Glimpses From the Past 2
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Chatterton, Brian
Lily - Gray
The Broadbents visit Macclesfield in 2026
Joan Broadbent celebrated her 80th birthday at the Macclesfield Hotel in July 2026 with siblings Graham and Barbara. Having grown up in the town they were keen to visit the Institute, and shared their memories with the History Group.
Joan and Barbara remembered entertaining the audience on the piano (now in supper room). As young teenagers they played for the movie goers at the ‘Avon Pictures’ in the 1950s-60s. Joan even played us a tune!
to come
In December 1947 ‘Avon Pictures’ had officially opened in the town. The first program was ‘Picadilly Incident’ and ‘My Pal Trigger’ and a film of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth. Avon continued to operate on a weekly basis until the 1960s when owning a television set became more popular. The Cinema box addition to the front of the Institute was made when Avon pictures were operating in Macclesfield.
In the 1960s there was a major community effort for what was known as the Cream Bowl Festivals. While it was primarily promoting the dairy industry and originated in Mt Barker, the surrounding districts soon got involved and each town submitted an entry for the Miss Cream Bowl competition.
In 1962 Lorraine Pearce won the outright award of Miss Cream Bowl and in 1963 Joan Broadbent was successful. Part of the prize for these two Macclesfield girls was a holiday to Warragul in Victoria where they represented the Adelaide Hills region in a national Miss Cream Bowl competition. Joan has special memories of those times.
Among the history collection is a Courier Newspaper article showing Joan as Miss Cream Bowl in 1963.
Seated on her throne, following the crowning ceremony at the ball on Friday night, is the 1963 Queen of the Mt Barker and District Cream Bowl Festival, Miss Joan Broadbent, of Macclesfield.
History Group September 2026, www.macclesfieldhistory.com.au
