Lighthouses of Australia Inc

LoA Inc members in period dress at Titanic Restaurant. From left: Denise Shultz, Steve Merson, Deb Kavaliunas and Malcolm Macdonald. Also present but not pictured were LoA members Phil Walsh, Ed Kavaliunas, Martin Spencer-Hogbin, Liz and Ron Bates, Kristie Eggleston & Jennifer Eggleston, and assorted spouses, friends and relatives. Photo: Steve Merson

LoA Victorian dinner at Titanic Restaurant

by Denise Shultz, LoA Inc President

It’s been a long time since the Victorian LoA members had a chance to get together, it seems the LoA social life has slowed down lately. Though people were grumbling about it, at the same time, everyone was too busy to make that first step. But the time was ripe for another “social” and so it happened.

'Captain Smith' & 'Molly Brown' aboard Titanic. Photo: Steve Merson

The idea about the theatre restaurant in a historic (and lighthouse adorned) Melbourne suburb of Williamstown, came from Steve Merson. The establishment is an old pub, refurbished in the fashion of the notorious unsinkable steamer, where every Saturday evening after dinner, various theatrical shows on the theme of Titanic’s demise are conducted. With the Williamstown Time Ball Tower/ Lighthouse just 100m away, there was no question that this was the right place to go.

The merry group of steerage passengers. Photo: Steve Merson

And so, after a bit of organising, on Saturday 24th of June, a disparate group of 24 LoA members, their families and friends descended on the historic pub and along with the other patrons, transformed into a crowd of poor migrants. Because sailors and lightkeepers were not known to be excessively rich, we decided to come as Third Class or Steerage passengers. Some men and women came clothed in period costumes. Girls wore ankle length skirts and frilly blouses, with Grecian bun hairstyle to imitate 1912 fashion, while men sported flat caps and braces holding up their trousers.

Malcolm Macdonald and partner Trish. Photo: Denise Shultz

We formed a queue at 6.30pm to be admitted to the “ship” in small groups. To make the waiting a bit more exciting, the very loud ship's horn was sounded unexpectedly at random times, startling everyone. When we were finally admitted through a steam ridden noisy elevator to our quarters, it really seemed like we moved to the bottom of the ship, though in fact, we were at the same ground level.

'Molly Brown' with her spectacular pheasant feather adorned millinery. Photo: Steve Merson

Soon, we were all seated together at two parallel tables and before the full time chat could start, we were entertained by a group of actors, dressed as fellow passengers, who walked around the tables with accordion, singing tunes like “Oh Danny Boy”, “Roll Down the Barrels”, “Tipperary”, or whatever came to the diner's mind, and most were happy to sing along.

After a dinner, of which a true Steerage Passenger could only dream, we were taken right into the drama of the last hours of Titanic. Captain Smith, Molly Brown and other characters appeared among us in the steerage, singing, joking and socialising, until a loud crash caused all hell to brake loose. Smoke appeared everywhere, the floor actually started to move back and forth and mirrors on the wall tilted up and down. The effects were quite believable - you really felt on board a moving ship. Luckily, we all survived, along with the First Class passengers upstairs and crew, so we had a bit of time to talk and enjoy each other’s company after the show.

I think I speak for most if I say that we had a very enjoyable, unusual, entertaining, and long overdue get-together.

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