20 February to 20 April 2014
In the 1960s, Melbourne was a city ready to explode. Established as one of the great nineteenth century cities of the world, its growth accelerated at an extraordinary rate until the 1890s depression brought an abrupt halt. By the mid-twentieth century the city was ready to grow up and take the world stage. It was a period of infectious colour and energy, when anything seemed possible (and usually was).
In the years leading up to the 1970 opening of Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine, the city evolved radically. The slow unfurling of Melbourne’s wings forced its residents to rethink themselves and their city alike—with sometimes unexpected results. JetSet Melbourne follows this sometimes difficult transition, reliving the glitz and glamour, but also remembering what was left behind.
The exhibition revisits the era through a range of objects, photographs, moving image and contemporary art. The stories of high life and decadence, of the flurry of building activity, contrast with the human cost of Melbourne’s radical ‘expand at all costs’ program.
The stunning Southern Cross Hotel, billed as the ‘Hotel of New Horizons’, rose from the ruins of Melbourne’s Eastern Market. The monolithic TAA Centre Tower dwarfed the nineteenth century buildings at its feet. The construction of Tullamarine Freeway saw homes bulldozed in the name of progress.
Fifty years on Jet Set Melbourne looks back at a time when Melbourne’s past and future overlapped, and the city announced to the world: it had arrived.
Exhibition curated by Simon Gregg.