Historians ROSS FITZGERALD & DICK WHITAKER recall film star Katharine Hepburn’s famous visit to Australia.  

Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) was a beloved American actress who began her illustrious career on the stage, but really hit the headlines with her entry into Hollywood in 1932.

Her film successes became her main trademark although she still maintained a strong stage presence and she also embraced television in her later years.

Her industry awards are legion including four Academy Awards, and nomination for the best actress in no less than eight other films extending from 1934 to 1982.

She became particularly well known in Australia after 1952, when one of her big films, The African Queen, was released.

Hepburn famously toured Australia in 1955 with the Old Vic Theatre Company. Over six months, she and Australian-born dancer/actor Sir Robert Helpmann headlined a series of Shakespearean productions, including The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew and Measure for Measure.

She visited Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, where, as a visiting celebrity, she was mobbed by fans and media alike.

But it was in Sydney that she undertook one of her more unusual visits – and this was to the East Sydney Technical College in Darlinghurst, that was formerly the infamous Darlinghurst Gaol, the primary place of detention in Sydney from 1841 to 1914. It was then taken over by the NSW Department of Education in 1921, becoming known as the East Sydney Technical College.

In 1955 the Principal of the college, Mr WR Crisp, initiated a plan to establish a new theatre on-site using the Women’s Cell Block, a disused building from the jail era. He decided to gain some publicity for the project and had a brainwave. He was aware that Hepburn was in town, so he invited her and Helpmann over to East Sydney Technical College for a publicity visit.

It was not generally believed that these major celebrities would respond to the invitation, Hepburn thought it was a great idea, and she and Helpmann arrived at the gates of the college on July 5.

The visit was a great success with Hepburn proving to be a major drawcard, and then, obviously enjoying herself, delivered a characteristic and witty public speech.

She remarked, in referring to the Women’s Cell Block: “It was most appropriate that a member of the second oldest profession should be opening a building which had housed women from the oldest profession.”

An amusing incident took place during Hepburn’s guided tour when she unexpectedly bumped into an arts student. The student’s face, as soon as he recognised her, was something to behold. Hepburn asked him to join in with the official touring party, which he did.

Her tour was a spectacular example of a major Hollywood star visiting Australia, and this tradition has continued up until the present day.

Hepburn’s love for Australia was genuine and she “cherished the unbothered freedom to explore, without press interference, the vast outback landscapes and the unique wildlife”.

Ross Fitzgerald AM is emeritus professor of history and politics at Griffith University. Dick Whitaker is a widely published author and lecturer in Australian history.

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