Austral Groves "Strella" Wilson (19 December 1894 – 10 February 1989) was an Australian soprano,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

troop entertainer, and

radio personality A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

. She was not only a favorite in Australia, but also performed in North America,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

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and Japan. She was appointed

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1950.

Early life

Wilson was born on 19 December 1894 in

Broken Hill, New South Wales Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It i ...

and grew up in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

. Her father was Harry Wilson Carpenter, a mining engineer from America, and her mother was Anne née Skewes from South Australia. She was the second of five children. The name 'Austral' was given to her by her godparents. This was often shortened to 'Aussie', so her parents gave her the nickname 'Strella' which made her full title resemble 'Australia'. Wilson was educated at Church of England Girls' Grammar School in Melbourne from 1907 to 1910. Wilson's mother was an amateur singer and was a formative influence on the artist. Wilson was later taught singing by Agnes Janson before studying at the

Albert Street Conservatorium The Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music was a school of music located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. During its early days it was closely associated with opera diva Dame Nellie Melba, after whom it was later named. In 1994 it became af ...

in 1915 under

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century ...

. She studied there for two and a half years.

Career

In 1919, Wilson made her first professional performance in

as Leonora in ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mo ...

'' with Fred Rigo's Grand Opera Company. She then sang with the J. C. Williamson Grand Opera Company in roles including Micaela in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...

'' . Whilst with the Company, she met American tenor Ralph Errolle, whom she married on 21 September 1920. In 1922, Errolle and Wilson moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Whilst there, she did concert work in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and became known as "the silver voice from Australia's silver city". In New York she studied with Yeatman Griffith and learned about voice production and acting by attending rehearsals of operas. In Chicago, she studied with

Rosa Raisa Rosa Raisa (30 May 189328 September 1963) was a Polish-born and Italian-trained Russian-Jewish dramatic operatic soprano who became a naturalized American. She possessed a voice of remarkable power and was the creator of the title role of Puccin ...

. Whilst in America she regularly broadcast for the W.J.Z. network. Wilson also performed with the De Feo Opera Company in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. Wilson and Errolle divorced in 1926. She returned to Australia in 1926 with her two daughters and became a regular performer in the works of

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which '' H.M.S. ...

and for

J. C. Williamson's J. C. Williamson's, formerly Williamson, Garner, & Musgrove and Williamson and Musgrove, was an Australian theatrical management company and theatre owner. With its beginnings in the theatrical productions of J. C. Williamson and his p ...

. In the early 1930s she moved to England and made her English debut in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. She also performed at the

Covent Garden Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

and at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

. At Drury Lane she played Princess Mirabelle in ''Cavalcade'', which was a role written especially for her by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combina ...

. Wilson returned to Australia again in 1934 in order to start in J. C. William's production of ''White Horse Inn'', which was the opening production in the then new

His Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne Her Majesty's Theatre is a 1,700-seat theatre in Melbourne's East End Theatre District, Australia. Built in 1886, it is located at 219 Exhibition Street, Melbourne. It is classified by the National Trust of Australia and is listed on the Victor ...

Miss_Strella_Wilson_after_her_arrival_in_New_Guinea

In the 1930s and 1940s, Wilson was a radio performer with the

Australian Broadcasting Company The Australian Broadcasting Company Pty. Ltd. was a company founded in Melbourne in 1924 with a capital of £A 100,000 by a consortium of entertainment interests, notably Farmer & Company, J. C. Williamson Limited and J. & N. Tait to foun ...

and on commercial radio working with

Jack Davey John Andrew Davey (8 February 190714 October 1959), known as Jack Davey, was a New Zealand-born singer and pioneering star of Australian radio as a performer, producer, writer and host from the early 1930s into the late 1950s. Later in his caree ...

. During and shortly after

, she was a troop entertainer touring the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

, and gave 104 performances in

and Japan. In 1950, she was awarded an

O.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in recognition for this work. Wilson retired from performing in 1951 and subsequently worked as a hostess at

Australia house The High Commission of Australia in London is the diplomatic mission of Australia in the United Kingdom. It is located in Australia House, a Grade II listed building. It was Australia's first diplomatic mission and is the longest continuously ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

until 1968. She moved back to Australia where she lived in

Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales Elizabeth Bay is a harbourside suburb in eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Elizabeth Bay is located three kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City ...

. She received a life membership from the Australian Music Association in 1973 in recognition of her services to music.

Personal life

Wilson enjoyed horse riding and tennis. She had two daughters, Pauline Garrick and Marjorie Anne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Austral Groves 1894 births 1989 deaths People from Broken Hill, New South Wales 20th-century Australian women opera singers 20th-century Australian women singers Singers from New South Wales Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire