The intimate stories behind a new Elvis Presley exhibition in Bendigo
Priscilla Presley honours her former husband to mark the opening of Elvis: Direct from Graceland, the largest collection of Elvis artefacts ever to be displayed in Australia.
Well, it’s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready now go, cat, go … to Bendigo. The historic city in Victoria is attracting travellers thanks to the latest regional gold rush that is Elvis: Direct from Graceland, a new biographical exhibition that explores the private life and legacy of larger-than-life icon, Elvis Presley.
The exhibition is the most comprehensive collection of Elvis artefacts ever to be displayed in Australia. It runs the gamut from his early childhood in the ‘shotgun shack’ in Tupelo, Mississippi, through to his defining Vegas years and features 300-plus exhibits including garments, jewellery, objects, vehicles, vintage merchandise, movie scripts and so much more.
Priscilla Presley, former wife and gatekeeper of The King’s legacy, says that Elvis would be honoured by the exhibition. “He didn’t get to tour a lot of the places he wanted to go — Australia was one of them,” she says. “Elvis never thought that he would be remembered. Here, [at Bendigo Art Gallery] you will see all of the things that meant something to him. I walked around [the exhibition] yesterday and I got a little teary eyed, because this is everything he wanted. It’s a dream come true.”
It is a coup for the regional gallery, whose international influence belies its country-town setting. “It is absolutely a triumph, not only for the gallery, but it heralds the opening up of the City of Bendigo,” says Jessica Bridgfoot, director of Bendigo Art Gallery. The exhibition launches ahead of Baz Luhrmann’s viscerally-rich biopic film, Elvis, which is set to appear in cinemas in June.
Ahead, Priscilla Presley remembers the life she shared with Elvis and recalls the intimate stories behind the artefacts on display at Bendigo Art Gallery. Elvis: Direct from Graceland is open to the public from 19 March to 17 July, 2022.
“Elvis and I got married in May [1967]. We didn’t want the publicity, we didn’t want the fanfare,” says Priscilla Presley. “So, Charlie Hodge, one of the Memphis mafia who worked for Elvis, came with me to shop for a dress. No one knew who I was at the time. [We would pretend Charlie] was my boyfriend, I would introduce myself, say I was looking for a wedding dress, something special, simple, yet beautiful. I didn’t want to be flashy in any way.”
“I was one of the executors chosen by Vernon [Elvis’s father] to handle the estate when Elvis passed,” says Presley. “The bank took care of his money which was not very much: about US $300,000. We had meetings and more meetings about what to do with [Graceland], and finally the attorneys said: ‘You are going to have to sell it. We need the money.’ They were fighting words to me; Elvis never had plans to sell Graceland. So, I went on a mission to find someone to help … I never thought it would be this successful. I just wanted it to be solid and not seem like we were selling out for the sake of the fans.”
“Everything was special about life at Graceland,” Priscilla Presley recalls. “That was out whole world – our horses, hanging out with the guys [the Memphis Mafia], the fireworks. It was very, very private. We would go to the movies late at night. Elvis was able to get the latest movies before anyone else had seen them; he would organise a projectionist. Sometimes it was three or four in the morning [and we would get] back home at 7.30am.”
“I read a couple of books and one of them made fun of his [Las Vegas] suits, calling them Liberace suits. I got a bit angry, because this person didn’t know Elvis Presley and why he had those suits,” Presley recalls. “He started wearing regular suits, then he met Bill Belew who was an unbelievable designer. They started designing together. He would say, “I need something a little more. I want to give a show that audiences will remember.” And progressively, one after the other, they were a little bit more [embellished] and a little bit more flamboyant with semiprecious stones. He wanted the audience to have something to talk about. It was always about the audience … giving them a show, letting them go home with memories.”
“Things didn’t mean that much to Elvis – he would give the shirt off his back,” says Presley. “Sammy Davis Junior was sitting in the front row at one of the Las Vegas shows and Elvis went over to shake his hand. Sammy said, “I love that ring,” and Elvis just took it off and gave it to him. Things did not mean anything to him. He loved them, wore them, would give them away in a minute if you liked it.He liked beautiful things, but he was not materialistic, just a very giving person.”
“Do you know, I never saw Elvis perform, I always saw him on the Ed Sullivan show. That was it,” Priscilla Presley recalls. “So, when I went [for the first time] to see the show in Las Vegas, I became a fan. I could not believe what I was seeing. I was: ‘Oh my God!’ this is what everyone loves about him. How he performed, how he moved, he always felt comfortable on stage when pleasing his audience. I was very, very proud of him.”
Explore Bendigo
Stay
Housed in the high-Victorian splendour of the oldest bank in the city, this new 10-room boutique hotel is just a roll down the hill from Bendigo Art Gallery. It’s a boon for the traveller who likes their accommodation discrete but attentive, designer-inflected with lashings of blue-chip contemporary Australian art and distanced within walking range of some of the best new eateries in regional Victoria.
The luxury venture evinces the entrepreneurial smarts and design savvy of owners Martin Shew and David Cook-Doulton, who decorated rooms around defining works of art. They are about to grow their nascent hospitality empire with Hotel Vera in Ballarat and build on their Ernest offerings with a fine-dining ground floor venue and a basement bar pouring the best regional wines. Seek relaxed reprieve in the building’s original bank vault and ask to see the bullet-ridden window that tells the tale of gold-rush fortunes won and lost.
Dine
Named after the respective owners of its former incarnations as a corner grocery store and a milk-bar, Percy & Percy, is beloved by the locals who flock to this backstreet cafe to indulge in such decadent breakfast treats as the crab benedict burger. Watch the world go by from the rear courtyard or retreat to the inner sanctum of wooden tables and low pan lighting. For the duration of Elvis: Direct from Graceland, offerings include the Hunk of Burning Love Burger – a deep fried banana, bacon and peanut sauce tribute to The King.
Award-winning wine maker and sommelier Lincoln Riley and his pastry chef partner Marsha Busse (via the kitchen of Gordon Ramsay) have married a patisserie and rotisserie in this one must-visit brunch/lunch venue with classic bistro leanings. Busse’s two-day-process pure-butter croissants are well worth the long drive up the Calder Freeway, but be advised that the line to snaffle her baked goods begins at 5.00am. Harvest is also the official cellar door for Riley’s own wine label North Run and offers a range of hand-picked domestic and international labels.
While in town, Priscilla Presley dined at Masons and declared it “delicious beyond – crazy good.” Run by husband and wife chef team Nick and Sonia Anthony, this understated all-day establishment in CBD Queen Street exemplifies the vibrant local culinary scene that now badges Bendigo as the gourmet epicentre of northwest Victoria. Think: the best of local producers finessed with international flavours, á la the fried quail with fig, morcilla, guanciale and buttermilk dressing.
Perfectly positioned in the arts precinct, Ms Batterhams houses within the basement of an old school hall where education now elevates to an appreciation of local produce inflected with Southern European flavours. Expect an interior palette-cleanse of matte black, green, gold and bronze in an intimate space, sparely furnished with plush booths, and a share menu that is seasonally driven. Start with an honorary Elvis tipple – the Blueberry Shoes cocktail – then slide into the Chef’s Share Menu. The buttery wagyu steaks are the best, and if it’s still on the menu the gazpacho glory of cucumbers, horseradish and almonds is a must.
Concealing in fairy-lit Chancery Lane – a cheek-by-jowl jostle of food, fashion, flower and art – The Dispensary bar and diner does a great line in fluorescent-bright cocktails, deep-fried pickles and heart-stopping desserts deserving of Elvis, along with sensational taste plates of local produce inflected with Middle-Eastern and Asian flavours.
If you like your burgers Elvis big with lashings of mayo and a side-option of marriage, then head to Hustler, the American-style fast-food, fast-hitch joint that is doing the local version of the Las Vegas wedding chapel. Yes, for the duration of Elvis: Direct from Graceland at the Bendigo Art Gallery, Viva Las Hustler offers the services of Celebrations with Steph (a certified marriage celebrant) in an afternoon of wedding vows, renewals or mock Las Vegas-style nuptials, all dished with an Elvis-worthy spread. The one caveat, if you’re fair dinkum about getting hitched while sating your hunger, is that you place your order 30 days prior (a requirement of Australian law for a marriage licence, not the burger and mayo).
Explore
Shake Rattle & Roll Cocktail Tram
Every Friday and Saturday evenings, you can get All Shook Up and rattle along to iconic tunes while enjoying an Elvis-themed cocktail amid the rolling vistas of Bendigo’s picturesque streetscape. It’s a Little Less Conversation, a lot of Unchained Melodies and whole lot of Burning Love down the Queen Street boulevard.
In support of the world-exclusive Elvis Exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery (19th March – 17th July) Munari Wines Heathcote present, Cinema in the Vines – an Elvis Presley double header dished with pizza and charcuterie packs (pre-order only) plus wine, beer, cider and Aperol spritz. Bring a picnic blanket, chair and cosy rug and take your place on the lawn beside the vines.
Elvis: Direct from Graceland is open to the public at Bendigo Art Gallery from 19 March to 17 July, 2022.