Australia's first printed document and first theatre.

Many readers have most likely read about the recent arrival in Australia of the earliest piece of printing produced in this country. It came as a gift from the people of Canada and the Prime Minister of Canada recently presented the printed sheet to the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Howard, in a ceremony in Canberra. The document is now housed in the National Library of Australia and takes its place as one of the Library's treasures.

This is another of those surprising discoveries that occur from time to time. Books and documents long since lost or have disappeared turn up in the most unlikely places. How did this piece of early printing, a single sheet, turn up two hundred years later in Canada? What was its history? The explanation is that the Canadian Archives received an old album full of miscellaneous papers and documents. An intelligent Canadian archivist spotted the document and on checking found it was indeed an 1796 notice of a performance of a play in 'the Theatre, Sydney'. Now although there is a city of Sydney in Canada the Archivist realised that it was the Australian Sydney that was referred to. Then in an incredible act of generosity the Canadian Government decided that this document, the first example of printing in Australia, should be held in Australia and Rave it to us.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

There are other aspects of this play bill of historical interest apart from being the first printed document so far identified. On the back of the document there is a note to the recipient, George Chalmers Esq., in the handwriting of Phillip Gidley King and signed by him.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Philip Gidley King was a member of the First Fleet and founded the settlement on Norfolk Island a few weeks after the arrival of the settlers in Sydney in 1788. King later became Governor of New South Wales. This play bill thus not only tells us what play was performed in Sydney in 1796, a play well known at the time called Jane Shaw, but the note on the back informs us of the title of the play performed on Norfolk Island in 1793. It was William Shakespeare's King Richard the Third Thus we have now further evidence of the plays produced in Sydney in the very earliest days of the colony.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Although this new find is the earliest it is not the only play bill from this early period because there are two more play bills already in Australia. They have been held for many years in the Mitchell Library in Sydney. I have written about these two theatre notices a few years ago in an article in Margin. This was in the 'Australian Shakespearean Bicentenary 18002000 edition'. This edition of Margin was produced because in 1800 the first Shakespeare play Henry IV was performed in that same theatre in Sydney. As you will note it was four years after the play recorded in our latest national treasure and as we now know seen years after the Shakespeare play produced on Norfolk Island. All this points to the difficulty in stating that something was 'the first'. I now have to revise my statement that Henry IV was the first Shakespeare play performed in Australia except that I can argue that Norfolk Island is not part of Australia, but that is a different argument. The bicentenary it seems should have been in held in 1993. There is always the possibility that we will someday discover that there was an even earlier Shakespearean play performed in Australia.

As I pointed out in my article in Margin in 2000 Australia's first printer not only printed the notices but also took part on the stage of Sidaway's theatre. George Hughes, the printer, is the only person to appear on stage in all three of the Sydney plays. It is interesting to observe that the actors in the first play Jane Shaw, that we now know about, do not appear in the two plays produced in the year 1800.

We do know a little about our first printer. He was a convict who was, according to Captain David Collins, requested to set up the old printing press brought out on the First Fleet but not used. He was wanted by Governor Hunter to print some of the roles and ordinances made by the Governors on the running of the colony. In effect they were the first 'laws' for New South Wales. Some of these printed Rules do exist but they are not dated so we do not know when they were printed. Many of these 'laws' were later gathered together and added to in order to make the first book published in Australia by our second printer George Howe. It is not possible to identify which sheets were actually printed by Howe. The first book may therefore have been printed by both George Hughes and George Howe.

Hughes, the actor and printer did have some arguments with other members of the cast of the plays and there is records of court cases involving him. Like most theatre groups there were conflicts of personalities with both men and women. Robert Jordan in his book The Convict Theatres of Early Australia 1788-1840 has uncovered some further details about Hughes. He appears to have come to Sydney on board The Pitt early 1792. In 1800 in a list of emancipated convicts and free people off stores (no longer provided with government food and clothes) George Hughes appears. The only problem with all this is that there is no George Hughes listed on The Pitt when that ship arrived although there is listed a John Hughes. Also another question is that on one of the early playbills he is listed a G.H. Hughes. This identification of early convicts is often difficult because the names were written and often given incorrectly. So whether he was George Hughes or George Henry or John, we are left to guess. I have opted for a straight George Hughes. He and Mrs Radley were the only two performers in the first play presented who were still involved in the theatre in 1800. He played minor roles and although he was a young man he was cast in the roles of older men.

Jordan in his book reveals that Hughes made two court appearances on where he preferred a complaint against Ann Franklin for abuse and defamation. The matter was dismissed and Ann Franklin cautioned how 'she made use of unbecoming language in the future'. The second court case was more serious. In a play house dispute Hughes claimed that the Radleys had 'grossly assaulted and ill treated' him. Can we assume from this that the young man was a quiet slightly shy, insecure young man who was going to the law for protection against being beaten up by the aggressive Radleys? Hughes continued his acting and printing career until the arrival of George Howe. His sentence had expired probably in 1797.

When George Howe arrived in the colony he took over in 1801 or 1802 the printing press because he had previous experience as a printer. We do not know if Hughes remained on as 'assistant' printer. We do know that he disappeared and in 1802 was reported to have left the colony.

The part that George Hughes played in the first performance now we know, was in 'The Wapping Landlady' as one of the sailors presumably doing dance probably 'The Sailor's Hornpipe'.

Of interest are the other actors in the 1796 play Jane Shaw. Do we have any information about I. Sparrow, R. Evans, H. Lavell, L. Jones, W. Chapman and H. Green and the two ladies Mrs Davis and Mrs Grenville? My first point of call is the list of First Fleet Convicts and Marines which was not very helpful. There is no Sparrow, no R. Evans.

There is a Henry Lavell, charged with forgery but listed as an ivory turner. Henry Lavell played the part of Cateby listed in the newly discovered play bill. He had been convicted of theft as well as forgery. He stole his master's watch and forged orders on his master's bank account. He claimed that his master took him in with promises and he received nothing from him. He was held in the same prison as Robert Sidaway so may have met the theatre builder there. He eventually came to Sydney on the First Fleet ship Friendship. He was often in trouble and narrowly escaped being hanged and was one of the first to be 'exiled' to Pinchgut. He was sent to Norfolk Island in 1792 where he seems to have worked on a land grant. Returning to Sydney he kept out of trouble. He had a mistress, Mary Carroll and they were involved in possession of some stolen clothing

Lavell received an absolute pardon in 1798 and by 1801 ws recorded as having gone to England. It seems that Lavell's ability as a singer secured his the role in the play. He had probably been a superior servant in England although he claimed to be' a gentleman'.

There is no I. Jones but an L. Jones who played the part of Ratcliffe in Jane Shaw. He was Luke Jones who was convicted of stealing clothes and was found hiding in a chimney. He was 19 years old at the time and came out on the second fleet. He appears to have been a servant to the Rev. Johnson and witnessed a number of marriages. There is however confusion as to whether it was this Luke Jones who was the person who took part in the play or one of the other convicts named Jones.

There are a number of women convicts with the name of Davis. Ann Davis was executed in 1789 for stealing clothing from Robert Sidaway the builder of the Sydney Theatre, she was executed before any of the plays were performed. There was a Martha Davis the wife of Private John Davis of the Marines. They both returned to England in 1791. Then there is Mary Davis and she seems to be a possibility. She fell down a hatch on board the Lady Pethryn but sustained no material damage because 'she fell on her head which was well padded with false hair, rolls etc.'. Now she sounds like an actress. It is interesting that a convict woman could maintain her hair-do in the fashionable tall well padded style of the time. This fashion of hair arrangement can be often seen in paintings of aristocratic ladies in the eighteenth century.

This is all unsatisfactory. After two hundred years we still have little information about the lives of the individual convicts who came out in the early fleets. Jordan reports that 11 women and 31 men named Davis arrived in the first three fleets and so the identity of Mrs. Davis (the actress) is likely to remain obscure. Mrs. Grenville who appears in the 1796 play Jane Shore is also difficult to identify. She may have been the de facto wife of David Grenville a pick pocket. He served his sentence and returned to England where he took up his old 'trade' and was sent to Sydney for a second term convicted as a pickpocket again. Mrs. Grenvlle and Mrs. Davis seemed to alternate the leading roles in these early plays but their identities are impossible to verify.

R. Evans who played the part of Balmier seems easier to identify as Richard Evans is the only convict of that name. There was also a soldier Richard Evans of the New South Wales Corps but he was illiterate and so less likely to be the actor. Richard Evans, the convict, became a shopkeeper or a dealer in goods and there are a number of references about his attempts to recover debts owed to him. He wrote a nice copperplate hand. He had been involved in a succession of charges in England involving glassware but at his trial he claimed he had been duped by a fellow prisoner. He petitioned against his sentence but his petition failed. He was a very young man. He appears to have left the colony by 1800.

William Chapman who played Gloster is another interesting character. He married or at least became the de facto husband of a really enterprising woman convict Ann Marsh who was an early business woman. Chapman was convicted of stripping the lead from the roof of an old a church in Stepney and convicted in 1791. He was described as 'dressed very smart, in long coat, clean shirt and very tidy'. His signature indicated that he was not only literate but his writing was assured and decorated with bold flourishes. He worked as a plumber and glazier and after his connection with Ann Marsh became with her the successful entrepreneur in a business which eventually became a licensed Inn. Ann retained however her business running her successful ferryboat service which she continued after Chapman died and by 1818 she was described as a baker. William Chapman in the part of Gloster had to play the part of a polished gentleman and that seems to fit the well dressed thief of the lead from the roof of a church.

W. Fokes or (Fowkes) played the comic role of Mother Doublechalk. He had earlier played the part of Marplot in The Busy Body, a knockabout comic character. Fokes was another young man who claimed he was wrongly accused of stealing a box of clothes which he was carrying. The accusation was made by a prosecutor to gain the reward he was to be given. Such a system was open to all kinds of wrongful accusations. It was claimed that the value of the goods Fokes was carrying was over forty shillings and that was a capital offence and if this had been so, the informant would have gained his reward. But the amount was reduced to 39 shillings so in 1791 Fokes was sentenced to seven years and not to death. It is nice to think the informant did not receive his 'reward'. Fokes did not survive long in the colony. He died aged only 26 years in 1797 only a year after he played the part of Mother Doublechalk.

The actors in this 1796 play seem to have been a picturesque bunch of convicts and we can be proud of our colourful early actors. There is one more actor on the list that Jordan in his book tells us about. This is Henry Green who was charged with being a pickpocket. He claimed he was innocent and he presented a good case because he was in good circumstances and had no need to pick pockets and he also had a number of men to give him a good reference. In spite of this the jury found him guilty. He was 49 years old at the time with a wife and a young son. He does not appear to have had any convictions in the colony or to have been involved in any problems. He was regarded as the best actor in the theatre company in the opening performance and he did receive a 'benefit performance'.

In Nicholas Rowe's play Jane Shore he played the part of the husband 'Shore'. Jane Shore was an historical figure and was the beautiful mistress of King Edward IV of England. She was later the mistress of the Marquis of Dorset and was accused by King Richard III of sorcery. She died in poverty. The play was famous in its time and the part of Jane Shore was played in London by the English actress Mrs Siddons. Henry Green probably was given the part of Mr. Shore in the play because of his age. The happiest part of the story is that Henry Green was eventually given an absolute pardon and returned to England, hopefully to his wife and family.

That is as far as we have gone with the lives off our first Australian actors. Of course the most important figure in the story is our first printer George Hughes. Without him we would not know anything about the first plays and their actors. The play bills he printed on that old printing press in an outhouse near old Government House in Sydney. If you are ever in Sydney and go to the site of that Government House where there is now the Museum of Sydney you can see some of the old metal type that had been used in the early printing. These small pieces of type are another of our National Treasures together with George Hughes' playbills.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]