Theatre Royal Melbourne

George Selth Coppin (1819–1906) often boasted about the number of theatres he had built over his long profession career. But which ones were they, when were they built, what did they look like and what ultimately happened to them? The purpose of this article is to identify those theatres and to briefly answer some of these questions. To avoid making this article too long, I will not go into too much detail or to describe the performance history here, but leave it to others to elaborate on these aspects elsewhere.

In my list I am only including those theatres that he built from scratch, not ones that he did minor alterations to, of which there were many. Where did I get my list from? Well from Coppin’s own words. In his opening night address at the Royal Haymarket Theatre he claimed this was his fifth. So we only need to add one more for the rebuilding of the Theatre Royal(1872).However,I have also included the Royal Victoria Theatre because Coppin had considerable involvement in its refurbishment and also for its importance as the oldest surviving theatre on mainland Australia.

George Coppin, by T.S. Gill

State Library of South Australia, Adelaide, image B 46875/1

Emanuel Solomon (1800–1873) by T.S. Gill

State Library of South Australia, Adelaide, image B 46875/1

New Queen’s Theatre (1846–1850)

Address: Corner of Playhouse Lane and Eliza Street Adelaide

Architect: Thomas Price

Opening night playbill for New Queen’s Theatre. State Library Victoria, MS8827/11/658.After successful seasons in Launceston, Sydney and Melbourne, George Coppin and his wife Maria arrived at Port Adelaide on board the Teazeron 10 September 1846. Disappointedly, Coppin found the theatre scene in Adelaide to be a lot more inadequate than he had anticipated. In 1840 Emanuel Solomon had built a handsome theatre in Currie Street called the Queen’s Theatre. John Lazar, an acquaintance of Coppin’s from Sydney had managed it for short time. Unfortunately, the venture failed and the theatre closed its doors on 28 November 1842. The following year it was leased to the South Australian Government as a home for its Supreme Court.

Failing to find another suitable theatre space or hall to lease, Coppin approached Isaac Solomon who was the lessee a large billiard room attached to the Temple Innthat existed on the adjacent site to the Queen’s Theatre, and on land owned by his half-brother Emanuel Solomon. Coppin put a proposition to the Solomon brothers that he would like to extend this structure to create a new purpose-built theatre space. They immediately agreed. Over that following weekend Coppin and the architect Thomas Price began preparing designs and drawings for the new theatre. Within six weeks the builder’s work was complete. So on Monday, 2 November 1846 the New Queen’s Theatre opened accommodating 700 persons. The builders were Messrs. Sheppard & Lines.¹

Two days before the SA Gazette and Colonial Register had reported:

“We have ourselves inspected the theatre, and must say it far exceeds our most sanguine expectations. The dress boxes are capable of holding 200 persons, and are divided into 11 separate boxes. The entrance from Light-square is of a very superior construction. The lower boxes and pit are most commodious and comfortable, and the stage department appears to embrace every convenience for the production of any class of entertainments. In fact, great credit is due to Mr. Price, for his design, and to the builders for the manner they have carried out his views. The whole is decorated in the Parisian style, and in colours admirably adapted for a warm climate. … the new theatre being exceedingly neat and well arranged.”²

In the subsequent weeks the theatre was an instant hit with the local population.

Over the following four years Adelaide’s population almost trebled and the demand for entertainment grew substantially. Moreover during this period technical and comfort expectations of local audiences also changed and the theatre began to show its age, and lose its reputation. Edward Snell visited it on 21 November 1850 and noted in his diary that it was a ‘wretched place, only pit and boxes in it and the stage illuminated by 5 foot lights and 2 sidelights only. The actors were a set of dull dogs, the scenery was damnable, and the audience a mixture of prostitutes and pickpockets.’³

The last performance at the New Queen’s Theatre occurred on 25 November 1850 with a farewell benefit for John Lazar. Coppin and Edward Opie both appeared in their favourite characters at this performance.⁴

The performance history can be found at https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/22711

Royal Victoria Theatre (1850–1851)

Address: Corner of Gilles Arcade and Playhouse Lane, Adelaide

Architect: [probably Thomas Price]

Royal Victoria Theatre—view c.1861. State Library of South Australia, Adelaide, image B 3323.

By mid 1850 the Supreme Court’s lease on the old Queen’s Theatre had expired and was vacant. Coppin and Lazar immediately saw an opportunity to expand their theatrical activities and leased the building. Extensive renovations followed and the theatre was reopened on 23 December 1850 under the new name Royal Victoria Theatre, seating about 1,000 persons. It now had an imposing new classically inspired front elevation.

On that day the Adelaide Times reported:

This fine building is now completed, and will be opened this evening, for the first time, under the combined management of Messrs. Lazar and Coppin, who have engaged it from the proprietor, Mr. Emanuel Solomon, for three years, at £500 per annum. The front is adorned with Ionic pillars, surmounted with the Royal Coat of Arms, a beautiful specimen of English manufacture, measuring seven feet by five feet, which is placed in bold relief over the front entrance. The entrance to the dress circle is a fac simile to that of the Princess’s Theatre, London, beautifully papered all round, and includes two flights of stairs that lead to a magnificent lobby, 36 feet by 16 feet, intended exclusively for ladies as a withdrawing and promenading hall. The interior of the Theatre surpasses anything of the kind in the Australian colonies, both in design and execution, and the several departments are of gigantic dimensions. The whole length is 140 feet; breadth 34 feet; and height 50 feet; and the boxes form tiers, including six private boxes with private entrances. The pit is a vast space with close seats, capable of accommodating an immense concourse of people. Besides the compartments alluded to, there are the following rooms attached: Gentlemen’s saloon, 36 feet by 16 feet; two rooms for ladies to retire, 18 feet by 13 feet each; green room, 35 feet by 21 feet; storeroom; females’ dressing-room; men’s dressing-room; property-room; and wardrobe-room. The stage measures 74 feet by 34 feet 6 inches, and is well supplied with drop, scenes, and other necessary paraphernalia. The proscenium is both expansive and magnificently ornamented with a variety of allegorical devices, surrounding a Cupid in the centre holding the mirror up to Nature, and surmounted with an arched motto, ImitatioVitae; Speculum consueludinis; Imago Veritatis, of which the following is a translation: The imitation of life; the mirror of manners; the representation of Truth. The front of both tiers of boxes is similarly adorned with appropriate allegorical and mythological designs, and beautifully bordered with mouldings of gilded papier mache, whilst the supporting pillars are all veneered and beautifully French polished. This vast expanse is brilliantly lighted up with five magnificent chandeliers, holding 108 wax candles. The chandeliers alone have cost the proprietor £120. All the painting was done by the talented artist Mr. Opie, in his best style, and the masterly manner in which it is executed reflects the highest credit on that gentleman. Mr Solomon has, in short, determined to spare no outlay or pains in forming a theatre worthy of the colony, and even the foregoing cursory description colony, and even the foregoing cursory description shews how well he has succeeded.⁵

However, the theatre’s popularity was short lived. It closed its doors on 13 May 1852 due to the exodus of many of Adelaide’s population to the Victoria goldfields and that consequentially put enormous pressure on Coppin’s finances.

The outer shell of this building still exists. In the 1980s it was purchased by the South Australian Government and since 1996 has been used as a flexible performance and event space.

A recent view of the Royal Victoria Theatre (now known as the Queen’s Theatre)—image from thequeensadelaide.com.au

The theatre’s performance history can be found at: https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/11583

More information about the building can also be found here https://losttheatres.net/queens

Port Theatre, Port Adelaide (1851–1866)

Address: 68–72 Commercial Road (SW corner with St Vincent Street), Port Adelaide

Architect: William Weir (d.1865)

White Horse Cellars & Theatre c.1870, from Back to Semaphore by J.E. Trotman, 1930, p.2

By the late 1840s Coppin’s investments in South Australia were doing extremely well and he had decided to stay in the colony. In 1850 an important sale of land came up in Port Adelaide owned by the Port Land Company controlled by Emanuel Solomon. Prior to their public sale on 13 October 1850, Coppin purchased lot 64 of Section 2112 at the SE corner of Commercial and St Vincent Streets from the company.⁶ His declared intention was to build a hotel and theatre to serve the growing 5,000 population in this new developing area.

On 25 July 1850 William Weir an Adelaide architect advertised for tenders to be received ‘up to 6th August from tradesmen willing to contract for the erection of an hotel, theatre and other buildings at Port Adelaide’.⁷ The contract was awarded to Walter Smith and by the end of September his workmen were busily engaged in digging the foundations. On 13 October, the day of the public land sale, the foundation stone was laid amidst great fanfare by Captain D. McGrath of the Benjamin Elkin.⁸

By St Patrick’s Day, 17 March 1851, the hotel was ready to open, but it took another three months to finish the theatre which opened on 25 June.

In March the SA Register described the theatre thus:

The Theatre is 60 feet in length, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high, the stage being 20 feet by 30 feet. The pit is of horse-shoe form, and has 18 rows of seats. A double tier of boxes and the gallery above make the whole accommodation sufficient for 400 persons. The boxes do not rest against the outside wall, but a wing wall with new foundations has been built all round, which encloses the whole Theatre, thus ensuring its safety. A no less a sum than £568 has been spent on the foundation of this extensive building, and no expense has been spared in order to ensure its stability. … The whole edifice is of stone; a handsome balcony and verandah, 140 feet long and 10 feet wide, surrounding the front. Mr. Weir is the architect, and Mr. Walter Smith the builder.⁹

Following its opening in June the Adelaide Times described it thus:

The interior forms a complete circle, and its capability for seeing and hearing are preferable to the Victoria Theatre. The decorations, which are from the hand of Mr. Hillier, late of the New Strand Theatre, are exceedingly chaste, and the arrangements for the accommodation of the audience, leave nothing to be desired. The company and orchestra are the same as engaged at the Victoria Theatre. It was found impossible to get the gallery ready by the Opening Night, in consequence of the late flood, which has prevented the staircase from being completed.¹⁰

By the end of June 1851 Coppin must have felt on top the world. He held the controlling interests in two theatres, the White Horse Cellar, and had various racing and mining investments. Unfortunately, the imminent discovery of gold in New South Wales and Victoria was to bring ruin to many South Australian colonists including Coppin. He attempted to sell the White Horse Cellars & Theatre but could find no buyers. He tried again in July 1861 but two years later he still owned it, leased to William Knapman. The last advertised performance at the theatre occurred in January 1866. By 1868 William Knapman had purchased the property.¹¹

The building still exists but has been extended and greatly altered from its original appearance. The use now is as a series of retail and office premises.

Altered and extended building, Google Street View 2024

Olympic Theatre (1856–1859)

Address: 240 Exhibition Street (oringinally Stephen Street), Melbourne

Architect: Christian Herrmann Ohlfsen-Bagge (1822–1908)

Coppin’s Olympic Theatre, c.1858. Photograph by Walter Bentley Woodbury. Victoria & Albert Museum, London, RPS 3093-6-2018.

While in London in 1854 sourcing talent Coppin decided to purchase a cast iron and sheet iron prefabricated theatre building which could be speedily erected on his return to Melbourne. The building was manufactured by the Manchester firm of E. & T. Bellhouse.

When Coppin had left the colony there had been no suitably large theatres existing. What he didn’t know was that during his absence two new large theatres were to be constructed, Thomas Mooney’s Astley’s Amphitheatre which opened in September 1854 seating 2,000 and John Black’s Theatre Royalwhich opened in July 1855 seating 3,500.

In Coppin’s absence the foundation stone was laid by G.V. Brooke on 18 April 1855. The theatre opened 6 weeks later on 30 July, just two weeks after the Theatre Royal. The architect was Ohlfsen-Bagge. He was later to also design the Pantheonat Cremorne Gardens.

The Olympiconly seated 1,150 patrons. It had two levels, 700 in the pit and stalls, 450 more in a rectangular dress circle, which had boxes in the side legs and rear of the auditorium and seats immediately facing the stage. Six gilded, fluted Corinthian columns supported a 10 metre wide proscenium arch. William Pitt senior decorated the interior, which was fitted out in timber. It had a pitched roof of corrugated iron, painted blue on the inside and dotted with gold stars.’¹²

The building is of significant interest because it was probably the largest prefabricated building to be erected in Australia at the time. However, it was not a success as a theatre. Locals nicknamed it the ‘Iron Pot’ because its prefabricated iron panels on the roof and walls produced searing heat in summer, cold in winter and caused thundering noise when it rained.¹³

Melbourne Punch, 2 August 1855, p.140

After the partnership of Coppin and Brooke gained control of the much larger Theatre Royal in 1857, it was not needed, so the Olympic was briefly used as a dance hall only to return as a theatre when the partnership split.

In 1859 Coppin decided to consolidate his theatrical activities on the Pantheonat Cremorne Gardens, so the building was converted to Turkish Baths. This use was financially successful and continued until the interiors were gutted by fire in 1866. It finally ended its life as a warehouse before being demolished. The Comedy Theatre now stands on the site.

The performance history can be found at https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/13409

Royal Pantheon (1856–1863)

Address: cr. Cremorne and Balmain Streets, Cremorne, Melbourne

Architect: Christian Herrmann Ohlfsen-Bagge (1822–1908)

Detail showing Pantheon Theatre and Refreshment Rooms [Crystal Bar & Hotel].
State Library of Victoria, MP20/12/62/8, http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/246532

James Ellis, a former manager of the Cremorne Gardens pleasure gardens in London, arrived in Melbourne in 1852 and in the following year established Melbourne’s own Cremorne Gardens on the banks of the Yarra River at Richmond. However, he struggled to make it pay. In June 1856 Coppin spotted an opportunity and purchased the property for £10,000. He immediately set about making improvements. The architect Ohlfsen-Bagge was appointed to design a new concert hall/theatre and bar for the site. Wasting no time, tenders were advertised on the 4 July.¹⁴

Refreshment Rooms (Crystal Bar), Cremorne Gardens - George Coppin is in centre with tall black hat. National Library of Australia, Canberra, PIC Box P863 #P863/17.

At the same time another architect Peter Conlon was appointed to handle the landscaping works and ornamental features. On Sunday 26 October 1856 the revamped gardens were reopened to the public despite the fact that the theatre was unfinished. However that was soon rectified.

No description of the internal layout of the Pantheon can be found. However, it is fairly safe to assume that it was similar to the layout of the Olympic, given that it was designed by the same architect. The theatre was this time constructed of timber. From the plan of the building as it existed in 1867 by Crouch and Wilson architects, one can imagine the form it must have taken. It had a very large stage area relative to the auditorium which was on two levels with a deep balcony.

For the opening of the 1858/9 season the theatre was renamed Royal Pantheon no doubt due to Coppin’s new emphasis on theatrical performances after the closure of the Olympic Theatre and the need to find work for his performers.

Plans of former Pantheon Theatre, Crouch & Wilson architects, 1867. Victorian Public Records Office, VPRS 3686/P17, Unit 467.

Despite the large amount of money Coppin poured into the project, something like £40,000, a local recession and bad weather ultimately destroyed the financial viability of the park and he was forced to close it in March 1863. A subsequent mortgagee auction on 29th September failed to find a buyer. This was probably not helped by a flooding of the Yarra River a month  earlier. Then in December came another great storm that raged for two days and flooded the site once again, but to a much greater extent, destroying the gardens.

Finally in February 1864, it was announced that Mr. Harcourt had purchased the property for conversion to a private psychiatric hospital for £4,500. Over the following years he allowed the Pantheonto be used for occasional events. Then in November 1884 the Cremorne Estate, by now reduced to 4 acres, was sold to Thomas Bent MLA for £15,500. In the following year it was subdivided and sold for house sites.

The performance history can be found at https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/13467

Royal Haymarket Theatre & Apollo Music Hall (1862–1871)

Address: 131–135 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Architect: Peter Thomas Conlon (1830–1871)

Haymarket Theatre - wood engraving. State Library Victoria, Melbourne, image IAN01/08/90/13.

By 1862 Coppin had lost control of the Theatre Royal to Ambrose Kyte and so was in need of a new venue. On 1 March 1862, he signed a 141/2 year lease (until 1876) on a large site next to the Eastern Market owned by a wealthy squatter, Simon Staughton. The rental was £30 for the first quarter and then £600 per annum thereafter. A new company was formed to purchase the lease from Coppin and build the new complex. Coppin was the principal shareholder in this company.¹⁵ George Cornwell was appointed the contractor and commenced work that same month.

Coppin’s concept for the project was very ambitious. It was to be a complete entertainment complex consisting of shops, hotel, music hall, supper room and theatre, all on the same site. This was a relative new idea for its time. Coppin’s rationale was that a music hall would siphon off the more rowdy uncultured elements and leave the theatre for the more educated and discriminating audiences. At the time it was a convention, at least in the UK, that a music hall should have a hotel attached. Anyway financially they had a mutually beneficial relationship to each other especially for the operator. Coppin was well aware of this fact and always included extensive bar and drinking areas in his theatres.

Essentially the complex consisted of two main structures. On the Bourke Street frontage there was a hotel with the Apollo Music Hallabove it in a ‘L’ shaped building, and at the rear there was the Haymarket Theatre. Patrons entered via a passageway under the front building and then into a long landscaped courtyard open to the air but surrounded by a wide colonnade giving shelter during inclement weather. This space was referred to as the ‘vestibule’. The bar and refreshment rooms, at the time referred to as the ‘hotel’, faced this space having the Apollo Hallabove. From this courtyard patrons could either climb the stairs to the Apollo Hall or enter the theatre itself via a raised terrace. The front section was completed first and opened on Saturday 2 June 1862. The theatre was opened three months later on 15 September 1862. The total cost of the project was said to be £11,000.

As previously said the Apollo Music Hall sat above the hotel and consisted of a long rectangular space with a gallery at one end next to the theatre. This hall ran at right angles to Bourke Street and alongside the courtyard. The stage was at the Bourke Street end with a supper room and bar alongside it. It was claimed that the hall accommodated 1,500 patrons.

Haymarket Theatre—Bourke Street view, c.1868. Australian Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne.

With the design of the theatre, Coppin had been keen to correct the deficiencies that had existed at the Olympic and to incorporate the latest ideas found in the 1858 Adelphi Theatre, London and the Theatre Martinique, Paris. The new Adelphiwas a lot more commodious and its seating considerably more comfortable than its predecessors. The Haymarketreflected this trend. Coppin also wanted to bring the actors closer to the audience, so the edge of the balconies were brought as close to the stage as possible. In fact the dress circle was only 35 feet from the stage. This ultimately caused major problems with the acoustics and sight lines from the rear areas downstairs and had to be altered two years later. Within ten days of the opening, alterations also had to be made to increase the slope of the forestage to lower the footlights and give the pit areas a better view.¹⁶

The auditorium had only two levels of balconies, in contrast to the conventional three in most theatres of this size. Its capacity was 2,500 in total, 1,800 in the stalls and pit, 300 in the dress circle, and 400 in the upper circle.¹⁷

Over the following years various alterations were made to correct its shortcomings. In 1864 the two balconies were raised and moved back into the body of the theatre to improve the sight lines in the stalls and improve acoustics generally. A new gas ‘sunlight’ replaced the earlier central chandelier.

In October 1866 the upper boxes at the rear of the circles were removed and converted to general seating.

In April 1868 the theatre was redecorated, the previous crimson scheme in the auditorium was changed to a light green scheme. The name was changed to Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, following Prince Alfred’s recent visit to Australia, in an attempt to improve the theatres declining reputation.¹⁸

On 22 September 1871, disaster struck and it was completely destroyed by fire. On its demise no one seemed to lament its fate. The Australasian  wrote ‘it was the ugliest and most cheerless place of amusement in the colonies’. But on the plus side, ‘there was more space to sit in and to stretch one’s legs than at the Royal, it was better ventilated and … there was a better view of the stage than in the latter house. To be sure the eye rested on ugly beams, angles, iron rods, gaunt pillars, and a good deal of blank wall.’¹⁹

The theatre’s performance history can be found at https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/13495

Destruction by fire, Illustrated Australian News, 9 October 1871, p.185

The only thing that remains of the theatre today is its stained glass window of Shakespeare that had proudly been positioned on the Bourke Street elevation at first floor level. It was made by James Ferguson and James Urie. Today it can be seen on level 5, in the State Library of Victoria’s Domed Reading Room.

Wikipedia Commons

Theatre Royal (1872–1933)

Address: 228–234 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Architect: George Browne (1846–1911)

Clip from Paterson Bros. bird’s-eye view from Scot’s Church 1875. State Library Victoria, Melbourne, image H6320.

Coppin professed not to believe in insurance. It was too expensive he said. But in the space of six months he lost three of his leased venues to fire. On 22 September 1871 the Haymarket & Apollo was destroyed and then the old Theatre Royalfollowed on 20 March 1872.

Not dissuaded, Coppin immediately set about fixing the situation. No doubt because of its premier position, he decided to concentrate his efforts on rebuilding the Theatre Royal. A new 99 year lease of the site was soon negotiated with the owner and a company was formed to build the new theatre called ‘the Theatre Royal Proprietary Association Limited’. The lease was then transferred to it and £10,000 of the £20,000 required to build the theatre was borrowed from the Commercial Bank of Australia. The architect chosen was George Browne. Within three months the theatre was more or less complete and ready for the opening on 6 November 1872.²⁰

The old theatre had many deficiencies. The new theatre aimed to fix these problems by being better planned and having better escape and fire safety features. This was a period when building standards were changing very rapidly.

Essentially the new complex consisted of two linked sections. At the front there was a large three storey hotel designed in an ornate rococo Victorian style. Beyond that and occupying most of the site was the rear building containing the auditorium and stage area. Within it the vast new auditorium existed with three tiers of balconies in a horseshoe plan that accommodated 3,950 patrons. The stage area, dressing rooms and paint room at the rear filled nearly two thirds of this rear building. Linking the two sections was a two-storey enclosed space with an upper-level balcony on all four sides. This was known as the ‘vestibule’ and contained the refreshment bar and promenade area for patrons. This was an idea carried over from the Haymarket Theatreand considered very luxurious for the time. Most theatres of this period had very limited foyer areas. The Opera House opposite, opening in the same year, had almost none.

Coppin instigated one major change to the theatre in 1880 when the proscenium was brought forward to eliminate the stage apron.²¹

By a signed indenture from the company, James Cassias Williamson became the sole lessee of the theatre on 8 September 1881 and so began the rise of what later became know as ‘the Firm’ that dominated Australian theatre for the next 90 years. At about the same time this happened Coppin announced his retirement from the stage with 12 final performances.

The building was not without its critics. Dion Boucicault in 1885 found the theatre to be large, dusty and primitive, with poor audience accommodation and wretched back stage arrangements for the actors.²² In an effort to improve things J.C. Williamson had the building gutted and converted to a 3 level auditorium designed by William Pitt in 1904. However, the balconies were still held up by a forest of columns that interrupted the view of the stage. Since the early 1890s, theatres elsewhere in the world like the Palacein London were being built using cantilevered structural systems that largely eliminated columns in these areas.

With the rise of cinema in the early part of the 20th century, theatre audiences demanded even better sight lines, greater comfort and a much more intimate theatrical experience. Large draughty auditoriums like the Theatre Royal had become out of date. Consequently J.C. Williamson decided to sell the Royal and rebuild His Majesty’s Theatre,a venue that ‘the Firm’ owned around the corner in Exhibition Street and that had been burn out in 1927. The Theatre Royal finally closed its doors on 17 November 1933 and was soon demolished. On the site Manton’s built their new modern department store [now Kmart].

George Brown’s original architectural drawings of 1872 for the theatre can be found at the State Library Victoria, as can those of William Pitt’s. http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/335030

The theatre’s extensive performance history can be found at https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/3085

Theatre Royal (1872) redrawn sections from Ross Thorne, Theatres in Australia, pp.14-15

Conclusion

There is no doubt that Coppin was a great risk taker. But that went with the territory if you were a theatrical entrepreneur in the 19th century. He crashed and burned many times. But after so many failures, one has to admire his perseverance and spirit. He always managed to get back on his feet and press on.

Initially Coppin’s theatres were very conservative in design. They were essentially based on the Georgian Playhouse type ie. rectangular halls with a one or two tiers of balconies with boxes in a rectangular shape. However, with the Haymarket he began to experiment with new planning ideas, even though many didn’t work out and had to be changed later. His crowning achievement must be the rebuilding of Theatre Royal in 1872. At the time of its completion, it was one of the largest and grandest theatres in the British Empire and set up the next generation of actors and entrepreneurs like J.C. Williamson to prosper and reap the financial rewards when hit shows were performed prior to the age of cinema.

Endnotes

1. SA Gazette and Colonial Register, 31 October 1846, p.1

2. SA Gazette and Colonial Register,31 October 1846, p.2

3. Philip Parsons, Companion to Theatre in Australia, pp.471–472

4. Adelaide Times,25 November 1850, p.3 

5. Adelaide Times, 23 December 1850, p.3

6. McDougall & Vines, Port Adelaide Centre Heritage Survey 1994, p.55

7. South Australian Register, 25 July 1850, p.2

8. Adelaide Times, 19 October 1850, p.8

9. South Australian Register, 22 March 1851, p.3

10. Adelaide Times, 27 June 1851, p.3

11. McDougall & Vines, Port Adelaide Centre Heritage Survey 1994, p.56

12. Ross Thorne, Companion to Theatre in Australia, p.417

13. ibid

14. The Argus, 4 July 1856, p.3

15. Anthony Peter Horan, A History of The Haymarket/Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, Monash University thesis 1982, pp.31-34

16. ibid, pp.54–59

17. The Herald, 25 September 1862, p.3

18. Anthony Peter Horan, A History of The Haymarket/Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, Monash University thesis 1982, pp.60-63

19. John West, Companion to Theatre in Australia, p.266

20. Alec Bagot, Coppin the Great, pp.334–338

21. Ross Thorne, Companion to Theatre in Australia, pp.584–585

22. Ibid, p.585

Further Reading

Alec Bagot, Coppin the Great: Father of the Australian theatre, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 1965

Philip Parsons (ed), Companion to Theatre in Australia, Currency Press, Sydney, 1995

Anthony Peter Horan, A History of The Haymarket/Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, Monash University thesis 1982

Ross Thorne, Theatres in Australia: An historical perspective of significant buildings, Department of Architecture, University of Sydney, 1977

John West, Theatre in Australia, Cassell Australia Ltd, 1978

Performance history at the venues can be found at: ausdstage.com.au

By 7 may 1855,the construction of George Coppin’s Olympic Theatre—on the site previously occupied by Rowe’s Amphitheatre at the corner of Lonsdale and Stephen Streets, Melbourne—was making rapid progress. The roof was in place, and the fitting up of the interior commenced in the following week. The scenic artist William Pitt,¹ from the Queen’s Theatre, was engaged by Coppin and given carte blanche to decorate.

‘Foundation of the Olympic, the Architect’s Model’—the inaugural issue of Melbourne Punch, 2 August 1855

The construction of John Melton Black’s (1830–1919)² new (second) Theatre Royal in Bourke Street was also progressing apace, advertising that it would be completed sufficiently for performances by 15 June. Former actor and theatre manager (and Alderman for Barwon Ward) Henry Deering (1816–1856),³ meanwhile, had taken the lease of the Queen’s Theatre.

Coppin, for the first time in Melbourne, found himself faced with the prospects of considerable competition and was racing to get his theatre finished first. He headlined Mr Jacobs, the Wizard, Ventriloquist and Improvisatore⁴ to inaugurate the Olympic the week prior, 11 June. Only a portion of the house was actually used, however, Jacobs appearing on the temporary fore-stage pit area as the stage house was incomplete. Otherwise, reported Bell’s Life(16 June 1855),

It is an elegant building, and, although erected in the extraordinarily short period of six weeks, has a thoroughly substantial look. The iron walls are for the most part cased with brick … The facade is simple, but sufficiently distinctive, and the entrances to every part of the house are exceedingly well arranged. … The arch of the proscenium is broad and flattened; it has a span of thirty-three feet [10m]. … The prevailing colours of the whole of the decorations are green, pink and French white …

Pitt’s artwork’s on the scroll medallion include vignettes from G.V. Brooke’s repertoire: Othello,The Merchant of Venice,Hamlet,Richard IIIand A New Way to Pay Old Debts. The Sydney Empire (3 August 1855) reported that the same artist painted the Act Drop: ‘Shakespeare standing in a reflective attitude, admid a group of architectural fragments.’

Audrey (Mrs H. Marston) and Touchstone (Frederick Younge, Richard’s brother) in As You Like it from Sadlers’ Wells. This engraving was used by William Pitt as reference to illustrate one of ‘the glorious embodiments of our immortal bard’ on interior medallions for the newly renovated Queen’s Theatre, Melbourne in July 1854. Other medallions depicted Kean as Richard III, Miss Glyn as Lady Macbeth and Macready as Marc Antony. [see The Argus, 29 July 1854]

Berkeley

John Melton Black, first mayor of Townsville (1866–67) [AI enhanced]

City Libraries Townsville

The Queen’s Theatre, meanwhile, went dark and the only other venues open for public entertainment at this time were Astley’s Amphitheatre⁵ (lessee, George Lewis) and the Mechanics’ Institute. The Theatre Royal, under the management of John Black, opened with great fanfare the following Monday, giving R.B. Sheridan’s School for Scandal on Monday 16 July.

Coppin and G.V. Brooke arrived back from Sydney the following day in time to see Jacob’s final performances at the Olympic (after six well-attended weeks). By this time, thirty-six year old George Coppin had married Harriet Hilsden (née Bray) (1821–1859), relic of the late mariner Robert Hilsden; Harriet was Brooke’s sister-in-law, and came with four children by her previous marriage.

Soon after, Coppin announced the dramatic program for his new theatre and Richard Younge was mentioned amongst the company of actors, but he was also highlighted with a specific credit as Stage Manager, along with the other house creatives: Frederick Coppin (1824–1881) (George’s younger brother), Leader of the Orchestra; William Pitt, Scenic Artist; Mr W. Walker, Mechanist; and Mr Brogden, Properties.

Younge had given 106 performances of his 200 night contract with Brooke for the colony tour. There is no evidence, but given the circumstances, it would be logical that Younge’s arrangement with Brooke was relinquished in favour of a new engagement directly with Coppin (under which, as it transpired, Younge would continue to stage manage existing repertoire as well as build new productions—including those for Brooke—that premiered on the Olympic stage).

The launch of Brooke’s Winter Season at the new Olympic opened on Monday 30 July, during ‘extremely unfavourable’ weather, with the tragedian reappearing in the role of Claude Melnotte in The Lady of Lyons;Coppin played Colonel Damas, Fanny Cathcart (still using her maiden name) appeared as Pauline Deschappelles, her husband Robert Heir played her suitor Glavis, and Younge was ‘thoroughly at home in the part of Beauseant.’ It was also noted by The Age(31 July 1855), that ‘the play was admirably put upon the stage,’ and complemented Younge’s contribution to the remount:

We never saw the closing scene of the Fourth Act so powerfully wrought up to the culminating point of passionate expression, as it was last night; and there were two or three admirable bits of by-play introduced at the termination of the Fifth Act, which told immensely with the audience.

It was The Sydney Morning Herald (1 August 1855), however, who noted otherwise that Coppin’s Olympic faced ‘very serious competition from the Theatre Royal (then playing Romeo and Juliet).

Brooke’s repertoire over the following three weeks comprised revivals of Othello(Younge reprised his Iago, and gave a ‘superior performance’); A New Way to Pay Old Debts(Heir took over Wellborn while Younge played Marrall, ‘the representation of which,’ broadcast The Argus, ‘was perfect’); and The Stranger (as Charles Torrens).

Younge prepared the premieres of Morris Barnett’s comedy The Serious Family (1849), H.R. Bishop’s opera Clari; or, The Maid of Milan (1823) and Bayle Bernard’s farce His Last Legs (1839), all new repertoire. Brooke appeared as O’Callaghan in the latter but, playing on the same program, he surrendered his role in Thomas Morton’s Angel of the Attic (1843) to Younge (who ‘played with much spirit.’)

This theatre on the corner of Lonsdale and Exhibition [formerly Stephen] streets. The site was previously home to Rowe’s American Circus. Known as the Iron Pot, it was a prefabricated iron building commissioned from Manchester by George Coppin as his first Melbourne theatre. Unfortunately for Coppin, the Theatre Royal was more centrally located, and cooler in summer. It lasted only five years as a theatre, before being converted into Melbourne’s first Turkish baths in July 1860. It was partially destroyed by fire in 1866.

In Coppin’s attempt to provide diversity and build his audience, for two weeks from Monday 13 August, Brooke shared the program with Madame Kramar and Mademoiselle Marle, the Tyrolese vocalists.

The major new drawcard production in the season was Dion Boucicault’s adaptation of Dumas’s grand French drama La Vendetta; or, the Corsican Brothers (1852) with Brooke playing the twin dei Franchi brothers. It opened on Monday 20 August, ‘produced under the superintendence of Mr R. Younge’. Two problems arose, however that registered serious concern for both Coppin and Brooke: firstly, the Theatre Royal was running the same play concurrently; secondly, and of greater consequence, the role of Emilie de Lesperre, the principal female role in the play under Younge’s direction, was advertised on the day (clearly in haste) as Miss Glyndon.⁶ As it emerged, Mr and Mrs Heir, following their performance two days earlier, announced that they had seceded from Coppin’s Olympic company—and in doing so broke their contract with Brooke—poached by John Black at the Theatre Royal. Brooke filed a bill and obtained an injunction from His Honour the Chief Justice. It was served—‘by means of a slight ruse’—at her private apartment at the Australasian Hotel. Brooke sought to restrain Fanny Cathcart and Robert Heir ‘from transferring their services to the rival house’.

Brooke v. Heir, and others was heard in the Equity Court. The judge ordered Fanny to gaol for contempt; her solicitor argued that the public would be unfairly impacted, and said ‘he would undertake she should not appear … until the injunction was disposed of.’ The Heirs disregarded the order and made their debut at the Theatre Royal that evening.⁷

Younge’s work on The Corsican Brothers, meanwhile, appeared to please the critics (despite some deficiencies in the working of the stage machinery during the opening performance) and they were especially delighted by his staging of the masked ball scene. The Argus (21 August 1855), on the other hand, found the effects at the Theatre Royal ‘extraordinary’ and complimented the management who had ‘evidently spared no expense in preparing the piece for representation; and as a spectacle nothing approaching it has ever been produced in these colonies’. To add insult to injury, the same critic, in the same column, related that the appearance of Fanny Cathcart—as Maria Darlington in Thomas Morton’s A Roland for an Oliver (1839)—in her debut performance under Black, ‘was met with such a reception as has rarely been accorded to an actress. The whole audience … appeared to be of one mind, and the plaudits were universal’.

Both productions of The Corsican Brothers were afforded only ‘average’ houses, but Coppin ran the play every night for a week at the Olympic.

Charles Reade’s The Courier of Lyons (1854), Younge’s next new production that opened the following week, was ‘well mounted,’ and, according to The Age (28 August 1855), ‘the introduction of a real diligence, drawn by real horses, excited much applause’.

The changes of costume and situation were affected with an accuracy and rapidity really marvellous; and even those whom the successive representations of The Corsican Brothers [Brooke played yet another set of twins in The Courier of Lyons] had prepared for such feats, were completely taken by surprise last night.

A season of ten nights was arranged to feature and farewell Coppin stalwarts, Mr and Mrs Charles Young, previous to their planned departure from the colony. Younge staged Andrew Cherry’s The Soldier’s Daughter (1804) and Bulwer Lytton’s Money (1840). He made a cameo appearance in the latter and it was acknowledged in The Age (6 September 1855) that as Benjamin Stout, ‘that cross between a radical churchwarden and a noisy vestryman of Marylebone, found an efficient representative in Mr R. Younge’. The Argus discovered Younge’s characterisation ‘a surprise’.

He was admirably made-up, and looked the character so completely that a reference to the bill was necessary in order to recognise him. His voice, his walk, the whole man, was the bustling, dogmatical, political economist.

Shakespeare’s Katherine and Petruchio was introduced on Saturday 8 September, with Brooke as Petruchio, alongside Mrs C. Young as the shrew.

Now into week seven of the Melbourne season, Younge’s dramaturgical and staging responsibilities increased dramatically and his appearances were less frequent, taking on occasion, only minor but featured roles. He remounted Virginius and The Lady of Lyons, and prepared G.W. Lovell’s Love’s Sacrifice (in which he played Lafont, growing his reputation in ‘villain’ roles) for its premiere on Wednesday 12 September.

 The Age (11 September 1855) took general notice of Younge’s creative impact on the mis en scene, his meticulous attention to detail and the enhanced quality of Coppin’s Olympic productions:

Virginius, as produced and performed last night at the Olympic, is an honour to the colonial stage. Costume, scenery, appointments, and all the other adjuncts, synchronised perfectly with the date of the story. They exhibited artistic fitness, as the general performance demonstrated professional skill.

The Argus (18 September 1855) was equally as effusive following the relaunch of Brooke’s Macbeth:

The efforts of the stage-manager and decorator demand the highest praise. Mr R. Younge must have laboured hard and displayed great tact to bring his corps of supernumeraries into a state of efficiency such as they manifested last evening. Mr Pitt has also been indefatigable; and both of those gentlemen must have been gratified at the triumphant success of their arduous exertions.

Younge was called before the curtain, after Brooke and Mrs Young. The Sydney Morning Herald (19 September 1955) observed at this time that, ‘though [Coppin’s] company has lost much in losing Miss Cathcart, the acting of Mr Brooke and Mr R. Younge abundantly gratifies the admirers of histrionic excellence’.

Over the remainder of winter and into the spring, Coppin’s Olympic Theatre staged the revival of  16 plays from their repertoire (with refurbished remounts of King Lear and Richard III), and presented a similar number of new, more popular works (including opera, burlesque and dance), all of which were under the direction of Richard Younge.

At the end of September, Henry Deering, who had the lease of the old Queen’s Theatre, began a ticket-price war, reducing his costs of admission considerably. Coppin responded in kind, but this was yet another blow: he was still suffering the effects of Fanny and Robert Heir’s defection when another senior player, J.P. Hydes, followed them to the Theatre Royal; this, on the back of the announcement that Mr and Mrs Charles Young were still intent on returning to London; then, Coppin had to contend with the arrival of the infamous Lola Montez, who drew big houses playing in the Follies of a Night and Antony and Cleopatra at the Theatre Royal, both featuring her infamous ‘Spider Dance’.

Perhaps fearing further defections, Coppin gave Younge a benefit, under the patronage of the Melbourne Garrick Club, on Tuesday 16 October at the second performance of James Robinson Planché’s comedy The Pride of the Market (1847). In his display ads, Coppin publicly acknowledged ‘the industry, perseverance, and talent of my stage manager, Mr R. Younge, more particularly in the production of the grand works of Shakespeare’.

My appreciation of his genius as an actor, and the honourable manner in which he is fulfilling an engagement made in England, notwithstanding three times the amount of salary being offered to leave me. Feeling perfectly satisfied that the public of Melbourne estimate Mr Younge’s exertions I may express a hope that a bumper house will reward such isolated and manly conduct.—G. Coppin.

At the curtain, Brooke presented Younge with a gold watch ‘to mark the hundredth night [sic] of their playing together … as a token of his regard and esteem for his colleague’. (The Age, 12 October 1855) ‘This respect for Mr R. Younge, and admiration of his genius’, pronounced The Sydney Morning Herald (15 October 1855), ‘is universal in Melbourne; and although it may appear a little strange to compliment a gentleman with a benefit for being true to his engagements in despite of tempting offers, recent events has shown that such conduct is not to be reckoned on in “the profession”’.

Soon after the court case returned Fanny and Robert Heir to Brooke’s company at the Olympic (‘the reunion’ taking place on 23 October with a performance of Sheridan Knowles’s The Hunchback), John Black surrendered to Coppin, and gave up his lease of the Royal (and sequestered his estate). The subsequent insolvency proceedings put his Victoria Theatre (along with the Royal Hotel, and two adjoining shops) up for sale. After a short period managing the Princess’s Theatre and Opera House (previously Astley’s Amphitheatre) from  April 1857, Black disappeared to north Queensland but, in the meantime, the receivers put in a manager at the Victoria.

The highlights of the final weeks of the Olympic season, however, were Shakespeare: Macbeth, Hamlet, Katherine and Petruchio, Othello and Colley Cibber’s version of Richard III. The Age (19 November 1855) suggested that the latter production afforded ‘fine scope worthy for the display of energetic acting, and of that beauty, completeness, and accuracy of scenery, costume and properties, which it seems to be the laudable pride of the Olympic management to exhibit in connection with every Shakespearean revival, as with the masterpieces of other dramatic writing’.

… The costumes and appointments likewise accurately synchronised with the period of the drama, and were very creditable to the taste and skill of Messrs Matthews and Brogden, and to the superintending and directing judgement of Mr Richard Younge. … The house … was crowded, and at the fall of the curtain there was a general call for Mr Brooke and Mr Younge.

Brooke took his farewell benefit with Love’s Sacrifice on Saturday 1 December (advertised as his 123rd performance in Melbourne), but his presumptive ‘final’ appearance was two weeks later, when he played in  John Tobin’s The Honeymoon (1835) for Coppin’s benefit.

In the new year (1856), Brooke made guest appearances in Ballarat and Geelong before being lured back to the Olympic for Fanny and Robert Heir’s benefit on 17 January 1856.⁸ Brooke attended another benefit held for Richard Younge on Saturday 26 January with Anna Cora Mowatt’s Armand; or, The Peer and the Peasant (1851) at which he receive a testimonial, consisting of a statuette of Shakespeare in Ballarat-gold on a pedestal of Victorian quartz; Younge made the grandiloquent occasional address in Brooke’s honour, suggesting

that it was not only by members of the profession, but by all admirers of the Drama, that [Brooke’s performances in] these colonies, have elevated and refined the taste for the Drama, implanted a love for intellectual amusements in the hearts of the youths of Australia, and aroused a feeling (of which ought to exist in the minds of all thinking men) of the Drama’s importance as a moral agent; for a well-governed Stage is an ornament to any country, and a school where all the principles of honour are taught, if truly followed.—The Age, 28 January 1856

Coppin’s Summer Season at his Olympic Theatre opened ten days later on Monday 28 January with Julius Caesar(Younge played Cassius, to Brooke’s Brutus and Heir’s Antony) and featured Mr and Mrs Young (who had been convinced to delay their return to England).⁹ Celebrating their one year anniversary in the colony on Tuesday 26 February, Brooke appeared as the Duke Aranza in The Honeymoon, and the Heirs featured on the same program ‘to advantage’ in the domestic drama Married Unmarried (1837).

Complementing a number of repertoire revivals over the next four months, new productions staged by Younge included Shakespeare’s As You like It (Brooke as Jacques, Younge as Touchstone); Henry V; or, The Battle of Agincourt; Much Ado About Nothing; and Henry IV Part One (Younge gave his Falstaff); along with more contemporary offerings: Tom Taylor’s Still Waters Run Deep (1800); R.B. Sheridan’s The Rivals (1775); George Colman’s Kate Kearney; or, The Lakes of Killarney (1836); Dion Boucicault’s Azael; or, The Prodigal Son (1851); and—another work from a rare female writer and actress—Mrs Susannah Centlivre’s comedy The Wonder; or, A Woman Keeps a Secret (1714). The benefit for Brooke—Richelieu; or, The Conspiracy—held on Friday 25 April was advertised as ‘positively the last night but one of his appearances previous to his departure, en route, for California’. The season closed with Brooke starring in ‘positively his last appearance’ as Petruchio (and Pierce o’Hara) in Katherine and Petruchio (with The Irish Attorney) on Saturday 26 April. The Geelong Advertiser (28 April 1856) provided a transcript of Brooke’s farewell speech that he made from the stage:

… My great object has been to establish, if possible, in this new country, a knowledge and appreciation of the works of our immortal Bard and a love of the legitimate drama. This little theatre, the public will bear me out, has done good service in the cause, for, with the aid of a liberal manager, a good stage manager in every sense of the word, and excellent artist, and a talented corps dramatique we have, we flatter ourselves, made an excellent commencement, and I trust that the success attendant on our exertions may stimulate future managers and actors in these colonies to elevate an art the duties of whose professors is to enlarge your human character, to extend the dominion of the mind over the body, and to foster a taste for all that is true and beautiful in art.

Younge could take much of the credit for his own ‘good service in the cause’.

Brooke, with Fanny and Robert Heir, proceeded to take a week of more ‘farewell performances’ in Geelong. Then, ‘passing through Melbourne’ en route to Bendigo, Brooke and Coppin contributed to Younge’s benefit: Love’s Sacrifice was given on Thursday 8 May ‘that played to an overflowing house’ at the Olympic. Following the performance, in their next edition, The Argus reported that ‘Mr Younge, in the course of a clever and characteristic [curtain] speech, informed the audience that Mr Coppin had that day concluded the purchase of the Theatre Royal’. Apparently, the announcement ‘was received with deafening applause’. The obvious questions raised in Younge’s mind, however must have been: what about the Olympic?; what about Brooke? … what about me?

In the first instance, Coppin looked to sell the Olympic (‘with fittings’). Brooke, meanwhile, was in Hobart and then progressed to Sydney’s Lyceum Theatre (under the management of Craven and Stevens) from 14 July; his press notices still confirming he and the Heirs could ‘positively take their departure from Sydney on Saturday’ 16 August; clearly California was still on!

British North America-born American tragedian James Stark c.1850Richard Younge, albeit anxiously, remained resident at Coppin’s Olympic Theatre in Melbourne, managing a range of entertainments including hosting, amongst others, Madame Anna Bishop and the handsome American couple, James and Sarah Kirby Stark¹⁰. Between May and the end of July, Younge curated, and occasionally staged, a catholic assortment of comedies, burlesques and melodramas, the stand-outs included George Coleman’s John Bull; or, An Englishman’s Fireside (1803), John Banim’s The Sergeant’s Wife (1855), Ira Aldridge’s translation of Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois’ racially charged melodrama Le Docteur Noir (The Black Doctor) (1846), and Maria Ann Lovell’s Ingomar the Barbarian (1851) for one or two nights each; the turnover was staggering and highlighted the thirst for new and varied product.

The only Shakespeare offered to Melbourne audiences from this platform was the first performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor and James Stark giving his Hamlet (his wife played Gertrude, and Younge appeared as the Ghost), Othello and Petruchio. Younge no doubt was afforded a rare insight into the contrast of Brooke’s traditional acting technique (on the wane) and the emerging ‘artificial’ American style (not withstanding the Starks’ ‘uneven characterisations’ and ‘the offensive and revolting nature’ of their staging of Victor Hugo’s Lucrezia Borgia; or, The Poisoner (1833)!).

Younge recreated his turn as Ford in The Merry Wives’ premiere—having already played the role during his season at the Theatre Royal, Liverpool in December 1851. The Argus (13 May 1856) thought it ‘a somewhat mutilated version,’ but found Mr Rogers’s, heavily padded as Falstaff—who had joined the Olympic Company in January—

was doubtful and hesitating in his own conception of the part, and that this doubt and hesitation naturally communicate itself to his rendering of it; so that there was a want of consistency and uniformity throughout. Nevertheless there was great ability displayed. … Mr Younge’s Master Ford was too slow and solemn at times for the irritable and suspicious husband—a fault which disappeared in the more exciting portions of the dialogue.

Younge was nonetheless clearly pleased with his company and took them all to supper after premiere where ‘a few hours were passed away most agreeably’.

The health of the founder of the feast was proposed by Mr Edwards, and received in a manner which must have convinced Mr Younge of the esteem which is entertained for him by his fellow-professionals.—The Argus, 17 May 1856

In John Bull, the following week, Younge appeared to redeem himself: ‘The comedy was judiciously cast’, observed The Argus(20 May 1856), ‘and the result was that it was admirably played’.

The Job Thornbury of Mr R. Younge will rank with that careful actor’s best performances. The character was evidently a favourite with the author, for he has invested it with an interest to which the of the whole plot is subservient.

Younge was given some clarity on his future, when it was publicly announced in The Argus (9 May 1856) that George Coppin had settled the purchase of the lease of the Theatre Royal (with hotel attached, and covering half an acre of land) for £21,000. Owing to this purchase it was agreed that Brooke (then in Bendigo en route to Hobart) remain a short time longer in the colony before he and Coppin sailed for California. It was also agreed that Younge would manage the inaugural season at the Theatre Royal, following the close of the current Olympic season.

Theatre Royal, 236 Bourke Street, Melbourne (c.1869) erected by John Melton Black in 1855—engraving by Samuel Calvert (1823–1913)

In the meantime, Younge produced Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer(1773) for Coppin’s first production at his new Theatre Royal¹¹ on Monday 9 June. The evening also included a Grand Concert featuring the English soprano Anna Bishop (still in mourning following the death of her lover, harpist Nicolas-Charles Bochsa in January). When the 37 year old Coppin appeared before the curtain, ‘in compliance with the vociferous demands of the audience’, he was in celebratory mode: apart from now monopolising theatre audiences in Melbourne (Henry Coleman’s Lyceum—late The Queen’s Theatre—his only real competition, coincidentally, re-opened on the same night); he was also a new father (Harriet had given birth two weeks earlier to their daughter Polly Bishop Coppin, named for Brooke’s wife—Harriet’s sister—and Madame Bishop). ‘I think I may be allowed to point with some degree of pride and satisfaction’, Coppin told ‘the bumper house’,

to my past career as manager for the last twelve years in the Australian colonies, and of the Iron Pot in another street. I spared neither pains nor expense to keep that boiling and, as you all know, I was sometimes gratified by seeing it overflow.

In conclusion, he was happy to officially announce that his ‘friend Mr G.V. Brooke will perform a round of his Shakespearian characters previous to sailing for California’.¹² Brooke had privately completely abandoned any idea of an early return to Europe (via California or otherwise) and confirmed (in a letter to his sister, quoted in Bagot) that ‘we now have the Theatre Royal, the Olympic, Astley’s Amphitheatre, Cremorne Gardens and four very large hotels. All in full swing’. Strategically, Coppin and Brooke were now business partners. Brooke added, somewhat prophetically to his sister, ‘It is a great speculation but with every certainty of success’. By this time, his contract with Fanny and Robert Heir was also due to expire.

Younge was stretched professionally, and literally had one foot in each of Coppin’s theatres: he played Young Marlow to Coppin’s Tony Lumpkin in She Stoops to Conquer; this ran concurrently with his oversight of the Scottish legendary drama, William Barrymore’s Gilderoy; or, The Bonnie Boy(1822) playing at Coppin’s Olympic on the same night. The contrasting repertoire immediately setting the agenda, in the public’s mind at least, for both venues.

The season at the Olympic drew to a close with a benefit for Richard Younge on Monday 28 July 1856. Under the patronage of the Committee of the Widow and Orphans’ Fund (in connection with the Manchester Unity Order of Oddfellows) the drama The Discarded Son; or, The Lancers was given; this was followed by Cupid; or, Life in the Clouds(in which George Coppin played Cupid and introduced his celebrated ‘Spider Dance’—an homage to Lola Montez). The Argus (29 July 1856) niggardly questioned Younge’s critical judgement, suggesting that it was ‘not upon a par with his histrionic ability. … Nobody who was present’, it went on,

felt any inclination to adopt The Discarded Son, or cared one star about any incident or character in the whole piece; and if it had terminated at the close of the second act the audience would have felt very thankful—for they would have been spared the inflation of the third.

At the curtain, however, ‘Mr Hayward, on behalf of the Odd Fellows, presented Mr R. Younge with a signet ring, accompanied by a eulogistic address, engrossed on vellum; which elicited a suitable reply’.

Younge’s final appearance at the Iron Pot, before taking residence at the Theatre Royal, was playing a six night run of Planche’s The Brigand, in which he took on the bravura triple roles. On the same program, that opened on 11 August, was included the ‘feats and stunts’ of aerialist and tightrope walker Madame Anna Dalle Casse; Melbourne audiences, were spared, however, the opportunity of seeing her ‘grand leap over 12 soldiers and their 12 bayonets’! And so, at least for the time being, the curtain fell on Younge’s association with Coppin’s Olympic Theatre (that, Younge was under the impression Coppin still intended to sell).

The public face of Coppin’s theatrical empire was made concrete with the call by The Argus (20 August 1856) to attend the studios of Mr Heald, at 110 Lonsdale Street East, to inspect the recently executed busts of the triumvirate of G.V. Brooke, George Coppin and Richard Younge sculpted by William Lorando Jones;¹³ they were ‘in every sense of the word depicted “true to life” the physiognomy of these well known artistes’.¹⁴

Much was made in the press of Younge’s appointment at the Theatre Royal. The new company of 27 players under Younge’s charge was a mix of the old and the new: Brooke continued his association with Robert and Fanny Heir and stalwarts, like Mr and Mrs Charles Younge, were re-contracted; Coppin made himself available for guest appearances.¹⁵

The Spring season opened on Monday 25 August 1856 with Love’s Sacrifice, but as already announced, Coppin intended to feature the Bard, and ‘Brooke’s Shakespeare Season’ began the week later.

There were a number of revivals scheduled: Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, Richard III and As You Like it. Presumably because of his workload, Younge chose his roles, judiciously limiting his appearances to Macduff, Iago, Cassius and Touchstone (where, according to The Age (3 October 1856), ‘he played the fool so well, that “motley should be his only wear”’).

The two major new productions were The Winter’s Tale and Cymbeline, both stage managed by Younge (but given the scale of the productions, he was absent from the cast lists).

Winter’s Tale was much anticipated, especially on the larger stage of the Royal, and it was mounted in grand style by Younge with ‘fifty supernumeraries’. Brooke gave his Leontes (he had debuted in the role in Dublin a decade earlier) and the production opened on Monday 1 September 1856, ‘with new scenery, appointments, and a cast of characters unequalled in the World’. Of his performance, The Argus (2 September 1856) found that Brooke’s ‘Leontes was a forcible picture of a character too despicable to command much sympathy from any audience’. Of Younge’s contribution:

Following Mr Charles Kean’s example¹⁶, the manager of the Royal has adopted Bithynia as the locale of so much of the action as Shakespeare has assigned to Bohemia, and the period is consequently removed far backward—all the costumes and properties being those of the most classic times of Greece; and though the appointments are not of that sumptuous character which have rendered the Princess’s Theatre a sort of temple of upholstery, the scenery, costumes, and groupings las night were admirable evidences of liberality on the part of the management, and the taste and ability on the part of the various artists employed.

The opening was also advertised as ‘the last week but one of Mrs Heir’s Engagement with Mr G.V. Brooke’. Fanny played Hermione.

The inclemency of the weather was blamed for ‘the paucity of the attendance’ and Winter’s Tale was replaced after four performances to make way for Cymbeline, ‘for the first time in this colony’, on Monday 8 September. Mrs Heir was seen in the part of Imogen and  her ‘impersonation of the character was worthy of her established reputation’. The same paper, The Argus (9 September) thought that the part of Leonatus Posthumus (again, debuted by Brooke in Dublin at the Theatre Royal in 1846) ‘does not afford much scope for the exhibition of Mr Brooke’s powers, but he made the most of the character and elevated it to a prominence to which none but an accomplished actor could have lifted it’. The lack of an audience was still an issue, the press noting that ‘while the pit and gallery appeared to be full, and the stalls and upper circle nearly so, there were not more than five-and-twenty-in the dress circle!’ Cymbelineplayed for two nights.

Notionally, Fanny and Robert Heir’s contract with Brooke concluded following the performance of Money on Saturday 13 September. But the couple continued their relationship with the tragedian until his return to Ireland five years later.

‘With such a combination of histrionic and artistic talent at Mr Coppin has now at his command’, forecast The Argus (1 September 1856), ‘he is enabled to gratify the lovers of first-class dramas and of first class acting, and to produce upon the colonial stage—with the utmost beauty of illustration—the most poetical and least hackneyed of Shakespeare’s plays’. Unfortunately, for Coppin, the ‘lovers of first-class dramas’ stayed away in droves. In their review of the revival of ‘the sublime tragedy of Julius Caesar’ on 8 October, The Age noted that the production ‘attracted … a tolerable audience, but by no means a sufficient one to remunerate Mr Coppin for his considerable nightly outlay’. It possibly didn’t help that The Lyceum offered similar Shakespeare repertoire (Othello, Much Ado) featuring the novelty of the American actress Mrs C.N. Sinclair¹⁷ with the young comedian Henry Sedley. Neither the marketing strategy highlighting Coppin’s appearance in various farces, nor another run of ads highlighting yet more ‘Farewell performances’ from Brooke rallied for the cause. Coppin was forced to admit defeat and replaced the Bard with more popular plays for the remainder of Brooke’s appearances at the Theatre Royal.¹⁸

Richard W. Younge’s signature on the title page of his ‘prepared’ text for Antony and Cleopatra that didn’t make it to the stage.

International Collection, University of Melbourne, LTC/9

The more contemporary repertoire Younge then launched also suffered mixed success. Samuel Lover’s Irish Drama Rory O’More, in which Brooke made his first appearance as Rory O’More, opened on 29 September. The Age (6 October 1856) dismissed the plot as ‘the most flimsy character … but the acting redeemed all defects. Mr Brooke’s Rory was especially good’. Lord Byron’s psycho-drama Werner; or, The Inheritance (premiered on 25 September¹⁹) was more positively received. ‘Mr Brooke’s delineation of the soul-sick and miserable nobleman, morbidly sensitive and with a mind full of sickly fancies,’ enthused The Argus (27 September 1856), ‘struggling in the toils of fate, a prey to remorse, an an abject believer in destiny, was worthy of this actor’s well-earned reputation’. As the Hungarian insurgent Bethlehem Gabor, ‘Younge was blunt and rugged … and gave a bold, free sketch of the character of that extremely mysterious and enigmatic character’.

The ‘Farewell performances of Mr G. V. Brooke … most positively the Last Night of the Shakespearian Company’ was posted on 11 October in The Argus and the tragedian took his departure with The Honeymoon—‘Most positively the Last Night’—on Friday 17 October. Brooke and the Heirs then progressed to Geelong, followed by another season in Sydney. Younge remained as the manager and resident stage manager at the Theatre Royal and, in the first instance, oversaw Madame Anna Bishop’s operatic season, flagged to launch with Daniel Auber’s Massaniello (La mute de Portici) (1830) and continued into the new year. This was all alien territory for Younge.

After Christmas, Brooke tested the limits of audience endurance with yet another ‘farewell season’ in Sydney and the goldfields, but was back in Melbourne by April. He advertised his departure date as September, but was now pilloried for his 'nauseous iteration of leave-takings’. Meanwhile—apart from a short tour to the goldfields himself— Younge remained committed to his managerial and production oversight of the Theatre Royal, including playing second-gentleman to American McKean Buchanan²⁰ (replicating much of Brooke’s repertoire).

Now referred to a ‘the veteran stage manager’, Younge oversaw a series of melodramas, and spectacles, including casting himself in Moncrieff’s grand spectacular drama The Cataract of the Ganges and the Burning Wood of Himalaya. ‘Younge, as Mokarra, the Chief of the Brahmins’, wrote The Age (17 March 1857) was ‘unusually effective in depicting the unscrupulous and designing priest, a class of characters to which he seems to have devoted his special attention and made entirely his own’. But Younge’s career otherwise in Australian from this time was marked more by the off-stage drama than on.

The population of Melbourne at this time was 91,000 and it became clear to Coppin that he needed an increased and more reliable supply of ‘artistes’ to fill his various entertainment venues than had been previously referred by John Hall Wilton (Brooke’s old agent). There was also the threat of more competition with John Black back in the picture at the Amphitheatre and James Simmonds (late of the Theatre Royal, Geelong) leasing the Olympic. Coppin sailed on the European for Southampton on 24 June and left Brooke, with Richard Younge as his manager, in control of their business interests. ‘Since he left’, Brooke wrote to his sister, ‘I have had my hands full in conducting our joint properties—The Theatre Royal, the Olympic Theatre, and Cremorne Gardens’. A month earlier, Mr and Mrs Charles Young finally made the move back to London having sensed the ominous change in the theatrical landscape.

Two productions of interest in Coppin’s six month absence were Brooke’s appearances as Cardinal Wolsey in Henry VIII—to Younge’s Buckingham—in August, and the eponymous lead in a lavish production of Byron’s tragedy of Sandanalapus in October.²¹ ‘The piece, which has been some time in preparation under the management of Richard Younge’, observed The Age (17 October 1857), ‘promises to be the finest spectacular work which has ever been produced at the Royal’. It was, however, an ‘insufferably long’ night in the theatre—the curtain coming down at 12.45am. That notwithstanding, it was hugely successful critically and at the box office and Younge was given some credit for overseeing the ‘magnificent’ production values where ‘no expense has been spared in order to place it properly upon the stage … and forms one of the most attractive and instructive spectacles which has ever been submitted to the Victorian public’. Brooke played the Assyrian Monarch and Fanny Heir played his wife Zarina. The response to Richard’s performance wasn’t as generous: ‘Mr R. Younge’s Salamenes is … ponderous, and forms such a preaching, prosy brother-in-law it was very natural that the King should take refuge in suicide’.

Coppin arrived back in January 1858, and was by his wife Harriet’s side for the birth of their daughter Blanche Brooke Coppin at the end of the month. Their lives were rocked, however, by the sudden death of daughter Polly three weeks later. This event appeared to drastically disrupt Coppin’s career trajectory.

Meanwhile, when in London, Coppin secured a number of new novelties and players, including Mrs Vickery (of Drury Lane), Miss Ellen Morton (leading lady of Theatre Royal Dublin), Mr E.B. Gaston, Mr Downey (of Mr S. Roxby’s Sunderland circuit) and Richard’s younger brother Frederick Younge (with his wife Emma).²²

Frederick—or Fred, as he was better known—was also a singer and, was engaged soon after his arrival; his debut it the colony was at the Theatre Royal on 15 February in the farce Whitebait at Greenwich (as John Small) with Mrs Vickery. Bell’s Life (20 February 1858) found Fred did ‘not treat the public to sallies of very broad humour, his vis comica being rather of a negative than positive kind; but ho, nevertheless, possesses sufficient talent to insure him.a high place in our list of comedians’.  On the same program, Richard played the title role in Fazio; or, The Italian Wife but, according to The Argus (16 February), he ‘was not “up” to the part… nor does he look the character and hence Mrs Vickery [in her antipodean debut] appeared under very disadvantageous circumstances’. Emma Younge made her first appearance on the following Wednesday, as Josephine, in the musical drama of the same name: ‘This lady will share the popular favour bestowed upon her husband, inasmuch as she presents most of the qualities necessary to the satisfactory impersonation of the class of characters of which Josephine may be regarded as the type.’ As it turned out, Emma was newly pregnant and confined her activity to  singing and pianoforte lessons for the remainder of the year. The brothers subsequently played regularly together.

Coppin appeared in a new extra-curricular role when he made his debut as a Councillor for Richmond Municipal Council in late April. Two months later, in a surprise announcement, he confirmed a farewell round of his theatrical characters prior to his retirement from the stage. In October he was elected as a member of the Legislative Council of Victoria (for the South-Western Province, by a majority of 22). There was little need to explain the cause and effect of his public decisions after the tragedy experienced early in the year. Coppin spent the months leading to Christmas attempting to rationalise his business interests, particularly his association with Brooke (whose behaviour was becoming noticeably more intemperate).

This situation gave Richard Younge some major concern about his future. As a distraction, seemingly—and abandoning his status as ‘second gentleman’—he arranged for himself a full schedule of leading character roles for the remainder of the year (including in Beaumont and Fletcher’s Rule a Wife and Have a Wife (1624) (Leon); Dion Boucicault’s melodrama Janet Pride (1855) (Richard Pride); John H. Wilkins’s The Will and the Way; or, The Mystery of Carrow Abbey (1855) (Meeran Hafez); and, the historical drama by Charles Reade, Masks and Faces (1852) (Triplet)).²³

As far as Brooke was concerned, he had intended to sail to London on 22 November, but delayed  again due to the the sluggish negotiation with Coppin regarding an equitable separation (specifically the settlement of their joint properties). All came to a head in February 1859. An advertisement for a revival of  The Hunchback on Wednesday 2 February headlined:

Messrs COPPIN and BROOKE

In returning thanks for the very liberal patronage they have received during the last four years int he Australian colonies, beg to announce that they have arranged to dissolve partnership this month, February, up to which period Mr G.V. BROOKE will appear in a round of his most popular characters.

Younge subsequently remounted much of the old repertoire for Brooke (in which Fred Younge made noteworthy appearances) over the next three weeks: King Lear, The Lady of Lyon, Richelieu, The Stranger, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth,  The Rivals and A New Way to Pay Old Debts. A benefit for Younge was announced for Tuesday 22 February, and a testimonial was published in The Argus (21 February):

My Dear Younge—As Mr Coppin and myself are about to dissolve partnership on the 26 inst., I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without tendering to you, in its deepest sense, our sincere acknowledgement of the indefatigable zeal you have displayed during the last four years with regard to protecting and forwarding the interests of the Theatre Royal in the arduous capacity of Stage Manager …

Brooke continued, making the further announcement, that ‘We sincerely trust that you will continue your valuable services as director of the Theatre Royal under my sole proprietorship. Our acquaintance has been a long one, but I am happy to say of late years it has ripened into friendship; and that it may long continue so is the wish of Your sincere friend. G.V. Brooke.’ In the wash up of the partnership, Coppin retained control of the Cremorne Gardens and the Olympic Theatre, while Brooke assumed responsibility for both the Theatre Royal and adjoining Royal Hotel (notionally the cash-cow).

As fate would have it, that evening Brooke was indisposed and Younge replaced him in Richard III. According to Bell’s Life (26 February 1859), Younge ‘proved himself an able substitute, and, taking into consideration the short time he had to prepare the minutiae of the character, acquitted himself most admirably’. ‘In the tent scene’, the review went on, ‘he was loudly applauded, and on several occasions proved himself worthy of sustaining any part that might be entrusted to him’. Brooke was sufficiently recovered to play Shylock for Younge’s benefit the following night. Called before the curtain at the end of the performance, Younge acknowledged the significance of the date:

This day, ladies and gentlemen, the 22 of February, will always be to me a marked day in the calendar, for this very day four years ago I made my first appearance on the Australian shore; when I landed, I am proud, not ashamed to say, my capital consisted only of a cargo of good double-braced determination, some strong habits of industry, and a few parcels of old experience; and I am sure you will not without hold your congratulations from me when I tell you that I have disposed of my merchandise to very great advantage. I came here a poor man; I am glad to say that your kind appreciation of my services has qualified me to enter a firm that, happily, counts a large part of our thriving population as members—I mean the firm of ‘Easy and Co’—Bell’s Life, 22 February 1859

*****

Within three months Brooke and Younge had a falling out and Robert Heir, controversially, was appointed as General Manager of the Theatre Royal. Richard and his brother Frederick then took up the lease of the Olympic Theatre in direct competition, launching for a season on 20 June with a new comedy by Edmund Falconer, Extremes; or, Men of the Day. ‘The acting was extremely good’, observed The Age (21 June 1859), ‘the Brothers Younge were warmly welcomed. The comedy has been put upon the stage in a manner worthy of any theatre, and appeared to give exceeding pleasure to the audience.’

The general despair felt in the entertainment industry in Melbourne was articulated by Bell’s Life (24 September 1859):

Three theatres cannot be adequately supported in Melbourne, and that (apart from other considerations) the present competition will soon close the doors of one of them. We wish they could all do well, for we are amongst those who believe that this competition is int he best security to the community (next to the censorship of the Press) for the most healthy and legitimate variety of dramatic entertainment.

While Brooke’s star was in the decline—warned that ‘neither the public nor managers will much longer tolerate his eccentricities’—Robert Heir maintained a superiority in the market with a mixed repertoire and the benefit of the best actors in the colony at the Theatre Royal; John Drew was doing reasonable business at the Princess (with a catholic mix of old favourites); and the amateur Garrick Club were providing the Shakespeare revivals. The Younge Brothers, after the close of the Olympic season, diversified and over the next twelve months played seasons at the Pantheon Theatre (Cremorne Gardens), the new Prince of Wales Theatre and the Lyceum Theatre, Bendigo before 12 nights at the Royal Victoria Theatre in Sydney.

It was a bitter-sweet return to Sydney for Richard in October 1860, where he gave Jame Smith’s  Garibaldi; or, the Hero of Palermo. The production had premiered at the Prince of Wales a few weeks earlier. The scenery was by Alexander Habbe, ‘the machinery by Mr Wallace, the properties and barricades by Mr Winning, and the national music selected and arranged by Mr Charle Elgenschenck; the whole produced under the immediate direction of Richard Younge’. ‘The piece has been completely murdered here for want of a proper Garibaldi’, declared The Star (19 September 1860) ‘Mr Richard Younge is an excellent actor, a finished dramatist in very way—but he cannot look a hero in true stage style.’

By Easter 1861, Younge had reconciled with Brooke and reunited with the Heirs and George Coppin (again lessee at the Theatre Royal) for The Rivals, the conclusion of Sir William and Lady Don’s engagement at the venue. It was flagged at the time that Brooke was booked to sail for England on 30 May; he would be accompanied by Avonia Jones (Brooke’s new discovery, and already booked to appear with him at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), Mr Farquharson and ‘probably Mr Richard Younge’.

Meanwhile, Younge toured with Brooke to Geelong and the goldfields before returning to Melbourne for a series of farewell performances—a last hurrah! At this time, Brooke was also in litigation with Henry Edwards (late manager of the Theatre Royal), the action taken for damages for break of agreement; the verdict of £235 damages was returned for the plaintiff.

Over four weeks, from Monday 22 April, Younge mounted, amongst other plays, Macbeth, As You Like It (on Shakespeare’s birthday), Hamlet, Henry IV Part One, The Merchant of Veniceand A Comedy of Errors and, ironically, A New Way to Pay Old Debts. ‘Positively the last appearance of Mr G.V. Brooke in the Australian Colonies’ took place on Thursday 23 May with Virginius. The  occasion was momentous: the front of the theatre in Bourke Street was virtually unapproachable for some time before the doors opened, and Brooke was enthusiastically cheered on his entrance and summoned before the curtain at the end of every act.

This was Richard Younge’s farewell too, but he had received his tributes in a benefit held on Friday 17 May with his performance as Clifford in The Hunchback, where he played ‘with all his usual ease and stage tact, and was very liberally rewarded with the plaudits of the house’. (The Age, 18 May 1861)

Younge sailed for home on board The Suffolk on Thursday 30 May. He had intended to leave on The Great Britain, but at last minute swapped cabins with Brooke (‘doing a runner’ to escaped his creditors and the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Victoria). Younge celebrated his 40th birthday while at sea in a luxury cabin paid for by Coppin!

Richard Younge arrived back in Australian on 6 October 1862. He found work as both stage manager and actor with James Simmonds. The following year he played Harry Kavanagh in Falconer’s drama  Peep o’ Day [pictured] at the Royal Haymarket Theatre, Melbourne (July 1863). He married Margaret Davis in Melbourne in the same year. He and his wife then moved to Queensland and ran the Royal Hotel, Queen Street, Brisbane (1864–1867). They returned to England and he pursued his theatrical career—as  lessee of the Tyne Theatre, Newcastle--until a few years before his death, aged 65, in June 1887.

‘Younge possessed an excellent knowledge of stage business’, it was recalled by The Argus (8 June 1887) ‘and had studied a wide range of characters’.

He was not adapted to shine as a star but was a careful, intelligent, safe and solid all-round actor, slow of study and deliberate, sometimes hesitating in delivery. Nothing came amiss to him on the boards, tragedy, comedy, farce or melodrama and he was always to be dependent upon. If there was one type of character in which he excelled it was that of villains and his Iago, his Paul Lafont and personages of that description he presented to the life.

In his private life he was known for his ‘sprightliness and sincerity, his unassuming manners, his simple kindly disposition and the flow of theatrical anecdote with which he could enliven a conversation’. He’d made many friends in the colonies, and after he arrive back in England he received by mail a testimonial—in the substantial form of a nugget of pure gold—from his friends and admirers (‘many of our most influential citizens’) in Melbourne, organised by William Pitt.

Rich in pathos, pure in power,
Younge’s acting is from shore to shore,
Oft hath he woke the bosom throe
Until fond pearls did over-flow
No spell want we his name to keep
Greatness true will never sleep
Earth’s vigils will it watch and keep.

H.T. Dwight, Australian Celebrities or Personal Portraits, Melbourne, 1965

Endnotes

1. Englishman William Pitt (1819–1879), already an experienced scenic artist (late of the Lyceum Theatre, London) when he arrived in Melbourne aged 34 in 1853. He was employed by Coppin to refurbish and decorate Geelong’s Theatre Royal earlier in the year. He was described by The Argus as ‘the most accomplished scenic artist in the colonies’.

2. The son of an Edinburg physician, Black arrived in Australia looking for gold, but he ultimately accumulated considerable wealth in the carrying business. After he sold the Royal he upgraded and managed Astley’s Amphitheatre (renamed Princess’s Theatre and Opera House) in 1857. He was bankrupted by the enterprise, however, and by 1861 he moved to north Queensland where he took up pastoral land at Bowen (Fanning Station) and later became the first Mayor of Townsville.

3. Deering, late of the Queen’s Theatre, Tottenham Court Road, London, arrived in Sydney in 1843; he spent time in Launceston and Hobart before taking the lease on the Theatre Royal, Geelong in 1851. Deering was also a scenic artist and was credited with painting the moving diorama introduced into the pantomime he produced at the Theatre Royal. He died suddenly at Ballarat in April 1856. His son was the comedian Olly Deering.

4. Jacobs had arrived with Brooke and his party on the steamer Pacific on 22 February, contracted by Coppin in London the previous year. He had since played seasons in Sydney and Hobart.

5. Astley’s Amphitheatre was constructed by Tom Mooney in 1854; English circus performer and entrepreneur George Lewis was the first lessee. George Coppin took over the lease in February 1856. The building was entirely remodelled and redecorate with gas lighting installed. Under Coppin it was known as the Royal Amphitheatre.

6. Miss Glyndon joined the Olympic company at the start of the season; her debut role was playing alongside Coppin and Younge in the farce To Oblige Benson on 31 July. While her publicity suggests that she was late of Sadlers’ Wells, she does not appear in their program in the previous 12 months. Her last appearances appear to be in the provinces. A problem arose while she was playing a season at The Theatre, Kent. She gave Pauline, opposite Mr De Vere, in The Lady of Lyons on Friday 28 August, and was highly praised for her performance by the Kentish Independent. Apparently she was to have performed Juliet opposite Mr Tindell as Romeo the following Monday, as well as other characters, in which the critic from the Kentish Independent suggests ‘we should certainly not have expected to see her announced’. She then suddenly disappeared. In October she resurfaced momentarily at the Theatre Royal, Woolwich, as Desdemona and Lady Macbeth, amongst other leading roles, opposite Henry Grant. Then she disappears again … until she turns up in Melbourne two years later.

7. The Equity Division of the Supreme Court of the Colony of Victoria heard the case over two days beginning on Thursday 30 August 1955.

8. In the most public act of contrition, the following appeared in The Age on the day of the Benefit: ‘For the Joint Benefit of Miss Fanny Cathcart and Mr Heir, the celebrated tragedian, Mr G.V. Brooke has given his gratuitous services. Mr and Mrs Heir, in announcing their benefit, beg most respectfully to acknowledge the kindness and liberality of Mr G.V. Brooke and Mr Coppin, in thus affording them an opportunity of relieving themselves from the difficulties in which their late ill-advised proceedings have placed them; more particularly as they now deeply feel the condition that they are not entitled to this generous consideration, either by their letter of engagement, or by having allowed themselves, through misrepresentations, to have been seduced from the performance of a contract which they were bound in honour and law to have fulfilled.’

9. The Olympic Theatre Company included ‘Mdes Heir, C. Young, Brougham, Hill , Rogers, Vincent and Avins and Messrs R. Younge, G.H. Rogers, C. Young, R. Heir, Leslie, Hill, Murray, Edwards, Webster,  Robins,  Wheeler,  Sefton,  Lester,  Percy,  Fawcett and George Coppin. As well as ‘the magic brush of The Wizard Pitt’.

10. Well known for the eponymous roles in both Richelieu and Hamlet, James Stark (1819–1875) began his career with the Richmond Theatre in Virginia before seasons in New York from 1846, including  with Charles Kean, James Robert Anderson and J.W. Wallack Jr. Together with his wife Sarah, shared much of Brooke’s repertoire (including The Lady of Lyons, Richelieu, Othello, Hamlet, The Robbers, Ingomar, Pizarro, Katherine and Petruchio and The Stranger).

11. Coppin undertook extensive renovations on the venue, the chief of these was the construction of a new proscenium. There were also improvements to the fly-tower and other back stage facilities (coal gas was introduced and the box-lights relocated to improve sight-lines).

12. Coppin had negotiated this extension of his contract while they were on tour in Hobart earlier in the month.

13. Welsh born stone mason and sculptor William Lorando Jones (1819–1893) arrived in Australia in 1854. In 1857 he was represented in the first exhibition of the Victorian Society of Fine Arts with busts of Mr Clough and Mr and Mrs Charles Young and a portrait medallion of John Pascoe Fawkner. He then moved to Sydney where, in 1871, his reputation was damaged when he was convicted for blasphemy.

14. These are not to be confused with the bust of G.V. Brooke sculpted by Charles Summers unveiled at the Melbourne Public Library in February 1869.

15. Other members of the company were Messrs. Burford, Edwards, Evans, Gordon, Harloze, Hoskins, Leslie, Nelson, Rogers and Sefton Webster; Mesdames Avins, Cosby, Phillips, Rogers, Thomson; with Misses Earls, Green Herbert, A. Nelson, C. Nelson; Fred Coppin was leader of the Orchestra; William Pitt, with his protege’s John Hennings and William Wilson (both 26 years old), and young Milanese artist Signor F. Arregoni (according to Hennings, Arregoni ‘painted very slowly but very well’) appointed resident scenic artists (all also employed by Coppin on his Grand Gala opening of the Cremorne Gardens in October 1856); James Brogden and Mr Trotter, as Property Master and assistant; and J. Moyle as the mechanist.

16. The reviewer references the recent notorious revival by Charles Kean and the Princess’s Theatre, London. ‘The attention of the audience’,wrote The Illustrated London News, 26 April 1856—amid a number of conflicting opinions— ‘is entirely withdrawn from the play to the decorations, and Shakespeare is smothered under extravagant poem and paraphernalia. … the whole applause was showered on the carpenters.’

17. Catherine Norton Sinclair (1817–1891) arrived in New York with her actor husband Edwin Forrest in 1837 and toured extensively until he charged her with infidelity in a much publicised scandal. Prior to her arrival in Australia she was actress-manager at the Metropolitan Theatre in San Francisco and for Edwin Booth at Sacramento and Forrest Theatres, Sacramento.

18. It is highly likely that one of the new productions planned to be shown, but abandoned, was Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. After Julius Caesar, another ‘Roman Play’ would make sense to amortise the production values. The University of Melbourne holds a rather unique version of the play that purports to be a prepared text that was edited for Brooke and Fanny Cathcart (their debut in the roles of Mark Antony and the Queen of the Nile). The bound volume came to the University of Melbourne Library from the Collection of John M. Chapman FRNS, one of the foremost collectors of Australiana of the 20th Century. Dr. Chapman, a former dental specialist, was a member and former president of the NAV, a Fellow of the Royal Numismatic Society and a foundation member of the Numismatic Association of Australia (NAA). It is a remarkable document that gives us a rare insight into the dramaturgical methodology of ‘the stage manager’ and the role in the early Victorian theatre (as it evolved in the antipodes); the document is autographed by ‘R.W. Younge’ (twice) with ‘Theatre Royal, Melbourne Feby 1856’ inscribed in the same hand as the many notes, stage directions and annotations made throughout the script. Antony and Cleopatra is amongst Shakespeare’s longest plays at 3573 lines (Cymbeline 3753; The Tempest 2275). For this version, Younge removed 644 lines (a reduction of almost a fifth of the total length) and his edits include the adjustment to Act and Scene divisions; a redistribution of minor roles; excision of single lines, major speeches, plot development and entire scenes; as well as the inclusion  of pageantry and other embellishments. Younge annotates words and passages; includes scene change cues [‘W’—whistle to the flyman]; and provides numerous small sketches for furniture placement or tableau.

19. Werner was playing concurrently at Our Lyceum in Sydney with Kemble Mason as Lord Byron’s hero.

20. Philadelphia born McKean Buchanan (1823–1872) served in the United States Vavvy as midshipman before making his New York debut as Hamlet in 1850.

21. The reconsistituted company at the Theatre Royal included Mr Harlowe, Miss F. Morgan, Mr Edwards, Miss Quinn, Mr and Mrs Hoskins, Mr Lambert, Miss Mortimer, Miss Morgan, Mrs Gladstone and Mrs Vickery.

22. Younge married the Irish singer Emma Jane Corri in Dublin on 19 December 1852.

23. It was during the opening night of this production—William Pitt’s benefit—that the curtain came down after a few minutes; Younge stepped forward to apologise for ‘the untoward circumstances.’ One of the actors was discovered to be in a severe state of intoxication and could not proceed; Richard announced that his brother Fred would read the part and ‘after a brief delay the curtain rose, and the play commenced anew’.

The Then

My great great grandfather on my maternal side was William Pitt, a scenic artist and later a hotelier. He arrived at Port Melbourne on the 27 January 1853 on the ship Berman with his wife Jane and his brother Thomas as unassisted passengers. William Pitt was an experienced scenic artist from the London Lyceum Theatre.

He was soon employed by the theatrical entrepreneur George Selth Coppin. When Coppin’s company appeared at Geelong’s weatherboard Theatre Royal in March 1855 the building had been refurbished and decorated by William Pitt. George Coppin had purchased a prefabricated iron theatre in England in 1854 and had it shipped to Melbourne, this became the Olympic Theatre. Pitt painted many of the backdrops for G.V. Brooke’s Shakespearian performances there in 1855-56. Referenced in the Melbourne newspaper, the Argus, January 1856 as ‘the most accomplished scenic artist in the colonies’, he also painted the scenery for Brooke’s performances in August 1856 at Melbourne’s Theatre Royal (then also owned by Coppin); his scenery for The Winter’s Tale was particularly admired. During the year he also worked with Wilson, Arragoni and Hennings on the Neapolitan panorama for Coppin’s Cremorne Gardens at Richmond, an enormous work reportedly covering 25,000 feet (7620 m) of canvas. In 1858 he painted a new panorama, The Fall of Delhi, working with Wilson and Alexander Habbe.

By then William Pitt was General Manager for the partnership of Coppin and Brooke and was in charge of the finances of the Olympic Theatre, Theatre Royal, Cremorne Gardens and the Argyle Ball Rooms. When the partnership dissolved, he remained with Coppin at Cremorne Gardens until at least 1861, and from around 1867 he then managed, and later became lessee, of the Theatre Royal Café where he had a long business and respectful relationship with the owner of the Theatre Royal, Coppin until his death at his home in Milton Street St Kilda on 17 January 1879, on the evening of Pitt’s death the café’s lights were dimmed and the staff were mourning.

The Why

In mid-2019 I had made contact with a charming knowledgeable lady, Mimi Colligan, senior theatre historian with Theatre Heritage Australia, who just loved to learn and discover information about William Pitt Senior. She wasn’t really interested in his son, William Pitt junior, who designed The Princess’ Theatre and other theatres and buildings throughout Australia, as she felt there was already enough information about him. “I'm interested in his father”, she said to me.

Mimi asked if I had seen the Theatre Royal plaque and if I knew anything about it. I told her I hadn’t and knew nothing about it. Mimi then proceeded to tell me about the plaque describing it as beautiful blue enamel and brass with the comedy and tragedy masks, one crying and one laughing, at the top with a timeline of the theatre underneath. She told me the plaque was originally displayed at the front of Manton’s department store, 236 Bourke Street Melbourne in 1937 after it was unveiled by Lucy Coppin, great granddaughter of George Selth Coppin, the event being featured in the Argus on Monday 20 December 1937.

Mimi explained how Manton’s department store was built on the site of the Theatre Royal. Manton’s was then sold and became Coles. An arcade was built between Manton’s and Coles with the plaque being moved to the arcade. The plaque then seemed to have disappeared. Coles rebranded the store to Target, now Kmart. Mimi then recalled she had seen the plaque in an office at the Target site some years ago, and expressed her concern for the plaque and wondered where it was now. She said, “I challenge you to find it and have it displayed”.

We both had concerns about the plaque being lost forever and perhaps even thrown out if the store should be refurbished.

The Challenge

I accepted the challenge and started my trek to find the location of the Theatre Royal Plaque as my descendants had a long association with the Theatre Royal, even after William Pitt’s death, his wife Jane then managed the theatre.

When Covid had settled and we were able to move around again, in July 2021 I made my way into the Kmart store, to see where the plaque might be located. I walked through the front door and walked up to the security guy and explained what I was looking for. He had no idea what I was talking about and said I should make my enquiry at the service desk. I explained to the senior person at the desk what I was looking for and she also had no idea what I was talking about. A nearby security guy was now looking at me as if I was a bit strange and then a young lady popped her head around the corner and said, “I think I know what you're looking for”, and took me to a department manager to whom I, once again, explained who I was and what I was looking for. She then took me up an escalator to the first floor and into what appeared to be an office. Opening the door she said, “Here it is!” I couldn’t see anything until she closed the door behind us. There it was, in a staff tea room
behind the door. Some staff members in the room overheard me telling her the history of the plaque and said, “Oh wow! We didn't know what it was!”

I felt pretty ecstatic having found the plaque and called Mimi the next morning. She was so pleased.

Lucy Coppin unveiling plaque in Mantons on 19 December 1937

State Library Victoria, Melbourne

The How

Over the next couple of weeks, I rang the Kmart store leaving my name, phone number and the reason for my call. I never received a returned call.

In the meantime, frustrated and annoyed, I phoned and emailed several theatrical bodies, state members of parliament Minister of the Arts, the Lord Mayor’s office, Arts City of Melbourne, Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne, Monument Australia asking for their support to assist me getting the plaque from behind the door of a staff room exposed in Bourke Street where it belonged. Everyone thought it was a great idea but would only take the plaque, catalogue it and put it on a shelf in one of their store rooms. That was not what Mimi or I wanted.

I then made contact with, and had subsequent meetings with:

• Kevin Coxhead Melbourne, Theatre Historian
• Elaine Marriner from The Marriner Group
• Elisabeth Kumm, Theatre Heritage Australia
• Judy Leech, Theatre Heritage Australia

They were all very supportive and gave advice on how best to approach people and industries to try and get them on board in having the plaque relocated, in particular Kevin Coxhead who kept pushing me along. “Don't give up. You will get there!”, he would often say.

I then decided to look within the Kmart business as I learnt years ago from my younger brother, everyone has a boss. Start somewhere and you will get there. So, I looked at the who’s who at Kmart on LinkedIn and made contact with their Head of Marketing who listened to my concerns and later referred me to Kmart Corporate Affairs Manager who also listened to my plea and asked me to leave the matter with her and she would get back to me, which she did.

Kmart Corporate Affairs Manager then contacted the property division of Kmart and reported that the Kmart Bourke Street store was not an owned site but a leased site through Colliers Real Estate Commercial. Kmart Corporate Affairs Manager then put me in touch with ‘Andrew’ at Colliers who manages that contract.

The Now

Andrew was great, he listened to what my concerns were and after a few conversations he invited me to meet him on site at Kmart to look at a possible relocation site. We walked around the front of the store which was my preferable position to have the plaque mounted, Andrew said it could get vandalised which made good sense to me. We then looked at other spaces available in the Kmart Arcade but because the stores within the arcade are rented it was difficult to have the plaque mounted on rented premises exterior walls, so we both agreed on the site which was opposite the security office and in front of a CCTV camera.

Andrew then put me in touch with Louise, his media marketing liaison person, and the plaque is NOW mounted in the Kmart arcade on the site where the Theatre Royal was originally located as Mimi Colligan and I wanted for all Melbournians and visitors to see.

Theatre Heritage Australia (THA) through Elisabeth Kumm, Kevin Coxhead and THA management had made and donated a smaller plaque to go under the historic plaque which beautifully describes the timeline in further detail than that on the original Theatre Royal Plaque. There is also a QR Code where you can find further information on the Kmart website.

Andrew is the real ‘hero’ of my trek, and who communicated my story to the site owner and came through with his word about having the plaque relocated. BIG thank you to Andrew.

Kevin, Elisabeth, Judy and Greg with the plaques, 26 March 2025

Footnote

The bronze Theatre Royal plaque was made and signed by Wallace Anderson.

Anderson was a renowned Australian bronze sculptor known for many of his works for the Australian War Museum and other clients. Well known public pieces include:

• Bronze frieze on memorial stone (1930) at Ararat
• ‘The Man and His Donkey’ (1936), elsewhere named as John Simpson Kirkpatrick at the Shrine of Remembrance Melbourne
• ‘King George V’ (1937), in Geelong
• Series of nine busts of Australian prime ministers, in the Botanic Gardens Ballarat