[1] Ballarat's first "Theatre Royal", a timber and canvas structure,[3] was operated by Tom Hetherington and his wife at the Gravelpits, opposite Golden Point.
He advertised it for sale by auction in March 1854[4] but must have had no takers, as in November 1854 he offered free entertainment to diggers who had suffered losses in the Eureka disturbance of 17 October.
[6] There was agitation in Ballarat for something more permanent, and on 17 April 1858 the western part of the section on the corner of Armstrong and Sturt streets, (between the Clare Hotel[a] and Barker's butcher shop)[9] was assigned by the landowner James Bourchier to the Theatre Royal Company, comprising Thomas Wymond, T. S. Brown, and one other.
The grand opening was 27 December 1858, with Douglas Jerrold's five-act comedy Time Works Wonders, starring G. H. Rogers, Kate Howard and Rosa Dunn.
[14] On 14 January 1859 fire broke out among the pyrotechnic materials in a storeroom adjoining the stage but, thanks to prompt action by the staff of the Port Phillip Hotel adjacent, was contained.
[19] Later that month the Napier (which Hoskins also leased for a time) and Montezuma theatres, both on Main Road, were destroyed by fire,[20] leaving the "Royal" with little or no competition.
[26] Despite the energy and undoubted abilities of Hoskins and Holt, and the talent they brought to the town, the theatre never attracted sufficient custom to turn a profit,[27] and in November 1864 a group of teetotalers, styled the "Ballarat District Temperance League", felt they could make it pay by bringing in classical theatre and elevating lectures, so purchased the business[10] for £3000, renaming it "Temperance Hall".
Somehow Bowdlerized Shakespeare, lectures on healthy living and displays of gymnastics failed to attract the expected crowds, while the rebuilt "Charlie Napier" thumbed its nose at culture and thrived by hosting singing and dancing.
[35] The theatre re-opened in May 1871 for Mary Gladstane's company playing Giacometti's Elizabeth, Queen of England,[36] followed by East Lynne.
[39] Quite Alone, an adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre, played in December 1872, with Rose Evans (c. 1850 – 1 March 1875) as "Olive Garth", the first legitimate theatre production for some time.