| 1927 The Dancefloor Debate |
Long-serving secretary Ern Hannah came up with a number of novel ideas to raise funds for the Club, including the epic battle with the Koonarisk Aboriginal Team.
Hannah, a son of the State M.L.A. Martin Hannah, was secretary of the Club from 1916 (when he was still a player) until 1933, when, after health forced him to take a short break before he took over the same role at St. Kilda.
The football club and the regular social activy during much of Hannah's time was a central point of much of the developing suburb's community life, but not all of his efforts went without a hitch.
In the mid 1920's, one of the main revenue sources for the club was an immensely popular Saturday night dance organized by Hannah at Preston Town Hall. The American dance craze, "The Charleston" swept Australia by storm in 1926, but to the football clubs' dismay, the new Preston City Council banned the dance from the Town Hall, claiming that it could potentially damage the polished floor.
Hannah was forced to write to the Council and point out that Preston's first three dances for 1927 had shown heavy losses as patrons headed elsewhere for their dose of "The Charleston". Hannah offered the Council a guarantee that the Club would make good any damages done to the flooring. The Council agreed to a one-night trial, and after a favourable report by the City Engineer, lifted the ban on the basis of Preston's assurances.
Ern Hannah had the unique distinction of being a Life Member of both Preston and St. Kilda Football Clubs as well being a more than useful cricketer, having taken 103 wickets in the 1926-27 Jika first grade season at an average of just 5.9. He is credited with match figures of 15/49 and top scoring with 35 with the bat in Preston Footballer's Cricket Club's premiership win at the end of the season. His bowling figures still stand as a record match aggregate for the club.
Around the same time as the Charleston went off-beat, Preston's first picture theatres, the Gowerville in Plenty Road near Bell Street and the Star (later the St. James) on the corner of High and Gower Streets were opened. The Gowerville was demolished in the early 1960s as an early victim of the introduction of television. The popularity of the Star Theatre was credited in part with seeing the High Street strip develop as the dominant retailing area of Preston instead of Plenty Road which shared the early business.
A smart marketing move by the theatre's management saw a couple of interesting player awards. Patrons were invited to vote for their best (at the Gowerville) and fairest (Star) player from the previous Saturday's game at the Monday evening screening. Obviously this helped the theatres boost crowds on a traditionally "off" night and provided the players with an extra incentive.
Danny Warr (best) and George Surtees (fairest) and won the awards in 1926, and Warr and Dave Holliday in 1927.