The Clickers

The Moggs Creek Clickers were a group of a dozen amateur
photographers who operated in Victoria during the 1950's and 60's. They believed that the prevailing exhibition photography in Australia had become fixed into pictorial ideals without the vibrance of post World War II reality. They looked to the great uncoverers of nature such as Americans Edward Weston and Ansell Adams, as well as those photographers who so acutely showed the reality of everyday life for rich and poor in calm and war, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans and Robert Capa. In particular they were influenced by the wonderful post-war optimism of the Museum of Art's 'Family of Man' travelling photographic exhibition.

In 1959 the Cllickers organised a new type of photographic exhibition which was called PHOTOVISION 59. This was held in modest circumstances at the Clickers club rooms in Melbourne city called Pink Alley. Unique aspects of this exhibition were the possibility of entering a series of photographs, and a series of colour slides with spoken and musical accompaniment.

At the time John Reed was director of  The Museum of Modern Art in Tavistock Place Melbourne. John was willing to take Photovision on board and during the 1960's the photographs were exhibited at this respected art galley. Leading Australian designers help present Photovision and make it into a unique experiment which attracted some of Australia's best photographers.

 PHOTOVISION 62

Front cover of the catalogue from Photovison 1962.
 

Meanwhile back at Moggs the Clickers were organising yearly conventions to raise public awareness about Sir Sam. Wine tasting competitions, heroic acts and hill climbs.

Photo Shows a competitor on a motorcycle starting the climb with great gusto.


 

The Clickers started to produce important literature to help spread the name of Sir Sam and the contributions of Moggs Creek to the national idendity. The Quarterly Clack thus emerged from the Clickers base in Elwood and rapidly incorporated the researches of the Moggs Free Press, the United Moggs Organisation, the Amateur Whaling and Harpooning Society, The Institute for Orphan Eskimos, the Loyal Moggs Territorials, etc etc.

These writings are observable in the two Compendiums issued to those who are Moggs at heart.