After the war, enthusiasm for Brass Bands and Choral work pushes the South Street Society to greater heights. Six thousand entries are received from every Australian state and for the first time, some have to be rejected, with 20 choirs, 48 bands and 150 calisthenics teams keen to compete.
‘Tides of visitors flow in and out, filling hotel, boarding-house and bed-and-breakfast accommodation, putting smiles on the faces of the proprietors of café and fish-and-chip shops.’ Weston Bate, Life after Gold.
Ballarat West and East Councils finally amalgamate and W D Hill, founder of South Street, becomes the first Mayor of Ballarat Citycr-w-d-hill
John Brownlee wins the gold medal as champion vocalist at the South Street having never had a singing lesson his life and abandons accountancy to sing full time. In 1926 he would sing with Dame Nelle Melba in La Boheme in Covent Garden at her farewell performance.
The first live radio broadcast from South Street takes place and W D Hill dies in office after 42 years of remarkable service to the Eisteddfod and Ballarat community.
