404
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. n. NOV. 19,
BARRINGTON AND THE BOTANY BAY
THEATRE.
See 2 nd S. viii. 294 ; 3 rd S. iii. 120 ; iv. 245; xi. 476; 9 th S. ii. 384.)
True patriots all, for be it understood We left our country for our country's good.
ELSEWHERE* I have shown that the ' Pro- logue ' containing the above-quoted lines was not written by George Barrington, nor recited in Sydney at the performance of Young's 'Revenge,' 16 Jan., 1796, all the works issued with the name of Barrington as author having been compiled in London. The " Barrington " books were originally issued from the same manufactory wnence came another spurious work, 'The Letters of Fletcher Christian,' one of the ringleaders of the mutineers of the Bounty. In a recent communication to the Athenaeum, (12 Feb., 1898) I have suggested that the real author of the "Barrington" books may have been Francis Godolphin Waldron, some of whose acknowledged works issued from the same press, and who may have been related to Barrington, whose real name was also Waldron.
On the authority of those who knew Bar- rington in the colony, the 'Voyage to New South Wales ' (1795, enlarged 1803), its ' Sequel' (1800), and the ' History of New South Wales ' (1802), in the last of which the ' Prologue ' first appeared, were known to Barrington only by report, and he expressed considerable displeasure at his name being affixed to these works.t Barrington died at Parramatta, 28 December, 1804, in his fiftieth year. He was credited with considerable ability cer- tain elaborate speeches at the Old Bailey and there is a very clever satirical poem of 226 lines, with notes and imitations of Juvenal, &c., 'An Heroic Epistle from George Barrington, Esq., to Major Semple,' another notorious convict, who was also transported ; but a mutiny occurred during the voyage, and he afterwards found his way back to Europe. The 'Heroic Epistle' appeared in the Attic Miscellany, February, 1790, but could not have been written by Barrington.
While on this subject it may be as well to point put that the first theatrical perform- ance in Sydney was not that of 'The Revenge' on 16 Jan., 1796, when a playhouse was first opened, but on 4 June, 1789, the anniversary of the king's birthday. In the morning of that day the ordnance belonging
- Academy, 3 March, 1898 ; Torch, March, 1888 ;
Athenceum, 12 Feb., 1898.
t Turnbull, ' Voyage,' 1805, vol. i. p. 54 ; 1813, pp. 81, 82; Mann, 'New South Wales/ 1811, p. 31; Paterson, ' New South Wales, 5 1811, pp. 390, 391.
to the colony was discharged for the first
time, and Governor Phillip held a levee in
the new government house. He entertained
the officers of the settlement at dinner, and
in the evening some of the convicts were
permitted to perform Farquhar's comedy
'The Recruiting Officer,' in a hut fitted up
for the occasion. Collins tells us that the
performers "proposed no higher aim than
to humbly excite a smile," and that " their
efforts to please were not unattended with
applause."
So many abuses resulting from the estab- lishment of the first theatre thieves robbing the houses of those known to be present at the performances, and others giving their provisions to obtain admission, thus render- ing themselves unfit for labour the governor was obliged to recall the privilege, and this theatre, built by the convicts at a cost of 100?., was soon afterwards pulled down. Evidently no other public theatrical performances took place in the colony till May, 1825. At Emu Plains, in the country, under the patronage of the superintendent, Sir John Jamison, and other local gentry, several performances were given, one Deing in honour of the visit of Baron de Bougainville and the officers of the French frigate La Thetis. Two years after- wards Mr. Barnet Levy succeeded in forming an amateur company in Sydney, but the necessary sanction for public performances was not obtained until 1831.
The following, a copy, of presumably the first printed playbill issued in the colony, is of considerable interest, and should be preserved in'N. &Q.':
BY PERMISSION OF HIS EXCELLENCY.
FOB THE BENEFIT OF H. GREEN,
On Saturday, July 23rd, 1796, will be performed the
BUSY BODY :
Marplot, W. Fokes. Sir Francis, I. Jones.
Charles, W. Chapman. Sir Jealous Traffic, H. Green.
Whisper, R. Evans, and Sir George Airy, R. Evans.
Isalinda, Mrs. Greville. Patch, Mrs. Radley.
Miranda, Mrs. Davies.
TO WHICH WILL BE ADDED
THE POOR SOLDIER.
Patrick, H. Lovell. Fitsroy, R. Monby.
Father Luke, H. Green. Dermot, R. Evans.
Darby, W. Folkes. Kathlane, W. Wynne. Norah, Mrs. Greville.
FRONT BOXES, 3,t. 6d. PIT, Is. 6d. GALLERY, Is.
Doors open at half-past Five, ber/in at half-past Six.
Tickets to be had of R. Sidmoy, or of R. Evans,
and on Saturday adjoining the Theatre.
Of the actors mentioned, Green was trans- ported for pocket-picking, Mrs. Radley for perjury in attempting to screen her husband from being convicted of robbery, and Sidmoy (that is Robert Sidaway) was transported to
