HAT

Inside History

2012-01-03T19:09:00.002+11:00

I've had the privilege of working with Inside History magazine, and they have kindly published an article I've written about researching theatrical ancestors in Australia.The magazine is available in newsagencies around Australia and can also be ordered on line\So check out this lovely full colour magazine which promotes Australian history and historians.

Google plus 1

2011-07-22T17:24:00.004+10:00

I signed up for Google plus 1 today, so if anybody is interested , email or add me to your account.I have not updated for some time due to work committments. I am working on adding some photos and information to the blog and website soon.Thanks to all who are buying the ebooks- your support is appreciated.-Leann

Circus: The Australian Story.

2011-04-14T21:14:00.003+10:00

Mark St Leon, Australia's premier circus historian is releasing a new book through Melbourne Books which will be available in May.Mark has studied Australian Circus for many years and this book will be the definitive history of Circus in Australia.Anybody who has had the privilege of listening to Mark speak about circus will know that he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject, he is the

Little Cliff/Laddie Cliff

2011-03-13T17:28:00.005+11:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted a postcard of Little Cliff. Amazingly, a relative emailed me with details of his life.Here is the post card again.And here is part of John Perry's email.<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-AU ZH-CN X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

New Postcards

2011-02-27T22:14:00.015+11:00

The NSW Postcard Collectors Society fair is a source of many unusual and interesting theatre postcards. For example, this lovely image of Ethel Haydon, a Victorian born singer/actress who married George Robey the famous English comedian after she started a career with George Edwardes in London.I'm not sure, but I think this is the 'Little Cliff' who thrilled Tivoli audiences in 1906. However, he

Scenic Design- 1901

2011-02-16T19:33:00.003+11:00

Scenic designers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries painted large frames by hand to produce amazing artistic backdrops.Jack Ricketts, (Scenic Designer) saved the picture below which shows him and a fellow designer painting the act drop of the Criterion Theatre in 1901 for a Josephine Stanton production. Jack wrote;This sketch shows the painting frame of the late Criterion Theatre and

More HAT at the ibookstore

2011-01-28T20:58:00.002+11:00

I have released two more short books at the ibookstore. Both are about the stars of the early Australian stage. One book deals with performers in the Royal Comic Opera Company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Details here

Gertrude Concannon- A Great Queenslander

2011-01-13T15:46:00.005+11:00

Gertrude Concannon was a Queensland born soprano who toured the world to great acclaim.She was born in Maryborough in 1899, to Tim and Annie Concannon. The family was quite musical. Gertrude sang, and her two sisters, Josephine and Eileen played the piano and violin respectively.In the early 20s Gertrude was very popular in Queensland. Her voice was described as having 'crystaline clarity.'Around

HAT-Website Update

2011-01-09T16:33:00.003+11:00

I have updated HAT-History of Australian Theatre website with 300 new names on the database, several new pictures of old performers and an article about Celia Ghiloni.Remember, HAT books are now available at the ibookstore. Look under my name- Leann Richards. More books will be published in the next two weeks.In other news Gae Anderson has published a fantastic book about Tivoli founder Harry

Alfred Tischbauer- Scenic designer

2011-01-06T20:26:00.005+11:00

Many years ago I found this lovely print of George Street Sydney, bought it, and put it on my wall.It was titled, George Street Sydney, 1883 from the original oil by Alfred Tischbauer at the Dixson Galleries.Last year, I purchased a box of memorabilia which originated with Jack Ricketts, a scenic designer. In the box were many letters some of them were from...Alfred Tischbauer.Tischbauer, known

Celia Ghiloni

2010-12-28T20:34:00.009+11:00

Celia Ghiloni was a J C Williamson stalwart during the early years of the 20th Century.She was born in Victoria on Febrary 22nd 1879 the daughter of Italian immigrant Raffallo and his Australian born wife Isabelle. Celia's name at birth was Rosabelle Ethel Celia.She spent her early years in Western Australia and was singing at the Fremantle Town Hall at the age of 18. A year later she was

History of Australian Theatre at the ibookstore

2010-12-24T16:34:00.012+11:00

I now have some titles available at the ibookstore, so if you are looking for some light reading..... Houdini's Tour of Australia- A detailed account of Harry Houdini's tour of Australia in 1910.Stars of Australian Theatre HistoryAustralian theatre in the late 19th and early 20th centuries produced stars that shone nationally and internationally. Some of these stars were Maesmore Morris,

Mrs Maesmore Morris

2010-12-18T17:53:00.008+11:00

Actress Mrs Maesmore Morris was a renowned beauty who overcame domestic violence to have an international career.She was born in England in 1872 as Gertrude Willmot the daughter of an doctor. Ten years later she arrived in Australia with her father and at the age of 20 she married Maesmore Morris, an accountant and son of a prosperous iron merchant.After the birth of a son and the loss of his job

Julian Assange

2010-12-07T17:36:00.005+11:00

As an Australian citizen, I have been increasingly concerned with the Federal Government's unwillingness to protect a fellow citizen, Julian Assange, from death threats and persecution from foreign powers. Their inability to do so also imperils my own rights as an Australian citizen.In addition recent comments by the Prime Minister imply that the presumption of innocence, a vital part of fair

Website updates

2010-11-14T15:37:00.003+11:00

I have updated HAT-The History of Australian Theatre website at www.hat-archive.comIncluded in the update are several extra photographs of performers, 200 extra names for the database and an article about Tom Dawson, Australian Comedian.The article is one I wrote for Stage Whispers Magazine, the November/December issue is available in full colour at selected newsagencies or through their website.

The Greenwoods

2010-11-01T11:43:00.009+11:00

In many cases, theatrical companies consisted of families who , desperate for financial security and having some talent, would form their own companies. One famous company in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries was the Greenwood family.The Greenwoods were the wife and children of R C Greenwood of Auckland, New Zealand. There was Mrs Greenwood, her four daughters, Agatha, Nora, Maribel and

Cyril Maude

2010-10-28T17:18:00.008+11:00

English actor/manager Cyril Maude toured Australia in 1917.He was born in 1862. A fragile child, he was sent to Australia to regain his health. He returned to England without his health, but still nursing the ambition to be an actor. He fulfilled that ambition in Denver, USA. From that time his career grew and he soon was leasing London theatres as an actor/ manager. Maude was a character actor,

Melbourne Theatres

2010-10-27T13:52:00.010+11:00

I am from Sydney, so I don't know Melbourne very well. Fortunately I have a guide for the post today. It's a book called Magical Nights at the Theatre by Charles Waller, a magician.Actually it is a collection of Waller's accounts of vaudeville performances put together by Gerald Taylor. It's a rare book of 1000 copies, but it's a great reading and reference source.In the first few pages of

Minne Tittell Brune

2010-10-26T17:09:00.006+11:00

Born in San Francisco in 1875, Minnie Tittell Brune was the most popular actress on the Australian Stage between the years 1904-1909.Her family were quite religious and so was Minnie, she once said she was "half a nun" She particularly disliked the way men looked at her, and how many people equated "actress" with bad moralily.She was not very successful overseas but JC Williamson saw something in

Music Postcards

2010-10-25T14:52:00.011+11:00

Before the internet, the ipod and television there were music sheets,phonographs, and singers in the theatre next door.To encourage people to buy music sheets and to return to the theatre, companies produced postcards. The ones here date from around the mid 1900s and the first three come from "Albert's Lyric series". There was an Albert's music store in Sydney in 1905 which specialised in sheet

Nance O Neil

2010-10-24T14:43:00.010+11:00

American actress, Nance O Neil, toured Australia twice during the early 1900s. Both tours were managed by McKee Rankin a famous US theatrical manager. When she arrived for the first tour in 1900, Nance was only 26 years old. She was just starting her career and probably came to Australia looking for experience and quick money. She was a tall woman with long blonde hair (probably strawberry

Jack Cannot's last letter

2010-10-22T12:49:00.013+11:00

This is a sad story.Jack Cannot was a very famous comedian in the 1920s, but the talkies and the depression came and life was difficult for Jack and his family.This is his last letter.Dear Old Charlie,When you get this it will be a case of "Alas, poor Yorrick", and I want you to do the best for my family, who will be more or less destitute. I have fought against doing what I intend to do, but it

Allan Wilkie

2010-10-21T15:23:00.007+11:00

Allan Wilkie was an Englishman who set up his own company after becoming disillusioned with the established London theatre. He and his wife Frediswyde Hunter Watts were most famous for their 5 year tour of various Shakespearean plays throughout Australia during the 1920s.Here is Allanand here is Frediswyde When the letter below was written, January 4 1921, the company had just begun a

Her Majesty's Theatre Fire

2010-10-20T11:46:00.003+11:00

Fire was an enemy to many theatres in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Almost all the theatres in Australia had to be rebuilt during that time due to fires caused primarily by gas lighting.In the early morning hours of 23rd March 1902 another fire occurred in the heart of Sydney.Her Majesty's Theatre on the corner of Market and Pitt Street went up in flames. The theatre had a hotel

Australian theatre programmes of the 20th century

2010-10-19T13:26:00.010+11:00

Australian theatre programmes through the first four decades of the 20th century reflected the economic troubles of the times.For example during World War 1 programmes were on rough paper, in black and white like thisDuring the 1920s the programmes reflected the optimism and excitement of the times. They were also in many cases beautiful artistic worksThis is a full colour cover and a booklet