Exterior of the New Theatre Royal, Bourke-Street, Melbourne.

Early engraving of the second Theatre Royal. The Theatre Royal was first built in 1855 by John Melton Black. It was capable of holding 3300 people and was comparable in size to London’s Drury Lane and Covent Garden theatres. The opening production was Richard Sheridan’s The School for Scandal. Described as a “magnificent theatre”, the £60,000 cost of the theatre’s construction ultimately bankrupted Black. In April 1872 the theatre burned down, but was immediately rebuilt bigger and better by George Coppin, the well known actor, theatre manager, entrepreneur, philanthropist and politician. The new theatre could now seat 4,000 people over four tiers, and opened in November of the same year.

From the original edition of the Illustrated Australian News.