MELBOURNE BALL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18546, 5 November 1934, Page 7

MELBOURNE BALL

IN HONOR OF THE DUKE

IDYLLIC SETTING

The Royal Ball to be given by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Gengoult Smith, on Wednesday night in honor of the Duke of Gloucester will be decorated with a typical Australian bush scene.

Nearly half of the 2000 guests will come from overseas.

The staff of Melbourne's parks and gardens will have a busy time in their preparations to achieve The complete illusion of a secluded woodland gully. Tall gum trees, spaced round the walls, will rear their branches to the overhanging gallery, where masses of greenery will be piled to within a few feet of the dome.

Against a cunningly-arranged system of lights, the lower tree trunks will stand out in bold relief, while the highest bows will merge with the greenery overhead to give an illusion of illimitable space. An artificial waterfall will be built on the main, stage; and from a point high up against the lofty pipes of the grand organ, the water will tumble from one overhanging rock to another, ending in a rivulet.

The pipes of the organ will be concealed behind the thick spring foliage of sturdy young trees, relieved with splashes of golden wattle. Corners of the stage will be terraced with wild forest blooms, arranged in fine color contrast.

The illusion of the bush setting will be heightened by the lighting effects. Concealed electric floodlights of varying hues will play on the dancing floor, but in keeping with the atmosphere of the Australian bush, lights concealed iff perforated kerosene tins, will be slung from the boughs of the trees. From the idyllic setting of the dance hall, the Lord Mayor’s guests will pass to the supper rooms. The usual open bar will be built in the portico of the \ hall, where a staff of 15 barmen will dispense 200 gallons of beer. 20 gallons of whisky, six gallons of brandy and gin, 200 bottles of colonial wines, and 40 dozen bottles of ginger ale.