On Monday, November 23, 1970 the London Wax Museum was officially opened by the Mayor of St Kilda, Cr G. Manning, in the South Pacific Building, Lower Esplanade (now Jacka Boulevard) (1). The South Pacific was the old St Kilda Baths, completely renovated and re-opened in 1956 (2).The 45 (3) figures on display - replicas of the famous and infamous (4) - had been sculptured and modelled by Jack Armytage, of Interwax Ltd, at the time the only company in the Southern Hemisphere producing wax models. Jack also designed the display, the costumes and provided the display bodies - it was only the head and the hands which were created in wax (5).
Jack Armytage with Queen Victoria
The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21.
In an interview in The Age newspaper of November 20, 1970 Jack explained his entry into the Wax Model world -
It started 15 months ago when I was helping to lay out the wax museum at Surfers' Paradise. They had some trouble with the wax models brought from London and I thought that they could have been made here. I had a trip around the world looking at wax museums and that convinced me. I hadn't done any sculpture before, or sculpted from life, but I think being in television for years helped me. Jack had previously been the art director of a Brisbane Television station.
Each figure, estimated to be worth $1,000 each, took over 200 hours to create, with each hair being individually implanted (6).
An interesting employment opportunity at the Wax Museum
The Age July 8, 1972, p. 71.
Amongst the models made for the St Kilda Museum were Queen Victoria, King Henry VIII, whose costume alone cost $400; the then Prime Minister, John Gorton; Dame Nellie Melba. Charles Dickens, Dr Christiaan Barnard, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, Princess Anne, Michelangelo, Napoleon, Sir Francis Drake, Madame Tussaud, Rolf Harris, Sir Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli, American Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Nixon, Hitler, Stalin and Mao Tse-tung (7).
The manager, John Pittman, surrounded by Benjamin Disraeli, Prince Phillip, Princess Anne, The Queen and Queen Victoria.
The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12
The Museum, owned by New Zealand Company London Wax Museums Ltd was managed by John and Joy Pittman (8). They had no previous experience in the Wax Museum World - Neither of us had any experience in the world of wax. I worked for an electrical company and Joy had a background in dress making," Mr Pittman said (9).
After 18 months (10) the Museum, also known as the World in Wax, moved to 32 The Esplanade on the corner of Acland Street to the building erected in 1917, by the Prahran and Malvern Tramway Trust at the terminus of its line. The building had a long history of use as a cafe - initially the Empire Cafe, then the Green Knoll, and from mid-1940s to 1970 as the function centre known as both Katharina and Catherina (11).
The World in Wax museum, 32 The Esplanade, St Kilda.
Image enhanced by Isaac Hermann.
The Pittmans operated at 32 The Esplanade, until January 27, 1975, when they had to close as the building was to be demolished and all the models were put into storage. By this stage 250,000 visitors had viewed the collection. It was not an easy task to find a suitable building to house what was then reported to be 50 wax models, and they had been searching for over a year when they were interviewed by The Age on the day of the closure. The interview reported that they were considering a site in Barkly Street, but it is likely to be some time before the Museum opens again (12). Some time later they re-opened at 168 Acland Street, corner Barkly Street, in the building which until recently housed the Big Mouth Cafe (13).
Souvenir from London's Wax Museum.
Image: Isaac Hermann.
I don't know how long they were at 168 Acland Street, but it seems less than a year. In 2002, the Riverine Herald had an interview with the Pittmans and it was reported that the couple, now in their 80s, bought the London Wax Museum in St Kilda in 1975 and moved its occupants to Echuca in 1976 to open World in Wax Museum on High St. (14)
Life sized guillotine and victim, displayed at the London Wax Museum in St Kilda.
Image: Isaac Hermann
This is 'Deadly Earnest' also on display at the Wax Museum.
Image: Isaac Hermann.
It appears that the Pittmans managed the Museum from its opening until 1975, when they purchased the business and then began looking for a new location, and that the Acland Street location was only ever meant to be a temporary location. This is supported by the fact that the Riverine Herald reported in February 1975 that the Echuca Council was to make a bid to have the Wax Museum set up in Echuca, thus they may have been in talks early on (15). Secondly, this advertisement, below, appeared in The Age on October 1, 1975. It is of course possible that R. Inlander was looking for a location for a rival wax museum in 'Melbourne or nearby' but even though I have found no connection yet between Mr Inlander and the Pittmans, I believe that he was advertising on their behalf.
Advertisement for a location for a Wax Museum.
Was it for the St Kilda Museum or a rival museum?
This is likely to be Rudolf Inlander, listed in the Electoral Roll in the 1970s at Hosken Street, Balwyn North, occupation - dental mechanic.
The Age October 1, 1975. p. 23.
The Riverine Herald article from 2002, was written because the Pittmans were retiring and their manager, John Walton, was taking over the business. At the time of their retirement the Wax Museum displayed 59 models and each figurine can cost anywhere between $8,000 and $10,000 because of the time it takes to make them (16). An interesting increase in value from the $1,000 per model that Jack Armytage said they were worth in 1970.
The Wax Museum in St Kilda was a short-lived part of St Kilda's rich history as Australia's premier pleasure resort (17).
AcknowledgmentI had not heard of the Wax Museum at St Kilda until I was told of it by my fellow historian, Isaac Hermann, when he purchased the souvenir postcards of the Museum, which I have reproduced here. Some of this research was done by or in conjunction with Isaac. Thanks, Isaac.
Footnotes(1)
The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21. Available on newspapers.com
(2) The South Pacific, read the report of official re-opening in
The Argus of November 3, 1956,
here. However a report in the
Australian Jewish Herald of May 18, 1956 said there was a Grand Opening on May 23, 1956, read this report
here.
(3) The number of figures on display was listed as 45 in The Age of November 20 article and 42 in The Age, November 19, 1970, p. 16
(4) Replicas of the famous and infamous was from an advert for the Museum in The Age, December 11, 1972, p. 11.
(5) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21.
(6) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21.
(7) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21; The Age, November 19, 1970, p. 16; The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12.
(8) The Age, November 19, 1970, p. 16. Available on newspapers.com
(9)
Riverine Herald, December 2, 2002, see
here.
(10)
The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12. Available on newspapers.com
(11) I will be writing a history of the building shortly, but I have created a list of articles on Trove on the various businesses which occupied the building, access it here
https://trove.nla.gov.au/list/157656(12) The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12.
(14)
Riverine Herald, December 2, 2002, see
here.
(15)
Riverine Herald, February 2, 2000, see
here - The Way we Were - 25 years ago.
(16)
Riverine Herald, December 2, 2002, see
here.
