Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Bikers outside the Victory Café, Govett’s Leap Road, Blackheath

Bikers outside the Victory Café, Govett’s Leap Road, Blackheath

2004
PXD 985 / 35
Colour digital print

The tiny Mountain village of Blackheath is popular with visitors for its magnificent bushwalks and views, as well as a selection of cafes and specialist shops. These bikers are sitting outside the Victory Theatre café and antiques centre, one of the biggest and most popular shops in Blackheath.

The Victory Theatre building was purpose-built as a cinema in 1916. It was originally called the Arcadia Theatre, and in 1945 the name changed possibly to celebrate the victory and the end of the World War 2. The construction of the theatre gives an insight into the growth of Blackheath in the early 20th century – the resident and tourist population of the area was growing fast, justifying the expense of building a cinema in the town. The Arcadia, then the Victory Theatre was an important part of the social life in Blackheath until it closed in 1960. Since then, the building has been used for various retail purposes.

This 2004 photograph is part of a series called Portraits and scenes of Sydney and the Blue Mountains by Sydney crown prosecutor, photographer and author Mark Tedeschi (1952-)

A legal eye

This print is signed and dated by the respected Australian photographer Mark Tedeschi whose images form part of major collections held by the State Library of NSW and the National Library of Australia. He is perhaps better known as Mark Tedeschi, QC, and currently Crown Prosecutor for NSW. Tedeschi has prosecuted many high profile criminals, including Ivan Milat in the Backpacker Murder case, and Chew Seng (Ah Sung) Liew in the Victor Chang murder trial. In addition, Mark Tedeschi has written two books: one on photography, and the other on law.