Hi, it’s Adrian Bo here and today, this week, I’m back at Milford Street and as you can see behind me here, is my old school, being Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, where I attended between kindergarten to year four and then went on to Waverley College. A lot of memories here in the sand pit in the playground and the sports facilities here behind me. Now last week I told the story of Nugal Hall, also here, up the road on Milford Street and in that story we mentioned a gentleman who deserves his own story this week. Charles Cozens Spencer moved into Nugal Hall somewhere around 1907 to 1908, whilst in his late thirties. Originally born in Sussex, England, he had migrated as an 18 year old to British Columbia in Canada, attracted by the Gold Rush occurring over there at the time. With his brothers, he had established a Pastoral services business, but started to experiment with screening moving pictures initially for his friends, then on a commercial basis. He married Mary Stuart-Huntly, a Scottish migrant who became his chief projectionist and business partner. She adopted the name “Senora Spencer, the only lady projectionist in the world”, as the moving picture screening business evolved in Canada, Charles had his eye on the growing Southern Hemisphere. In July 1905, Spencer toured New Zealand and Australia, screening movies and becoming well known all over Australia which led to him settling in Sydney to establish a new business he called, “The Great American Theatrescope”, based in the Lyceum Theatre in Pitt Street.

 Initially it shared the Lyceum, but became such a huge success that it ended up taking over the whole building. He had a massive hit when he brought over, “The Great Train Robbery”, a silent western movie about a gang of outlaws robbing a train, which generated the cash to enable Spencer to go into producing movies in Australia as well as purchasing Nugal Hall here on Milford Street. He initially cut his teeth on producing newsreels for his cinema network as well as producing short documentaries and in 1908, he was involved in the making of a documentary of a World Heavyweight Championship boxing fight between Tommy Burns and Jack Johnson. It was groundbreaking at the time as it focused on the preparation and build up to the fight as well as the highlights of the actual fight itself and then reflections from those involved afterwards. The initial showing of the film was to a crowd of 8000 people in Rushcutter’s Bay. Spencer made about $15,000 from the production, plus distribution of the documentary across the cinemas in Australia and overseas, many cinemas were turning people away daily because the movie was such a hit. Now you’ve just heard the bells from OLSH ringing on the hour, every hour, here in the beautiful Milford Street in Randwick and what a lovely theatrical moment that is every hour, on the hour here. 

Now, Cozens also produced documentaries about AFL and there was some fantastic footage on YouTube of one of his documentaries, focused on the 1909 Grand final between Carlton and South Melbourne, which i will link to the post below me here on my actual video. With money flowing, Spencer soon moved into producing feature films which initially included, “The Life and Adventures of John Vane” and another called, “The Notorious Bushranger”. In 1911, he produced a movie called “The Fatal Wedding”, which was a massive success, enabling him to build a studio complex in Rushcutter’s Bay, from where other movies were made. The then vast sum of $10,000 was invested in the construction of the studio. Spencer is credited with establishing productions in Australia with sound and colour, very much making Sydney into one of the world’s leading movie centres. Fox Studios had a commemoration plaque made to remember him, as well, as he was such a pioneer in the movie world. Unfortunately, the Charles Cozens Spencer story ends very sadly, having raised capital from investors to expand the business, his board then wanting a merger with another movie company which went badly and the economic difficulties brought on from the World War in 1914, forced him to leave Australia. He went back to Canada and his mental health deteriorated, unfortunately, until one day, for no apparent reason, he shot dead one of his friends and then drowned himself in a nearby lake. 

Despite his financial reversals, the estate he left behind was worth $346,000, which would be well into eight figures by today’s standards. As an ambassador for mental health myself, this tragic tale reminds us of the indiscriminate nature of mental health issues, including the eras, of the early 1900’s being no exception. Now Milford Street, bringing you back to statistics here, according to the records has 52 units and 17 houses, 70% of which are owner occupied. There was one recorded sale on the street this year, being number 3 at 5 Milford St, a two bedroom apartment. Other than the sale of Nugal Hall last year, for $7 million, was the last recorded sales of houses, were number 26 in 2013, and number 10 in 2012. The average owner occupier on Milford Street has lived here for 12 years and five months, which is a long time relative to many other areas of Sydney, being a great testament to the location, within walking distance here to Coogee Beach, to the southern end of the street, to Randwick Village being up at the northern end of the street, the race course, the hospital and the university as well. I hope you have enjoyed the story of Charles Spencer Cozens, a pioneer in a world of movies that we now take for granted, who once lived here on Milford Street, near my old school, OLSH. Please stay safe and resilient during this lockdown period and always remember, your home is worth more with Adrian Bo.