While Melbourne is a long way away from star-studded Los Angeles, it turns out that our two cities have something in common that not many people know about. Imprinted into the cement footpath of Hollywood Boulevard are countless celebrity handprints – but did you know that Bourke Street had its very own version? If not, now you do.
But the story behind it isn't quite as glitzy and glamorous as the action on Hollywood Boulevard – it actually started with a hardware store. Back in the '70s, a retail chain called McEwans was the go-to shop for Victorians' DIY needs, before Bunnings swooped in to take over in the 1990s. McEwans had a store on Bourke Street, about a block uphill from the GPO building, but needed some extra publicity to attract shoppers. So what did they do? Following in the (literal) footsteps of Hollywood, they invited celebs to leave handprints and footprints in wet cement out the front of the store.
The publicity stunt worked a treat, with the lunchtime handprint events attracting visitors and media attention. Famous names who left their mark included Bert Newton, Lionel Rose, Joan Sutherland, Henry Bolte, Barry Crocker, Colleen Hewett, Jose Feliciano and Evonne Goolagong Cawley, as well as international stars of the day like Sid James, Miriam Karlin and Harry Secombe.
If you were old enough to remember it (or even alive) back then, you're one of the lucky few Melburnians to know this rare piece of our city's history, which lasted from 1972 to 1994. But for the rest of us, the ‘footpath of fame’ is now on display in a new exhibition at the Town Hall's City Gallery.
Gotcha! is a free exhibition open to the public until August 16, curated by Melbourne historian Robyn Annear. It includes 40 of the surviving prints from the McEwans pavement, which are accompanied by stories of the celebrities who made them and newspaper images that capture the mood of the times. To learn more about the exhibition, head to the City of Melbourne website.
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