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serious presentation that followed, always a
moral story.

Most of the narrative slide sets came from
England, but in 1894 Joe stared producing his
own sets to illustrate the Australian scene. This
gave him the opportunity to develop new skills
in producing visual narrative, a great asset for
his later work in Motion Pictures.
The Watson Motor-graph projector with a 35mm
He made “life-model” slides using real people Wrench Cinematograph (Camera & Projector)
photographed in authentic locations or against attachment. First used by Captain Perry in 1897.
painted backgrounds with suitable props.
Commandant Herbert Booth (youngest son of
Joe Perry was now in full control of the the Founder, William Booth) was now head of
Limelight Department and by the end of 1894 the Salvation Army in Australia This new and
had toured 30,000 miles, delivering over 500 charismatic leader was very impressed with
lectures in city streets and Salvation Army the Limelight Department and immediately
Halls all over Australia. His efforts returned realised the potential of combining the
£2,000 profit to Army revenue. narrative slides with Motion Picture inserts. In
February 1897 he authorised Joe Perry to
A Tri-Unial projector purchase the first Motion Picture Projector
(1896) with plumbing available in Melbourne, a Watson’s Motor-
for gas supply to the graph with a Wrench Cinematograph attached
limelight burners and (the Wrench could also be used as a camera).
controls used for It cost 12 Guineas.
‘fades’, ‘dissolves’ and
‘supers’ etc. A tubular
gas saturator is below, A tour of West Australia gave Joe a chance to
with a collection of trial the film integrated programmes. They
lever slides and were an outstanding success with repeated
chromatropes in the screenings in packed halls and, as always, a
foreground very substantial cash return to Army coffers.
Now came Joe’s experiments in Film Produc-
Two years later a three month tour of New tion. He built a continuous contact Motion
Zealand ended in disaster when all his Picture Printer with an incandescent light
projection equipment was destroyed in a source— a very new innovation—and of
barracks fire. Back in Australia a new plant course the racks, tanks and drying drum
was quickly assembled and Joe was soon on required to process the film; truly a pioneering
the road again with a very superior “Tri-unial” effort considering the infancy of the new
Projector and Gas Retort. His programs could technology.
be made up from a vast collection of over
4,000 slides. Having mastered the new technology, and
with the keen support of Herbert Booth, Joe
Technical journals now heralded dramatic new Perry supervised the building of a new glass-
developments in Moving Pictures. Already walled studio with a production office and
Edison's Kinetoscopes had drawn large dark room attached – Australia's first Film
crowds in Melbourne to see “the wonder of the Studio – built on the roof of the Army
age”, and now Carl Hertz was showing "living Headquarters at 69 Bourke Street, Melbourne.
pictures” on a big screen.

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