History of Whakatane Operatic Society

Whakatane Operatic Society was born in 1959 from the thought of a few such as Don Stewart, Gordon Church and Jim Hudson.  They had believed that there was acting and musical abilities lying latent in Whakatane and these abilities should awakened and enjoyed by those who preferred to watch performances.
With this thought, the Whakatane Operatic Society was born with 50 pounds in its pocket, hope and eager stage-struck members.  Meetings were held in Committee member’s homes and when the occasion called for it in a local hall.  The first President was Mr Don Stewart.

The first production was Follow the Fleet in 1959 and played for two nights and enjoyed a very warm reception and there was such public demand that another night was played about a month later.

With performances in various locations such as the Grand Theatre, Memorial Hall, Restaurants and local halls, they even toured as far as Opotiki to put on performances for the “Country folk”.  Imagine transporting the sets, costumes, musicians and the like in that time without the technology and transport we have today.  Sets were built in business houses storage areas or private properties.

A variety of locals have tread the boards or played in the orchestra pit for the musicals played from 1959 until the current production and many retain their membership today.  Some names from the past and many who have enjoyed both appearance on stage for Repertory and Operatic or in the orchestra include, Shirley Sherborne, Joan Volmuller, Dick Hales, Ina Doggett, Mary Bell, Jan Miller, Peggy Mitchell, Briton Chadwick, Valda Niederer, Bert Bleasdale, Adele Harrison, Margaret Dempsey, David Smith and many, many more.

The Society after years of fundraising purchased their own clubrooms in the late 1960’s in Bracken Street and transformed a mechanics garage into a home for members to audition, rehearse and socialize.  They remained there until the amalgamation with Whakatane Repertory Society.

There has been a variety of musicals played to the audiences over the years and also several joint productions with Repertory.  Over the last 10 years many of those appearing on stage or assisting with technical crews have been members of both theatre groups and it was mooted that perhaps to ease the load, combine resources and the financial costs, it would be worth while discussing amalgamation of the two groups.