties, winning four premierships. In 1931, as a depression project, Drummoyne Oval, as it is now known, was constructed on

5986-400: Was Brian Syron, in fact, who was the instigator not only of the first National Black Playwrights Conference but the National Playwrights Conference. Syron always said our culture is an oral one, it comes through our painting, through our singing, through our stories that's how we pass down our laws, that's how we have passed down our history for 60,000 years Eva Johnson was writer/director of

6068-515: Was a biographical documentary recounting the achievements of seven leading Aboriginal achievers: actor/historian Gary Foley , potter Thancoupie, artist Jean Jimmi, bureaucrat Charles Perkins , academic Miriam Rose Ungunmeer-Bauman and artists Jimmy Bienderry and Stumpy Martin Jempijimpa. The script never received production funding and was later used as the basis for the Clare Dunn book People Under

6150-664: Was a scathing attack on the "Phoney War", as it strived to make the war an anti- Fascist one. It started being known simply as the New Theatre during the early 1950s. In the late 1950s, the theatre co-hosted the Mary Gilmore Award for the best new full-length play, along with the May Day Committees of Melbourne , Sydney and Newcastle . As the Workers' Art Club and New Theatre League, performances were staged at 36 Pitt Street from 1932 to 1943. From 1943 to 1953,

6232-579: Was accepted as a student with the Stella Adler Studio , where he studied with fellow students Robert De Niro , Warren Beatty and Peter Bogdanovich , and became a teacher himself. Completing his American training, he spent 12 months in Britain studying with Cicily Berry as well as Doreen Cannon , head of acting, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before returning to New York. There, he co-founded

6314-457: Was built in 1915. Lever Brothers Factory , owned by the British parent company, opened in 1895. A coal mine was opened in 1897 beside what is now Birchgrove Public School by an English company. The winding engine was said to be the largest in the southern hemisphere. However, with the endless labour disputes, Sydney Collieries Limited took over ownership. A further new shaft was sunk in 1904. From

6396-626: Was due in part to its waterfront location and proximity to Sydney's CBD. The Balmain Association was formed in 1965. Increasing property values and waterfront development continued to push the suburb's remaining industry out. In 1996, the Lever Brothers site became a series of apartment complexes with a handful of original buildings preserved. The power station was demolished in 1998 to make way for apartments. However, many aspects of Balmain's industrial past have been retained as heritage. Balmain has

6478-504: Was invited to teach drama to The Resurgent Society inmates of Parramatta Gaol , and became involved with the Society for the next 12 months. His group included playwrights Jim McNeil and Robin Thurston , and Syron is believed to be the first drama teacher to work in the prison system of New South Wales . At the end of 1974 Syron went to Los Angeles to take up a Adler's invitation to work at

6560-891: Was performed at the Edward Street Theatre. In 1986, Syron, on behalf of the Aboriginal Arts Board, published a "Questionnaire seeking support for establishment of National Aboriginal Theatre Company", ahead of a National Black Playwrights Workshop at James Cook University in Townsville . In January 1987, Syron founded the National Black Playwrights Conference (NPBC), which was held at the Australian National University , Canberra. In an interview with Angela Bennie, Australia's leading Indigenous actress Justine Saunders commented : It

6642-455: Was rapidly sub-divided and developed during the 1840s and by 1861 had been divided into the well populated eastern suburb of Balmain and the sparsely populated western area, extending to the gates of Callan Park , known as Balmain West. The peninsula changed rapidly during the 1800s and became one of the premier industrial centres of Sydney. Industries clustered around Mort Bay included shipbuilding,

6724-484: Was sold to Roland Warpole Loane , a merchant and settler descended from a family of English landlords. One hundred acres on the adjoining Balmain estate were leased to Loane. In 1833, Gilchrist transferred power of attorney to Frederick Parbury. When Loane's lease finally expired in 1836 and the land retrieved from his possession, Parbury commissioned surveyor John Armstrong to sub-divide the land into six parcels. Three parcels were sold to Thomas Hyndes in 1837. The area

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