Singing for Success!

 We are in Women's History Month and soon International Women's Day on the 8th of March. 

Today I have chosen a woman I wasn't aware of until a few years ago when I was contacted via social media and informed of this person's incredible life.

One of many hidden gems calling Rookwood "home"

ELIZABETH (ELIZA) WALLACE BUSHELLE - Singer, Survivor.

Elizabeth, or Eliza as she was commonly known, was born on the 7th of February 1820 in Ballina, Country Mayo, Ireland to Spencer and Margaret Wallace. Aged ten years she was accepted at the exclusive Ursuline Convent School at Thurles where she impressed the nuns not merely by singing an aria by Rossini but also playing violin and piano. The family emigrated to Australia in 1835; William, Elizabeth's elder composer and pianist brother had already set sail for these shores, and they all travelled as free emigrants. The family arrived in Hobart and in January 1836 moved to Sydney where the Wallaces opened the first Australian Music Academy in April. 

In September Elizabeth and William took part in the first Australian Music Festival at St Mary's Cathedral and it was said that her voice "filled the Cathedral". She became known as the best singer in the colony and was much in demand. In the early years it was hard to make a living as a singer or entertainer and both Elizabeth and her brother worked in their father's stationer's shop in Parramatta, travelling to Sydney every few weeks to take part in concerts.

Elisabeth Wallace - University of Sydney 

By 1838 she was appearing in concerts with a tall man, John Bushell, who was merely mentioned on programs as "an amateur". 

John Bushell had led a very interesting life prior to meeting Elizabeth. He was born in Limerick, Ireland about 1806 and it is noted that he was adopted by his childless uncle, John Bushell, a Dublin businessman and was educated in Surrey England. After gaining an education he went to Lisbon, Portugal to work in his uncle's firm based there. Soon after the firm failed, and he returned to Ireland to live with his birth mother. He had a talent for singing and by 1819 was receiving singing tutorship and made several appearances in theatres. 

He ran into financial difficulties and ended up in front of the courts, his uncle sent him travelling throughout Europe in order to move him away from bad influences. During this time, it appears he was befriended by a swindler, a Frenchman, and upon returning to London, was an accomplice in several robberies in 1827. Bushell was apprehended and tried in two cases at the Old Bailey. On the 26th of November he was sentenced to death which was later commuted to life transportation. He arrived in Sydney on the Phoenix in July 1828. Assigned as a house servant he was found to have a fine singing voice. By mid 1836 he was settled in Sydney and was reported to be singing in the choir of St Mary's Cathedral for the reception of Bishop John Bede Polding.

He became leader of the Choir at the Cathedral, taught music in private families and instructed military bands receiving many certificates of good conduct. So, in this capacity he was selected as a suitable accompanying tenor to Elizabeth.

St Mary's Cathedral @ 1840's - State Library of NSW

It wasn't long before a romance blossomed with Bushell making application to marry Elizabeth, which was granted, and they married at St Mary's Cathedral in 1839. They then toured as Mr. and Mrs. Bushell with other singers.

In 1840, Elizabeth also known as Eliza gave birth to twin boys, John and Thomas. Baby Thomas died in December aged about nine months. Another son, Tobias, was born in mid 1841. 

They carried on singing from their repertoire of opera arias, duets and ballads until 1841 with a final concert at the Victoria Theatre in September that year with a prior engagement at Hobart before heading overseas on a long tour in South America.

In 1842 John Bushell filed for insolvency as he had borrowed heavily upon receipts from that forthcoming overseas tour. The severe recession of the 1840's meant they only made it to Hobart, staying there to recoup costs by giving concerts and tutelage. 

John Bushell died in Hobart in July 1843 and a benefit concert was held for Elizabeth and her child. She returned to Sydney in September that year and on the 5th of November she gave birth to a boy, who died in January 1845. Still only aged 24, Eliza had been married, widowed, given birth to four, and lost two, children.

After a period of mourning and needing an income, Eliza Bushell went back on stage in September 1845. In March 1847 she departed for England with her brother Spencer leaving her sons, John and Tobias, in the care of two separate families. Upon her arrival, her elder brother William, who had left these shores after separating from his wife in late 1838, took her to Vienna where he was rehearsing his successful opera "Maritana". Eliza then became known as Mme. Eliza Wallace-Bushelle.

Scene from opera "Maritana" - Illustrated London News

In 1848, she made her London debut in a performance of Hayden's Creation at a Sacred Harmonic Society concert in the Strand, takes part in three more London concerts before making her debut at Covent Garden singing the title role in "Maritana".

Opera House Covent Garden London in Victorian times - British History online

Eliza now rises like a phoenix and sails to Brazil giving concerts in Rio and in 1850 heads to New York, touring the eastern states. She continues giving concerts but increases her singing teacher engagements until they become her main source of income. 

In 1862 she returned to Sydney, teaching and giving concerts. Her eldest son John had inherited his father's fine voice and sang a duet with his mother in October that year.

From 1865 onwards Eliza gave concerts featuring her pupils who become the next generation of Australian singers. Many of these concerts were benefits for charities and Eliza provided the piano accompaniment as well as performing. Eliza had stamina!

She must have been immensely proud when her son, John, became the bass soloist in the first Australian Performance of Verdi's Requiem on the 26th of March 1875.

Eliza's health deteriorated but she still continued to teach. She passed away on the 16th of August 1878 at her home in Victoria Street and now lies in the old Catholic area of Rookwood Cemetery.

Elizabeth Wallace Bushelle headstone - author's personal collection 

Elizabeth Wallace who became Mme. Eliza Wallace-Bushelle certainly lived her life to the fullest. Adversity was never going to stop her doing the one thing she loved, singing. What a gal!

John Butler Bushelle continued to have an illustrious singing career until he died of stomach cancer in September 1891, aged 51. It seems his new wife was in the early stages of pregnancy at the time, giving birth to their only child John Edward in May 1892. He became a Captain in the Australian Infantry Forces and died in France in 1918.  

John Butler Bushelle & family - Waverley Cemetery - author's private collection 

Eliza and John's other child Tobias became a bass vocalist, music reviewer and insurance agent dying in Dunedin New Zealand in 1889 aged 48.

For my references today I have used Ancestry.com; Australian Dictionary of Biography; Wikipedia; the National Museum of Ireland website; State Library of NSW; Australharmony and other Trove and Google searches. 

If you have any information to add to today's blog, please do so at the comments here or at the Facebook group page under 

rookwoodcemeterydiscoveries

or send your comments via a personal message to me at 

lorainepunch@gmail.com

Until next week