Memorabilia from The Beatles 1964 Australian tour for sale

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

It's nearly 50 years since B-Day, when The Beatles landed in Sydney to launch their 1964 Australian concert tour. Their arrival on June 11 sparked the phenomenon known as Beatlemania, which peaked when the group flew to Adelaide the next day. An estimated 300,000 people lined the highway from the airport to the Town Hall, around one third of the total population of Adelaide if that estimate is accurate. Photos suggest that it is.

The Adelaide crowd is usually quoted as the largest attracted by The Beatles in any one location. Advertisement This period has been celebrated by The Beatles in Australia Exhibition, which began in September 2013 at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum. It’s now on at the Arts Centre Melbourne until July. Beatlemania is also being revived in a sale of Beatles collectables by Leonard Joel in Melbourne tomorrow, starting at midday. Items can be previewed in South Yarra today, from 9am to 8pm, or viewed online.