National Film and Sound Archive's latest exhibition, The Marvellous Corricks, dives into Australia's travelling family of entertainers of the early 1900s

When it came to the Corricks, it appears that the limit did not exist. And it was that talent that they brought to people across the country, even in areas that other performers would not travel to.

The focus of the new exhibition at the National Film and Sound Archive titled The Marvellous Corricks, the family were unconventional, to say the least, touring Australia between 1902 and 1916 with shows that included music, dancing, comedy and film screenings.

Father, Albert Corrick taught his children - Gertrude, Alice, Amy, Ethel, Leonard, Ruby, Jessie and Elsie - to dance, sing and play piano, violin, cello, viola, flute, piccolo, clarinet, saxophone, cornet, french horn and the organ

"The Corrick family were trailblazers among Australian entertainers for their use of ground-breaking technology and their sheer love of entertainment," curator Jillian Mackenzie says.

"In their shows, they would perform musical pieces and they would each perform a solo piece with their chosen instrument, as well as doing comedy and dance routines. They would also perform with the handbells, which are our key item in the exhibition, and then they also introduced films into their show.

"At this stage in early cinema history, they were bringing films to areas of Australia that had never seen film before. And eventually, they did start making their own films. Leonard Corrick, the only son, is credited as making the first dramatic narrative film in Western Australia."

It was Leonard's love of pictures - both moving and still - that sees so many photos of the family in the National and Film and Sound Archive's collection. With almost 900 photos of the family's photos to draw on for the exhibition, it was no easy task to whittle them down to what is shown in the exhibition.

But it's also the types of photos that are interesting. While many photos at the time were studio shots due to the availability and cost of photography at the time, a lot of the Corricks' photos are similar to what we would capture today. Photos at the zoo or on holiday, and even numerous photos of an item that the archive affectionately calls "Potato Dog" because it's unsure what this little mascot-like item is.

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"One of the big things in the Corrick story is that they really embrace new technology," Mackenzie says.

"Their big thing was that they were bringing power to towns that have never seen power before - they were still running off kerosene lamps. So the family would use that power as a marketing tool for themselves.

"They'd string up a very big light at the front of the venue they were performing at and because people hadn't seen such an intense light before, they would come from everywhere, like moths to a flame - literally - to see what the light was. And while they're there, they might as well stay for the show.

"The generator was used to power not only the lights in the venue and outside the venue but also fans. So in hot climates, it was a lot more comfortable for people."

The Marvellous Corricks is at the National Film and Sound Archive daily. Free event. On July 30 there will be a talk about the family. For tickets to this talk, go to nfsa.gov.au.

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