Peter Jones Special Events produces landmark events for The Centenary of Federation in Melbourne

Peter Jones Special Events recently concluded a major undertaking for the Centenary of Federation Victoria, producing three landmark events of national significance at the Royal Exhibition Building and the new Museum of Victoria.

This extensive analysis of the event is provided by Jon Smith who was contracted by Peter Jones Special Events as Executive Producer for the events.

The Events

‘A Sense of Place’: Monday 7 May 2001
a celebration of the role of faith in Australia during the first 100 years of Federation.

‘The Federation Reception’: Tuesday 8 May 2001
a cocktail party at the museum of Victoria to mark the role of Victoria and Victorians in the journey to Federation

‘A Nation United’: Wednesday 9 May 2001
a joint commemorative meeting of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Centenary Commemoration Ceremony.

Thanking Peter Jones for the role of his team in producing these events, David Pitchford, Chief Executive Officer Centenary of Federation Victoria, wrote:

”The partnership which delivered the May 2001 National Centenary Celebrations, is by far the most productive I have seen in any sphere. Your professionalism and that of your team, has elevated the management of major events in Australia to a new level and reinforced Melbourne as the events centre. Congratulations on a truly marvellous journey and an outcome we could only have hoped and dreamed of.’”

The Preparation

The Journey Begins
The journey began back in mid 2000 with the awarding of the event management contract to Peter Jones Special Events. Peter Jones then swiftly set about bringing together a dedicated professional team to manage the production process. He knew he couldn’t do it alone!

In early November an event management team and communications structure was presented to the Centenary of Federation Executive Management Committee together with an initial critical path and meeting schedule. On agreement the pre-production began with a series of event briefing and stakeholder meetings to enable the production team to gain a full understanding of all the major event aims and considerations.

Working part-time over the next two months the team spent many hours in further detailed briefing sessions with all the stakeholders as the initial event programs and floor plans were presented and discussed. This involved the Victorian and Federal Police, The Metropolitan Fire Brigade, venue management and staff, structural engineers, The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Parks and Gardens, the Army, Navy and RAAF, and of course a myriad of government departments and protocol representatives.

An initial overall logistics plan was brainstormed and agreed so that by Christmas the floor plans and event programs could be developed to a stage suitable to begin the detailed task of costing the entire event program. It was then time for the team to permanently come together.

The Production Team
By mid January the team had relocated to dedicated offices near the Royal Exhibition Building on the edge of the CBD, and comprised:

Peter Jones Director of Events
Jon Smith Executive Producer, Production Designer
Gemma Arnold Event Producer – ‘A Sense of Place’, ‘A Nation United’.
Jana Blair Event Coordinator – ‘A Sense of Place’, ‘A Nation United’.
Melinda Merson Event Producer – ‘The Federation Reception”
Danielle Bleazby Event Coordinator – ‘The Federation Reception’.
Jim Brewster Production Manager
Liz Pain Logistics Manager
Annie Reed Stage Manager

Government Process
As the team was managing a significant government contract there was much to be learned about standard procedures and processes. After a crash course in government tendering and contracting the process of costing could begin and involved advertising Expressions of Interest to suppliers, writing tender specifications and selection criteria, reviewing submissions and documenting the entire process. The process took nearly three months to complete and fortunately the final costing was very close to the teams’ original projections.
Final supplier selection was then possible and the team took to writing and rewriting government contracts for all contractors.

Pre-Production
With most suppliers and contractors ‘locked-in’ the detailed pre-production process could start to progress.

Taking ‘A Nation United’ as the key event, all other events were designed in and around the core requirements for 9 May 2001.The production team then divided all roles and responsibilities into various key components and began sourcing and briefing other key staff who would eventually take on various supervisory positions on rehearsal and event days.

The design of the Royal Exhibition Building was basically a contemporary interpretation of the 1901 event. The main stage, orchestra stage, choir risers and general seating layout followed the original plans. The process of producing the final floor plan took many, many drawings until the production team was happy with the result. The main considerations in the design process were:

Designed by Jon Smith, the decorations and stage designs were kept as simple as possible. Blue draping was selected and used extensively. The main design elements were a careful blending of native Australian plants and native flora. Flowers were selected from each of the original 6 states official flower. The most challenging aspect of the design initially created huge headaches for the technical contactors and Jim Brewster the Production Manager – Jon would not allow any rigging throughout the main spaces of the building and other than screens, lights and microphones, would not allow any other stands or technical equipment to be visible.

Once the final design drawings were complete, Jim Brewster commenced re-specifying all equipment requirements and drafting a detailed production schedule to cover the four-week on-site period. This included the initial bump-in over two weeks, rehearsals, show days and then the new surprise. We were instructed to manage and facilitate a concert by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra of Mahler 8 (The Symphony for 1000) only three days after ‘A Nation United’, which also required a complete ‘strip and refit’ of the Royal Exhibition Building event staging and infrastructure.

Gemma Arnold and Liz Pain took on the onerous task of guest services and logistics. Working closely with the Centenary of Federation staff they needed to sort out:

As part of the process three separate risk-management taskforces were established and met regularly to define all risks, assign responsibilities for managing all risks and to draft a final Emergency Management Plan.

Jon Smith directed and produced ‘The Show’. Working together with Peter Jones at key presentations and senior level meetings, Jon had the task of enriching a potentially long and boring 3 hour program into a 2 hour live telecast on the ABC. Together the pair liased closely with David Pitchford, Chief Executive Centenary of Federation Victoria, to appease the key stakeholders, including:

Peter and Jon directed the production by the ABC of 28 individual video productions on each of the Australian Achievers commemorated during the program. This also included the selection, script writing and liaison with all presenters, including three ex-Prime Ministers, a former Governor General and a further group of prominent Australians. All scripts and video material had to be vetted and approved by a select panel of experts to ensure that all material were historically true and correct.

Then the briefing and rehearsal schedules needed to be undertaken. During the final few days of bump-in, over 30 individual briefings were conducted with the various government departments, minders and stakeholders. Every minute detail of protocol was recognized and considered and then briefed accordingly down the line.

As part of the ceremony an indigenous welcome was crucial to the event. Jon worked with Jo Murphy, Richard Walley and the Wurrundjeri Elders to create a memorable and theatrically challenging highlight to the proceedings.

As guests were due to start arriving 2 hours before the start of official proceedings and large public attendance was expected outside the building, Jon and Peter enlisted the support of the Army, Navy, RAAF and Federation Guard to create a program of ‘pre event entertainment’ that would add some ‘pomp and ceremony’ to the day and allow the public some involvement. Much of this content was scripted for MC Bud Tingwell to compere the action for guests as they watched the proceedings on the internal screens while the public could view the proceedings close-up on large external super-screens.

Working from site-shed offices in a secure external compound, the team moved on-site two weeks prior to the first event. The entire site was secured with security fencing and an accreditation office was installed to check all staff on and off the site 24 hours a day. All staff were supplied with detailed site safety procedures and were required to wear site safety vests at all times. Site safety staff successfully worked around the clock to ensure all staff followed procedures. Not one first-aid incident was reported during the entire on-site program.

For many, the highlight of working on the event was their regular breaks, briefings and meetings held in ‘Club Fed’, the staff on-site hospitality compound. Only legend and history will recall some of the eventful moments captured and recorded deep within the confines of ‘Club Fed’, but alas you had to be there to understand.

The site was made ready by the evening of Friday 4 May 2001 for the first event on Monday 7 May 2001. This allowed for a full day of on-site briefings on Saturday 5 May, the day prior to the start of rehearsals. During the Saturday over 400 staff were briefed on their roles come event days, were instructed on site safety and security and were given a full understanding of the importance of protocol and communications systems.

‘A Sense of Place’
The program for Monday 7 May incorporated performances from Indigenous Australians, six different faith groups and a combined faith finale. The program segments had been developed by each group in consultation with the Peter Jones Event Team and rehearsals had begun off-site a month prior.

Sunday 6 May 2001 saw all the performers together for the first time for the full dress rehearsal. This also helped the Production Team test the accreditation systems and back-stage facilities as over 600, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Indigenous, mothers, fathers, children, school teachers, singers, minders and watchers descended on the Royal Exhibition Building for 10 hours of rehearsals. Some of the performances were very professional others made the production team very nervous indeed.

On Monday 7 May 2001 however, over 5000 guests, dignitaries and VIP’s assembled to experience a unique and most memorable 2 hour program which became the largest multi-faith event in the history of Victoria. The performances, each varied and uniquely individual, were performed without hitch or embarrassment. In fact the entire show presented a rich tapestry of sights, sounds and expression that created a sense of pride for all involved. The Peter Jones Production Team were delighted with the outcome and were very relieved when the 600 odd performers finally left the building to allow the staging and infrastructure to be re-set over-night for the next day’s rehearsals.

Tuesday 8 May 2001
Having worked through the night to move stages, re-set lights, re-position chairs, add decorations and complete a whole host of other activities, the stage crews were ready to start rehearsals when the Prime Minster John Howard arrived at the Royal Exhibition Building at 8.15am.

Jon Smith had insisted that all presenters, including the full contingent of parliamentary speakers, must rehearse on-site the day prior to the events. And rehearse they all did.

It was a long and eventful day and one that required an entire planning process in itself to pull-off. So many different program segments with so many different egos and conflicting diary arrangements to fit into one day.
But by 4.30pm rehearsals were complete and last minute scripting changes and technical adjustments could be made. All that was left were the rehearsals for the 120-piece orchestra and 600-voice choir that were programmed for 7.30pm that night. So some of the crew took a break others moved quickly across to the Museum of Victoria for the Federation Reception.

Having worked in close partnership with the Museum and the Centenary of Federation staff, the Peter Jones Special Event Team were fortunate to arrange for the Museum to be closed for the entire day so that by 4.30pm on Tuesday 8 May 2001 all was ready for the Federation Reception to begin at 5.00pm.

To allow the 3500 guests and VIP’s to arrive securely and in comfort, external reception facilities, covered walkways, crowd control barriers and cloak-room facilities had been constructed on the Museum Plaza.

Melinda Merson, assisted by Daniel Bleazby managed the event as designed by Peter and Jon.

Eager with anticipation, guests began arriving at 4.45pm and were ushered into the main foyer of the Museum where a presentation stage was set. Backed by a photo of the famous Charles Nuttall painting of 9 May 1901, the stage set the scene for an event to highlight the role Victoria and Victorians played in the journey to Federation. At precisely 5.20pm the brief formalities began with speeches from the Honourable Mary Delahunty, Minister for Education, the Arts and for the Centenary of Federation, followed by Steve Bracks the Premier of Victoria. Filmed and broadcast throughout the museum foyer onto a number of large video monitors the speeches were short and poignant.

Guests were then invited to explore the entire museum for the rest of the evening as food and wines from throughout Victoria were served from a number of satellite kitchens and bars. A variety of musical performances were staged throughout the museum as over 30 roaming performers, selected and costumed to highlight various sections of the museum, provided colour and atmosphere for the guests as they made their way through the various areas.

The famous Melbourne weather was kind and the guests departed to a clear sky and the sight of the magnificent Royal Exhibition Building, the venue for the next day’s event, as it shone vividly, brilliantly lit in a rainbow of theatrical lighting.

The scene was well and truly set for a day of historical significance on 9 May 2001.

First on-site at 6.00am were the 20 accreditation staff who arrived to open the office, prepare the 180 radios and get set for the arrival of 480 event staff and 1100 performers. ‘Club Fed’ was alive and buzzing at 6.30am as staff arrived for breakfast, coffee and last minute briefings. By 7.00am the site was alive and oozing expectation for a one in 100 year event.

Overnight florists had toiled for long hours and many staff had worked to put final touches to the Royal Exhibition Buildings. The ABC compound was a hive of activity as a host of TV crews arrived and began to set-up on-site studios and editing facilities.

By 10.00am all the event day briefings were over and all staff and performers were on-site. Programs, water bottles and chocolates were being placed under all the guest chairs, while a throng of State and Commonwealth Parliamentary staff were busy sorting stickers to mark the places of over 1000 dignitaries. Out in the Carlton Gardens the syringe patrols were finishing, plastic chairs were being set in front of the super-screen and the public catering facilities were almost ready. Backstage staff were checking scripts and directing catering staff on requirements for each room. The Charles Nuttall photo from the Federation Reception was being made ready in the VIP Green Room for all the main presenters to sign.

Key security, protocol and communications staff received last minute briefings on the various groups of protesters expected during the course of the day.

Otherwise all was cool and calm except for those whose future careers were on the line this very day. Peter Jones, dressed in his customary bow tie and braces, and Jon Smith, wearing a suit for the first time in months, were busily checking the scene and making sure they had a secure plan of escape in case anything went wrong. There was a plane leaving for Rio at 4:00pm that day!

By 11.00am everything and everyone was ready and standing-by. ‘Club Fed’ was alive again as many staff took their last break prior to the show. And then came the unthinkable, a problem, an incident, a cause for major concern and a near catastrophe, Gemma Arnold realised she had lost her specially ordered radio earpiece. All staff were instructed to finish their break and find the missing link. Avoiding the impending crisis, Peter Jones was seen disappearing into the gents while Jon Smith had a final cigarette with the technical crew.

12.00 NOON, right on the mark, Jon Smith by way of radio and P.A. announced ‘Doors Open’ and the event began. Guests began to arrive from the many designated vehicle drop off points, making their way through covered walkways, and passing through a number of security checkpoints. On stage within the Royal Exhibition Building the RAAF Central Band commenced playing a special repertoire of instrumental highlights from the last 100 years. Outside the Royal Navy Band entertained guests and the public in the Museum Plaza while the Army Band and Federation Guard Ceremonial Drill unit were stationed within the Carlton Gardens.

At the main entrance to the Royal Exhibition Building the Centenary of Federation greeting party assisted by a group of protocol officers and advisers were busy meeting VIP’s and dignitaries and directing them through to the ushers who guided them to their seats.

At the far end of the building the 700 invited members of the public were being cleared through security and ushered upstairs to their seats in the specially constructed gallery level grandstands. Meanwhile in the Museum, the media business centre was busy with media crews arriving for accreditation and briefings. Already the media platform at the front of the Royal Exhibition Building was full of TV cameras, reporters and photographers.

By 1.00pm most of the guests were seated and most of the VIPs and dignitaries had taken their seats. The RAAF band finished and the main stage curtain opened to reveal Bruce & Claire Woodley and the Australian Youth Choir who performed for 20 minutes finishing with the anticipated song “I am Australian”. The performance was broadcast onto 6 large video screens and 20 plasma screens within the building and the super-screen outside in the Carlton Gardens. Following Bruce Woodley, Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria made a special presentation to the ‘Friends of Federation’ and ‘on-screen’ the RAAF revealed a number of statues located in the Museum Plaza.

At 1.45pm Bud Tingwell entered the stage to welcome all guests and compere the arrival of the Official Party who arrived in a cavalcade, escorted by the Victorian Police Mounted Branch. On the Royal Exhibition Building forecourt the Federation Guard and Navy Central Band conducted salutes as the Prime Minister, the Governor of Victoria and the Governor General arrived. The Governor General then conducted an inspection of the guard as all guests watched the action on the internal screens.

At precisely 2.00pm the live telecast began as the Official Party proceeded to the stage accompanied by the ‘Music for Federation’ composed by Peter Sculthorpe and performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The first half of the program then followed with a number of parliamentary speeches interspersed with musical fanfares.

The second half of the program, titled the ‘Centenary Commemoration Ceremony’ included the Wurrundjeri indigenous welcome ceremony, more speeches and more ‘Music for Federation’. Perhaps the highlight of the entire program was the three ‘Australian Achiever Segments’ where prominent living Australians presented a tribute to deceased Australian Achievers. The segments included pre-recorded and scripted video tributes followed by live ‘in-person’ presentations. Malcolm Fraser, Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke, Mark Taylor, Jenny Kee and Archbishop George Pell were among those who presented on the day. The final tribute was to Betty Cuthbert, the only living Australian commemorated. Betty was wheeled onto stage to make a final address on behalf of all the Australian Achievers and really stole the show when, overcome by the occasion, she handed her own written script to Nova Peris-Kneebone to finish her words, and there was not a dry eye left in the audience or backstage.

The finale brought all presenters on stage together when Sir Gustav Nossal made a symbolic gesture of handing Federation to the next generation when he introduced a young Australian, Hayley Eves, who delivered the most astonishing and awe-inspiring address of the entire program.

Following a Peter Sculthorpe version of the National Anthem the Official Party then proceeded out of the building to a final musical piece. As the guests departed the Peter Jones team had organized all the churches within the Melbourne CBD to ring their bells for 15 minutes while hundreds of school children from neighbouring Primary Schools lined the covered walkways ringing the Federation hand-bells. A rather nice finishing touch!

A Final Message from the E.P.
After a challenging year of hard work, perseverance and expectation we produced an event of national significance. To all those who worked on the project, I know it will live in your memories as a fantastic achievement and a very important day in all of your lives. I know my grandchildren will get sick of hearing the story and I hope yours do too.
To everyone involved, I want to say, thank-you for making the entire process and the events themselves so much fun, even in the face of all the stress you all made it a really enjoyable experience. Lets do it again in 2101.

Peter Jones Special Events Tel 03 9326 8555
EC3 Event Consultants - Jon Smith 0417 388 052

Thanks to the real performers – the suppliers
Australian Seating Systems
Australian Temporary Fencing
Cleanevent
EC3 Event Consultants
ERM
Event Logistics
Event Presentation Management
Flowers by Andrea Louise
Greenevent
Harmoniacs Entertainment Services
Harry the Hirer
Haycom Staging
McCall Security
McLeans Audio Services
Melbourne Fire Brigade
Melbourne Metropolitan Ambulance
Peter Rowland Catering
Resolution X
Rock n Roll Catering
RYM Electrical Company
Showtech Australia
Sonny Adams Staging
Splashdown Comfort Stations
St Johns Ambulance
Tech Rentals
The Staging Company
Victorian Arts Centre
Welded Mesh Fencing
……. and all staff and crews.