Performed September 2003

The Man From Snowy River

Our very first Play, photos to be added to this page.

Thank you, Wayne Smith

Seven years ago, Ed Creely and I sat in the Hastings Hall running our first auditions for our first play for Pelican Theatre. It was a musical and feminist version of  `The Man From Snowy River`. We had plenty of women and girls to choose from for the cast, but we were short of one very important man. We didn`t have anyone to play The Man himself.

And then a deep voice said `I didn`t have my name down, but is it OK for me to audition?`

It was Wayne Smith. All 6`7 of him, with a broad smile and a hand the size of a well-built bullock stretched out for a tough shake. Ed and I looked at each other and said `The Man!!`

From that moment on, Wayne Smith became The Man. As he did with everything in life, he threw himself into the part with gusto, dedication and tunnel vision. He set to work finding the ideal costume, the perfect hat, the white boots, the spurs. He pestered everyone within earshot about his lines, he offered to build the sets, paint the hall, round up the council and make them come to performances, and he very nearly did all those things.

Anyone who saw `The Man From Snowy River` at the Hastings Hall will remember Wayne. He was big, handsome, funny and memorable. He was The Man and he made the show work.

Well, Wayne died on 13^th August, 2009 at the age of fifty. He was an extraordinary man who touched everybody who worked with him, and entertained everyone who saw him on stage. He was fiercely loyal to the company, fiercely enthusiastic about Pelican`s contribution to the community, and proudly supportive of everything we did.

He was a friend to all of us in Pelican, and he will be missed by the entire flock down at the Hastings Hall.

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