The Austral Salon of Music, Literature and the Fine Arts also known as the Austral Salon is a club that was established for women interested in the fine arts in Melbourne.

Establishment

Austral Salon news item The Bulletin 8 March 1890 p19

The Austral Salon was founded in January 1890 by female journalists to create opportunities for women to discuss their ideas and gain intellectual stimulation.

Mary Hirst Browne Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

called a preliminary meeting in 1889, followed by the first meeting of the Austral Salon on 23 January 1890. Mrs Sidney Dickinson was elected executive vice-president, Miss Conor O’Brien, of the Evening Standard as secretary, and Miss M Hirst Browne as treasurer. The Countess of Hopetoun, wife of the Victorian Governor, later first Governor-General of Australia, was the Salon’s first Patron. Journalist Agnes Murphy, poet

Ada Cambridge Ada Cambridge (21 November 1844 – 19 July 1926), later known as Ada Cross, was an English-born Australian writer. She wrote more than 25 works of fiction, three volumes of poetry and two Autobiography, autobiographical works.Cato (1989) p. v ...

and journalist Catherine Hay Thomson were among the founding members of the Austral Salon. Full membership was restricted to professional women ‘who were actively engaged in literary, artistic, scientific, or dramatic work,’ and Associates, who could be men or women. The club was originally located at 115-119 Collins Street, Melbourne in the Austral Building.

Activities

Before the opening of the

Melbourne Conservatorium of Music The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music is the music school at the University of Melbourne and part of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne City Centre on the S ...

the Austral club helped aspiring musicians. Artists such as

Ada Crossley Ada Jemima Crossley (3 March 1871 – 17 October 1929) was an Australian contralto notable as the first Red Seal recording artist engaged in the US by the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1903. Born at Tarraville, Gippsland, Victoria, she ...

Amy Castles Amy Eliza Castles (25 July 1880 – 19 November 1951), was an Australian dramatic soprano. Family The daughter of Joseph Castles (1849-1933), and Mary Ellen Castles (1855-1937), née Fallon, Amy Eliza Castles was born in Melbourne, Australia on 2 ...

Florence Austral Florence Austral (26 April 1892 – 15 May 1968) was an Australian operatic dramatic soprano renowned for her interpretation of the most demanding Wagnerian female roles, although she never gained the opportunity to appear at the Bayreuth Festiv ...

Marjorie Lawrence Marjorie Florence Lawrence Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (17 February 190713 January 1979) was an Australian dramatic soprano, particularly noted as an interpreter of Richard Wagner's operas. She was the first Metropolitan ...

and

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, and was the f ...

performed at the Austral Salon. The Salon undertook many philanthropic projects. In 1891, the Austral Salon raised money to send

Tilly Aston Matilda Ann Aston (11 December 1873 – 1 November 1947), better known as Tilly Aston, was a blind Australian writer and teacher, who founded the Victorian Association of Braille Writers, and later went on to establish the Association for the A ...

, a young blind girl, to University. She became a writer and a teacher before becoming head of the Victorian Education Department's School for the Blind. The Salon was one of the first four groups to affiliate with the

National Council of Women of Victoria The National Council of Women of Victoria (NCWVIC) was founded in Victoria, Australia, in 1902 with Janet Clarke as the founding president. The organisation is a branch of the National Council of Women of Australia, and the International Counci ...

in 1902. The Salon continues as The Austral Salon of Music, a Melbourne society committed to encouraging young musicians that holds regular recitals at St Peters Church, East Melbourne.

References

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External links

Austral Salon
Women's clubs in Australia 1890 establishments in Australia

Establishment

Activities

See also

References

External links