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The Phillips Brothers:

American Showmen Down Under
Bruce Corneill

rothers Herman, Leon and Harold Phillips
Bwere leading showmen in the Australian
entertainment industry from the Edwardian era
through to the 1950s. Their diverse interests
included cinemas, amusement parks and dance
halls.
Starting in Sydney, their commercial activities
eventually extended nation wide. However,
they quickly shifted their operations to
Melbourne and specifically to the bayside
suburb of St. Kilda where they owned the
Palais Pictures (now the Palais Theatre), L to R: J.D. Williams (Wikipedia), Herman Phillips (Table Talk), Leon Phillips (Table Talk,)
Palais de Danse Ballroom and Luna Park. They
were also part owners of the Capitol Theatre Deciding to try their luck across the Pacific, the included a child minding centre that was
and office building in the CBD. Later, they trio headed for Australia in 1909. Wasting no supervised by a trained nurse.
established a second fun fair at Milson's Point time, they formed the Greater J. D. Williams
on Sydney Harbour. Amusement Company with the Phillips Bros The Melbourne experiment proved to be
as partners and directors. After building several, another triumph and the partners diversified
As concert promoters, they imported a number prestige cinemas in the heart of Sydney which into the area of outdoor amusements with the
of popular jazz and big band artists from the included the Colonial, Lyric and the Crystal construction of Luna Park. Australia had never
United States to perform exclusively at their Palace, they also launched a film exchange and seen anything quite like it. Obviously not put
venues. a newsreel production unit. off by superstitious beliefs, they officially
opened the park on the evening of Friday, 13
They spent their early years in Spokane, In those pioneering days when most showmen December 1912. Welcomed amidst a blaze of
Washington. Herman studied to be an opera presented the “flicks” in rough-and-ready, electric lights and following weeks of publicity,
singer and a report in The Spokane Press, dated makeshift surroundings, the newcomers from around 22,000 thrill seekers bustled in through
20 January 1906 indicates that Leon and his the States were more service orientated. the giant neon-lit “Mr Moon” face at the
father, Abraham, were directors of the short - Offering comfortable, pleasant and convenient entrance.
lived Havana Cigar Company. entertainment at low prices, they also
introduced the concept of continuous Created by a team of American fun park experts
Harold, who was considerably younger, doesn't screenings which, again, gave the public better who were brought Down Under especially to
enter our story until later. value for their money. It proved to be a winning do the job, it was designed, at least in part, by
combination and business boomed. English architect T.H. Eslick who had extensive
But, not much else is known about their experience working at similar parks in the UK
background in the US. It has been speculated, In 1911, they moved into the Melbourne market and Europe as well as at Coney Island in New
however, that Leon and Herman may have been with the luxurious Melba Theatre in Bourke York. Eslick went on to dream up the La
involved with travelling picture shows around Street. The following year they unveiled the Monica Ballroom on Santa Monica pier in Los
the North West and it was through that activity even grander Britannia right next door – a Angeles.
that they probably met another aspiring movie venue so advanced that it featured a form of
mogul by the name of James Dixon (“Jay Dee”) basic air conditioning. Other innovations Attractions at "St. Kilda's Mecca of
Williams. Merrymakers" (as it was advertised) included
Below: St Kilda foreshore. L to R: Luna Park, Palais Pictures and Palais de Danse.

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