On 30th May 2019 the Club held its premiere screening of ‘The First Marlin’, the Club's pioneering game fishing documentary.
90 people (a full house) relaxed into their seats at the beautiful Sun Theatre in Yarraville to witness this inspiring footage of the Club's formative trips to Bermagui where they captured the world’s earliest known footage of a marlin being taken on rod and reel. It was wonderful to see many club members in attendance, but also a wide cross section of people from the fishing community, family and friends present. Some had travelled from interstate and well outside of Melbourne to be part of the occasion.
After a short introduction from our VP the curtain rose and attendees sat back to be thrilled by the collection of interwoven interviews and 1930s footage of game fishing that made up the 40 minute documentary. The documentary covered everything from what was happening across the country and around the world at the time, the camera equipment used to capture the footage, the tackle of the day and the people themselves. Many were left stunned by the skill and expertise exhibited by the pioneers who took part in making this production over 80 years ago.
We were honoured and very fortunate to have Charles Lyne (son of Reg Lyne who starred in the film and was the clubs first member to catch a marlin) and his wife Robyn attend the night. Several members were able to catch up with Charles before and after the viewing to hear stories of his legendary father.
From the clubs perspective the occasion and film was a huge success and for all those that played a part in the making of this documentary. Special thanks must go to Tim Simpson, John McIntyre, Vic Teasedale and Jim Allen for not only being key to the documentary itself but also giving of their time at the premiere to be part of a very insightful Q & A session after the films screening. All had the crowd engrossed in some wonderful anecdotes and summaries and were thanked by the club with framed filmed scenes of them in action.
The club also wishes to acknowledge and thank a number of key sponsors who assisted in funding the production, in particular The complete Angler, Bluewater Boats and Game Fishing, Lizard Island Game Fish Club and Pakula Lures. As the film was a not-for-profit project their sponsorship was key to its completion.
This has been a Club project for some time now and with the vision and drive from Scott Gowland and help from the committee it was a fantastic achievement to see the completed package on the big screen.
Moving forward, the Club has received great interest in screening the film in other states, overseas and with other fishing Clubs. We are currently planning a process on how that can be done and are most excited to hear of the demand for our production. Advice on what will be occurring will be presented to members in due course.
Author: Chris Baty
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