Nellie Stewart - Infinite Women

Born: 20 November 1858, Australia
Died: 20 June 1931
Country most active: Australia
Also known as: Eleanor Stewart Towzey

The following is republished with permission from the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.

Nellie Stewart was Australia’s first internationally recognised female comic opera star.

Eleanor Stewart Towzey was born on 22 November 1858 in Woolloomooloo, the daughter of actor Richard Stewart Towzey and his actress wife, Theodosia. The family all adopted the surname ‘Stewart’ and Nellie began acting as a child playing alongside her father. She went to boarding school, and at Christmas, played in pantomime under her father’s management. In 1877, the Stewarts staged a show called Rainbow Revels in which they all sang and danced. In 1879, they toured India, England and the United States with the show.

The following year Nellie was invited to play the principal boy in the pantomime Sinbad the Sailor at Melbourne’s Theatre Royal. Then George Musgrove invited her to play the lead in his production of Offenbach’s La Fille du Tambour Major. Thus began her professional and romantic relationship with Musgrove. She played numerous lead roles for the Royal Comic Opera Company, run by Musgrove, J.C. Williamson and A. Garner. Between 1883 and 1887 Nellie played continuously, touring around the country.

In 1884, she married Richard Goldsbrough Row, although it did not last and was dissolved in 1901. In 1887, Nellie went to England with Musgrove for a rest. In 1888, she appeared in grand opera as Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust. She was eventually forced to relinquish opera and concentrate solely on comedy and drama. In 1891, Nellie and George returned to London where their daughter Nancye was born in 1893. Nellie returned to Australia and played in comic opera again for two years before returning to England and taking a break from the stage.

When she appeared on stage in England in 1899 she was well received, one critic describing her as ‘a lovely and gracious woman, a born actress, an experienced artist, with an attractive style and pure as well as beautiful voice’. In May 1901, she sang the memorial ode ‘Australia’ at the opening of the first Commonwealth Parliament at the Royal Exhibition buildings in Melbourne. In 1902, she appeared in the role which she made her own – Nell Gwynne in Sweet Nell of the Old Drury, which proved a resounding success. She continued to tour Australia, New Zealand and even the United States over the next decade.

In 1911, she acted in Raymond Longford’s film of Sweet Nell of the Old Drury which premiered in Sydney and screened for six years. In 1910, she made one of her many appearances for charity to raise money to buy radium for Sydney Hospital which named its children’s wards after her. During World War I Nellie was forced to live on her savings and her hardship became worse when Musgrove died in 1916.

Nellie was a versatile actress, who was also beautiful and had expressive eyes. She had a certain magnetism and her perennial youth enabled her to play young roles late in her life. She even played an astonishing revival of ‘Sweet Nell’ when she was 70. In her later years she opened the Nellie Stewart School of Acting where she continued to teach until close to her death in Sydney on 21 June 1931.

The following is excerpted from The Dictionary of Australian Biography by Percival Searle, published in 1949 by Angus and Robertson and republished by Project Gutenberg.

STEWART, NELLIE (1858-1931), actress, was born at Sydney on 20 November 1858. Her father, Richard Stewart (c. 1826-1902), was an excellent actor and singer who in 1857 married Mrs Guerin, née Theodosia Yates, a great-grand-daughter of the famous actor and actress Richard Yates (1706-96) and Mary Ann Yates (1728-87). Mrs Guerin came to Australia in 1840 and took leading parts in opera, she was the original Maritana when it was produced at Sydney. Her two daughters by Guerin were well known on the Australian stage as Dollie and Maggie Stewart. The theatre was thus in Nellie Stewart’s blood but she was most carefully and strictly brought up. The family had moved to Melbourne where Miss Stewart went first to the old model school, and afterwards for a time to a boarding-school. She was taught fencing by her father, dancing by Henry Leopold and, later on, singing by David Miranda, father of Lalla Miranda. At about five years of age she played a child’s part with Charles Kean in The Stranger, and as the years went on took children’s parts in pantomime. In 1877 she sang and danced through seven parts in a family production called Rainbow Revels, and in 1878 was the Ralph Rackstraw in an early production in Melbourne of H.M.S. Pinafore. In the following year she was a member of her father’s company which toured India, and then went on to the United States to play a small town tour. Towards the end of 1880 Coppin (q.v.) cabled an offer of principal boy in Sinbad the Sailor at Melbourne which was accepted, and the pantomime had great success, running for 14 weeks. Nellie Stewart realized for the first time that she was a star. In 1881 she was Griolet in La Fille du Tambour Major and the Countess in Olivette, and during the next 13 years was to take leading parts in 35 comic operas. In December 1883 she played Patience and as principal boy in the following Christmas pantomime was careless when climbing the beanstalk, fell and broke her arm, had it set in the theatre, and completed the part. Forty years later she recorded that her under-studies seldom had an opportunity of appearing.
On 26 January 1884 Miss Stewart married Richard Goldsbrough Row–“a girl’s mad act” she called it in later years, for she discovered at once that she did not really care for her husband. They parted within a few weeks and Miss Stewart resumed her theatrical work. Among her principal parts in the next three years were Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Phyllis in Iolanthe, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Princess Ida and Clairette in La Fille de Madame Angot. She was a great favourite with the public, but her immense vitality led to restlessness and mannerisms which were commented on by the more intelligent of her critics, whom she afterwards thanked in her autobiography. About this time she formed an association with the well-known theatrical manager, George Musgrove (q.v.), which lasted until his death. She had an unbounded affection and admiration for him, he was the “great and good man” to whose memory was dedicated her My Life Story. In 1887 she retired from the stage for 12 months and went to London with Musgrove, returning in January 1888 to play in Dorothy, with the composer, Alfred Cellier, conducting. In March 1888 she sang Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust at Melbourne for 24 consecutive nights, an extraordinary feat, but it was probably the beginning of the overstraining of her voice which some years later she was to lose altogether. In April 1888 she had the principal part in the Yeoman of the Guard, at a salary of £15 a week, her highest salary up to that time. In 1889 a successful season was played in Paul Jones and she then went to London and played Susan in Blue-eyed Susan, a burlesque written by Geo. R. Sims. The play was not a good one and Miss Stewart was not good herself. She had difficulty in getting over her nervousness in London, and seldom sang her best there. She always felt depressed and unable to give her natural vivacity full play. She retired for two years and then returned to Australia and in September 1893 began playing a repertoire of nine operas including Gianetta in The Gondoliers and the title role in La Cigale. During the next two years the principal parts in Ma Mié Rosette and Mam’zelle Nitouche were among Miss Stewart’s successes. In 1895 she went to London and, except for one small part in an unsuccessful play, did not appear on the stage for four years. During that period Musgrove had a great success in producing The Belle of New York with Edna May in the principal part. Nellie Stewart returned to the stage at Christmas 1899 as principal boy in the Drury Lane pantomime, The Forty Thieves. Her salary was £50 a week and she felt a special pleasure in working in a theatre with the associations of Drury Lane. She was cast for principal boy in the following year, but became ill on the opening day and returned to Melbourne soon afterwards. When the Duke and Duchess of York came to Australia to open the first federal parliament Miss Stewart sang the ode “Australia” at the beginning of the musical programme. In February 1902 she had one of the greatest parts in her career, Nell Gwynne in Sweet Nell of Old Drury. Other comedy parts followed in Mice and Men and Zaza. It was in the last play that Miss Stewart reached her largest salary, £80 a week.
In 1904 and 1905 Pretty Peggy and Camille were added to the repertoire. A visit to America followed and Sweet Nell proved a great success in San Francisco. It was intended to work over to New York but the earthquake compelled the abandoning of the tour, all the scenery for the repertoire season having been destroyed. Miss Stewart returned to Australia, but it was not until 1909 that she had another success in Sweet Kitty Bellairs, which was alternated with Zaza, Rosalind in As You Like It, and Sweet Nell, over a long season. In March 1910 she essayed a part in pure comedy, Maggie Wylie in What Every Woman Knows, in which the actress’s own charm successfully grappled with the problem of playing he part of a woman supposed to have none. This was succeeded by characters the antitheses of Maggie Wylie, Princess Mary in the costume play, When Knighthood was in Flower, and an unforgettable performance of Trilby.
A lean period followed and the effect of the war on the theatres led to Miss Stewart losing practically all her savings. In January 1916 she was prostrated by the death of George Musgrove, until she was persuaded by Hugh D. McIntosh to take up work again in a condensed version of Sweet Nell at the Tivoli Theatre. He also employed her to help in the production of Chu Chin Chow and The Lilac Domino. Later on she did similar work for J. C. Williamson Limited. In 1923 she published her My Life’s Story, a most interesting record of her life. In later years she made occasional appearances for charities, on one occasion at over 60 years of age playing Romeo in the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet to the Juliet of her daughter, Nancye. When nearly 70 years of age she played an astonishing revival of Sweet Nell of Old Drury, and took the emotional part of Cavallini in Romance in July 1930. She died after a short illness on 20 June 1931. She was survived by her daughter Nancye, a capable actress. Her portrait is at the national gallery, Melbourne.
Miss Stewart held a place by herself on the Australian stage. Beautiful in face and figure, full of vivacity, a natural actress, she had also an excellent soprano voice which she lost in middle life probably from over-working it. She took her art seriously, lived carefully, and never lost her figure. Probably no other woman has ever so successfully played young parts late in life. She had great versatility, and after being for many years at the head of her profession in Australia in light opera, was able after the loss of her voice to take a leading part in drama. Though scarcely a great actress she was an extremely interesting one in both emotional parts and those calling for a sense of humour. Her autobiography discloses a woman of charming character, well-educated, kindly, appreciative of the good work of others, and completely free from the petty jealousies sometimes associated with stage life. She had the admiration, affection and respect of Australian playgoers both men and women for 50 years.

The following is republished from The Dictionary of Australasian Biography: Comprising notices of eminent colonists from the inauguration of responsible government down to the present time. [1855-1892] by Phillip Mennell, F.R.G.S., published by Hutchinson & Co., 25 Paternoster Square and 1892. The text was reproduced via Project Gutenberg.

Stewart, Miss Nellie, youngest daughter of Richard Stewart, the popular comedian of Melbourne and Sydney, and sister of Miss Docy and Miss Maggie Stewart, is a native of Australia. Going on the stage when quite a child, Miss Nellie Stewart has of late years achieved the position of the most successful colonial representative of the chief rôles in light or comic opera. In 1892 she played at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre in London, sustaining the leading rôle in Blue-eyed Susan. She is married to Mr. Row.