Once upon a time, the annual Melbourne Arts Ball was a glitzy highlight in Australia’s cultural calendar. Competitors dressed to impress in the most extra way possible, arriving in a parade of tinsel, jewels, whimsical hats and gowns galore. This Eyewitness News segment from 1984 offers an exceptionally rare glimpse inside the ball, where TV cameras were usually banned.

Famed for its flamboyant, free-spirited energy, the Arts Ball was a space where kooky instincts thrived. Freeze the frame at any point, and you’ll find costumes that are funny, surprising and shamelessly camp: including nursery rhyme spiders, metallic nuns and over-the-top Australiana. Bringing together radically different designs through a shared spirit of playful excess and silly fun, the ball celebrated hand-crafted flourishes and out-there ideas.

By 1984, the Melbourne Arts Ball was approaching its final curtain, making this footage from inside the World Trade Centre (now WTC Wharf) one of the last glimpses of a beloved cultural tradition.