A.W. Purnell and the Big Business Ball
This spectacular art deco backdrop was designed by Arthur Purnell for the Big Business Ball at the Melbourne Town Hall. So far I haven’t been able to find out anything about this event, but judging by Purnell’s design it presumably took place in the late 1920s or early 1930s.
ADDENDUM
Since first posting this item I have discovered that A.W. Purnell’s backdrop design for the Big Business Ball could have been done in 1928 (when the ball moved from the Wattle Path Palais de Danse (coincidentally designed by Purnell) to the Melbourne Town Hall) or 1929 or 1930. My guess is 1930, only because I know for certain that Purnell was on the Big Business Ball Committee in that year (he is pictured fourth from the left).