I might be misled in my understanding but I always thought it was going to be sometime during 1978. I believe Bing also wanted to get to NZ for the trout fishing.

Ian Kerstein wrote:

Am I correct in that this would have been quite an event for Bing's audiences, as he had never previously visited Australia? 

That is correct, Ian. Bing never made it to Australia.

I am currently not at home, so cannot look up my files, but Bing made a private disc as far back as the late 1930s/early 1940s of "If I Had My Way" with a spoken introduction saying how much he would love to come and visit Australia.

I do have an interview Bing did in 1969 for Australian radio with Norman Banks. It was partly to promote the Hey Jude/Hey Bing album. Bing did say he would love to get to Australia for the golf and to NZ for the trout. However, he wasn't keen on the long-haul flight. Norman Banks was impressed that Bing could pronounce QANTAS as most Americans at that time couldn't. Bing was also up on current affairs as he was aware that Prime Minister Harold Holt had drowned off the Mornington Peninsula around this time.

Some time ago, Jason played an Australian TV show on the ICC meetings. The show was Girl Talk and the half hour instalment was totally dedicated to interviewing Bing at the Crosby Hillsborough home. When the interviewer ran out of questions, Bing started to quiz her on the recent Melbourne Cup horses. She had nothing to add on the subject.

I have a book on Chips Rafferty, an Australian film actor and producer from the 1940s, 50s and 60s. On the back cover there is a quote from Bing to suggest they had met. Chips did work in Hollywood (The Desert Rats, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, Elvis Presley's Double Trouble, Burt Reynold's Skullduggery). Bing's quote - one of my favourite Australians.

Foe someone who never got here, he knew a lot about us!

Ian Kerstein wrote:

There are just so many things for Bing to have achieved in 1978 and it would have been so fitting for him to have travelled to and performed in your country, Aaron. Yes, being on the other side of the world couldn't have helped matters over the years due to speedier air travel not being available for much of Bing's career. 

Bing did seem very informed on world affairs, didn't he? I'm always very impressed with his general knowledge and the articulate nature he displayed during interviews. He always seemed to wear his learning lightly. Gene Kelly is really the only other major musical Hollywood film star of whom I can think in interviews gave a similar impression. 

Chips Rafferty I found to be an extremely natural actor. The BBC in the UK used to broadcast his films in the 1980's and he so impressed me with his rugged but sensitive portrayals. I could easily imagine he and Bing playing opposite each other in an Australian "outdoors" feature of the 1960's. Bing's casual natural acting ability should have been made far more use of in that and the following decade. However, I would imagine a combination of the changing landscape of film, a young family and Bing wishing to work less and on certain locations in an industry he now had questions over, seemed to put pay to much of that. 

Ian, I'm pleased to learn that Chips is still seen in the UK. Most Australians of my generation wouldn't even know who he was anymore. And yet, he eked out a career when the Australian film industry was in a lull. He paved the way for the Australian film renaissance of the 1970s but did not live long enough to see the fruits of his labour. Chips worked in the UK and the US because he had to for financial reasons. However, he was an advocate for Australian film production. Occasionally one of our local commercial stations play "The Overlanders" and "Bush Christmas". That's because the TV station have all the Ealing films in their library. These two films were made by Ealing Studios. They aren't home-grown productions.

Bing and Chips together in a film - now that would have been wonderful. Both loved the outdoors and sports - although Chips, of course, was a cricket man.

 Chips was slated to play the Australian "spotter" in the 1965 film, In Harm's Way but I believe John Wayne objected because no one was allowed to be taller than him in his movies. The part of the Australian went to Stanley Holloway instead. Don't get me wrong - love Mr Holloway in The Lavender Hill Mob and My Fair Lady - but he is not Australian by any stretch of the imagination.

Back to Bing - I dug out an Australian Women's Weekly interview with Bing I have dated October 19, 1960. Bing sat for the interview with Cynthia Strachan while in Rome.

"Bing won't sing on visit to Australia. Bing Crosby is all set to hit the road to Australia and New Zealand as early as possible next year."

"But the only Australians likely to hear his famous singing voice are fisherman or golfers who happen to be around if he has a few particularly successful days. In an interview at Rome's only golf course, Bing told me he didn't intend to work during this trip, which he'd been wanting to make for years....

I won't continue typing the article in full. But Bing goes on to talk about his brother Bob's recent visit to Australia too.

I'll send it to Malcolm to see if he wants it for the magazine....

ModernBingFan0377 wrote:

I’m working on getting together PDFs of The Crosby Voice, and a letter from Kathryn Crosby was reproduced in an early newsletter that said that the planned timeframe for the tour would’ve been spring or early fall of ‘78.

Thanks John. David Currington sent that letter through to me a couple of weeks ago. It will make an appearance at the ICC online meeting on Sunday/Monday as it ties in with something planned. Stay tuned.

Ian Kerstein wrote:

That sounds wonderful. Looking forward to seeing it at the meeting, Aaron.
John, I'm so sorry for sounding so ignorant for either not knowing or having forgotten what "The Crosby Voice" is or was? Could you enlighten or re-enlighten me?

Ooh! Ooh! Pick me, sir! I know the answer.

The Crosby Voice was the newsletter of The Victorian Bing Crosby Society. I couldn't tell you when, but they changed their name to The Australian Bing Crosby Society a couple of decades ago. The VBCS was founded on - would you believe - 14 August 1977 - just 2 months before Bing's passing.

David Currington has some back issues of The Crosby Voice and has passed them onto John for the archives.

I do subscribe to the ABCS current newsletter. However, I have never had the opportunity of attending a meeting ever. I mean South-East Queensland to Melbourne is not a leisurely afternoon walk.

You are probably already aware The Australian Bing Crosby Society do film nights every second month. Malcolm always prints details in BING about upcoming meetings. Other than that I can't add anything more about the group.

Hopefully one of the members will see this post and jump on with more details about the club. 

Ian Kerstein wrote:

You did indeed know the answer, Aaron.
Thank you. It sounds very interesting and you satisfied my curiosity. I'm pleased they're still operating. 
Have an extra "merit" (or a "gold star") if they're still within the gift of your teaching profession in your parts.
By the way, why is it called "The Victorian Bing Crosby Society"? Do they have evidence that Bing was even older .... ?
 

Very good. I was almost going to make a joke about the Victorian era as opposed to the Australian state. When you think about it, Bing only missed her majesty by two years.

Aaron Tickner wrote:

Ian Kerstein wrote:

That sounds wonderful. Looking forward to seeing it at the meeting, Aaron.
John, I'm so sorry for sounding so ignorant for either not knowing or having forgotten what "The Crosby Voice" is or was? Could you enlighten or re-enlighten me?

Ooh! Ooh! Pick me, sir! I know the answer.

The Crosby Voice was the newsletter of The Victorian Bing Crosby Society. I couldn't tell you when, but they changed their name to The Australian Bing Crosby Society a couple of decades ago. The VBCS was founded on - would you believe - 14 August 1977 - just 2 months before Bing's passing.

David Currington has some back issues of The Crosby Voice and has passed them onto John for the archives.

I do subscribe to the ABCS current newsletter. However, I have never had the opportunity of attending a meeting ever. I mean South-East Queensland to Melbourne is not a leisurely afternoon walk.

You are probably already aware The Australian Bing Crosby Society do film nights every second month. Malcolm always prints details in BING about upcoming meetings. Other than that I can't add anything more about the group.

Hopefully one of the members will see this post and jump on with more details about the club. 

As for more information on the club, I think the blurb that David Currington passed onto me for the archive tells about its early years quite succinctly;

David Currington wrote:

The Victorian Bing Crosby Society was formed in August 1977 by Bob Machliss in Melbourne (capital of the State of Victoria), Australia.  It was to provide a means for local Bing fans to meet and enjoy movie nights, music occasions, barbeques and so on, sharing and expanding their Bing collections.  Initially, regular newsletters were disseminated to the members advising of local events and matters of interest relating to Bing.
Just weeks after its formation, Bing’s death in October exposed the club to much media attention which saw its membership rapidly expand, not only among the locals, but internationally.  Renowned Bing enthusiasts from England and America provided articles for publication in the club’s newsletters, which grew from a few pages to dozens in the form of a regular magazine “The Crosby Voice”.  Renewed interest saw a plethora of LP issues of Bing’s commercial recordings and radio material, along with numerous books, all of which ensured that there was no shortage of information to include in these magazines.  The club even provided a cassette lending library of Bing’s massive song output and a purchasing service for foreign LP releases.  All this while Bob Machliss also arranged suitable venues for film nights, live band functions, acquiring films for the club, and not to mention earning his crust and being actively involved with his family.
It all proved too much and in 1991 the magazine was effectively cut back to a newsletter with Bob formerly advising that the club would revert to what was originally intended, arranging regular film nights and informal local gatherings.  Bob had contracted Motor Neurone Disease which robbed him of his motor skills and took his life in April 1993.
The club, (renamed “The Australian Bing Crosby Society”) continues to arrange film nights and issues regular newsletters advertising these functions along with local events and reproduces articles from The International Club Crosby's "BING" magazines.
Included here are substantially all the club’s newsletters/magazines up to June 1995 where a brief retrospective of Bob Machliss appears, together with the names of the original committee members.

Wow! Thank you for all that information, John. You are truly living proof as to how valuable a resource this forum remains. How so sad and tragic to read of the demise of the society's founder, Bob Machliss. 
He certainly sounded an incredible devotee of Bing and his work. 

Ian, if you ever get the chance to read the issues of The Crosby Voice on the Internet Archive, Machliss’ passion is felt throughout the pages. Even when he had contracted Motor Neurone Disease, he still put forth the time and effort to create newsletters for the society. Lately, I’ve also begun scanning Bob Lundberg’s BingTalks zines, and throughout the later issues we start to hear tale of his cancer diagnosis, and eventually in the November 1995 issue, he ends it urging for someone to reach out to him if they feel like they could take his place if his health were to worsen. Included in the zine was a slip stating that he had passed away that month. It’s not unlike the ICC’s own Reg Bristo, who also poured his passion in until he couldn’t anymore. Fans like Machliss, Lundberg, and Bristo are big reasons for me to find it important to archive all of this fan journals and publications. So much time and effort went into them, and it would be a shame if those monuments to their passion and work were to be left forgotten.

ModernBingFan0377 wrote:

Ian, if you ever get the chance to read the issues of The Crosby Voice on the Internet Archive, Machliss’ passion is felt throughout the pages. Even when he had contracted Motor Neurone Disease, he still put forth the time and effort to create newsletters for the society. Lately, I’ve also begun scanning Bob Lundberg’s BingTalks zines, and throughout the later issues we start to hear tale of his cancer diagnosis, and eventually in the November 1995 issue, he ends it urging for someone to reach out to him if they feel like they could take his place if his health were to worsen. Included in the zine was a slip stating that he had passed away that month. It’s not unlike the ICC’s own Reg Bristo, who also poured his passion in until he couldn’t anymore. Fans like Machliss, Lundberg, and Bristo are big reasons for me to find it important to archive all of this fan journals and publications. So much time and effort went into them, and it would be a shame if those monuments to their passion and work were to be left forgotten.

Oh my goodness me, John! You have such dedication in preserving and bringing to us the work of these equally dedicated gentlemen - and all this despite  and during their later conditions. Bing would have been overwhelmed by all four of you. Thank you for all the work you continue to do. It is very, very much appreciated.