Story: Culture and recreation in the city

Mr and Mrs Bland Holt at the Opera House, Wellington, 1897

Mr and Mrs Bland Holt at the Opera House, Wellington, 1897

From the 1880s the main New Zealand cities played host to a considerable number of travelling stage and musical companies. They usually toured both Australia and New Zealand, travelling by ship and train. Bland Holt was a theatre manager who organised eight tours to New Zealand from 1882 to 1900. He specialised in melodramas, often with spectacular stage effects. In 1897, when his company played a season at the Wellington Opera House, Bland Holt was accompanied by his wife.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Eph-B-DRAMA-1897-01-cover

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Jock Phillips, 'Culture and recreation in the city - Cities and culture', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ephemera/25659/mr-and-mrs-bland-holt-at-the-opera-house-wellington-1897 (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Jock Phillips, published 11 Mar 2010