Swagman Restaurant

The Swagman Restaurant was a restaurant in Ferntree Gully, Melbourne, Australia, which opened in 1972 and closed in 1991, when it burnt down. The restaurant was famous in Melbourne for its long-running television commercials, cabaret shows, and smorgasbord.

The Swagman was located on Burwood Highway, Ferntree Gully. It was owned by Basil and Ina Dejong. An unusually large establishment, The Swagman eventually had a capacity of 1200 seats and covered 20 000 square metres [Kevin Childs & Simon Mann, "ANZ sues in wake of Swagman fire," "The Age", December 26, 1992, page 1.] , and was noted for attracting buses of tourists from rural and international locations, especially Japan.

Entertainment

The floor shows, featuring numerous dancers, singers, and other acts, were unique in Melbourne at that time. The shows changed every three months. Choreographers included Coral Deague, Jan Rogers, and Jodie Greenwood. Greenwood was a dancer and performer at the Swagman for 14 years, and was the choreographer from 1979 until 1991, when the restaurant burnt down. [Cf. "They dance to Jodie's tune..." "Knox-Sherbrooke News", July 20, 1982, page 4, which states, "Jodie has been dancing seven nights a week at the restaurant for nearly five years—three of those years as choreographer."] She featured in all the television commercials for the restaurant, which played on late-night commercial television for many years. Performers who played at the venue included Frank Amorosi (father of Vanessa Amorosi), Debbie Reynolds, Robert Goulet, the Mills Brothers, Dr. Hook, Pilita Corrales, and the Village People.

Fire

The Swagman burnt down at 4:30 a.m. on May 27, 1991. [Craig Binnie, "Fire destroys Swagman," Melbourne "Herald Sun", May 27, 1991, page 1.] The fire was front page news in Melbourne. The insurance firm Royal Insurance alleged arson and refused to pay the $7 million claim made by the owners of the restaurant, who then sued for the amount. [Glenn Mitchell, "Swagman owner accused," "Herald Sun", November 3, 1991, page 5.] The case was confidentially settled in October 1992. [Peter Gregory, "Swagman case settled," "The Age", October 6, 1992, page 6.] After the settlement, however, the owners were sued by the ANZ Bank, who also alleged arson. [Kevin Childs & Simon Mann, "ANZ sues in wake of Swagman fire," "The Age", December 26, 1992, page 1.] The restaurant was not rebuilt after the fire.

References

External links

* [http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/cphotography/0/0/0/doc/cp000046.shtml Photo of the Swagman after the fire, 1992] , State Library of Victoria.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erNyyQ2Rhe4 Video of Swagman TV commercial from YouTube] .