Nellie Stewart

Nellie Stewart, born Eleanor Stewart Towzey (20 November 1858 – 21 June 1931) was an Australian actress and singer, known as "Our Nell" and "Sweet Nell".

Born into a theatrical family, Stewart began acting as a child. As a young woman, she built a career playing in operetta and Gilbert and Sullivan operas. In the mid-1880s, she began a long relationship with the theatrical manager George Musgrove. In the 1890s, Stewart had fewer successful roles. Overwork had taken a toll on her voice, and she took several years off from performing, giving birth to a daughter with Musgrove.

In 1902, Stewart had one of her greatest successes in the title role in Sweet Nell of Old Drury and found another success at the end of the decade in Sweet Kitty Bellairs. After this, she continued to perform in both comedy and drama, and worked in theatre management, through the 1920s.

Life and career

Stewart was born in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, on 20 November 1858. Her mother, the actress "Mrs. Guerin", née Theodosia Yates, was a great-granddaughter of the actors Richard Yates and Mary Ann Yates. Her father, Richard Stewart, was an actor and singer; the two married in 1857. Stewart's mother had two previous daughters by James Guerin who also became actresses: Theodosia (Docy) and Margaret (Maggie). The mother sang leading roles in opera after arriving in Australia in 1840. Stewart was raised in Melbourne, where she attended an old model school and then a boarding-school. She studied dancing with Henry Leopold, fencing with her father and singing with David Miranda.

Early career Stewart began acting by the age of 5, appearing in The Stranger with Charles Kean, and in juvenile roles in pantomime. When her family produced the entertainment Rainbow Revels in 1877, she sang and danced seven of the roles. In H.M.S. Pinafore the following year, she played Ralph Rackstraw. In 1879, with her father's company, she toured India, and then the United States. She played in operetta as Griolet in La fille du tambour-major and the Countess in Olivette in 1881. Through the rest of the decade and into the 1890s, she played 35 leading parts in comic opera, including Gilbert and Sullivan. The two traveled to London in 1887, returning the following year 1888 to star in the title role in Dorothy and then sang Marguerite in Charles Gounod's Faust. She reportedly overstrained her voice during that opera's Melbourne run of 24 consecutive nights leading, eventually, to the loss of her voice. Faust was followed by more Gilbert and Sullivan. In late 1893, back in Australia, Stewart appeared in nine operas and was again successful over the following two years in the leading roles such as those in Ma mie Rosette and Mam'zelle Nitouche. The following year, she played Nell Gwynne in Sweet Nell of Old Drury, which would become probably her best known role. She next played comic roles in Mice and Men and Zaza. After returning home in 1907 Stewart accepted the position of first lady patron to Sydney's Newtown rugby union club. Stewart found few roles in the following years, and World War I caused difficulty for many Australian theatres; Stewart lost her savings.

She was deeply depressed by grief over the Musgrove's death in 1916 but returned to the stage, at the urging of Hugh Donald McIntosh, in an abridged revival of Sweet Nell at the Tivoli Theatre. She then worked for McIntosh on the production of the London sensation Chu Chin Chow (1916) and later The Lilac Domino (1918). She then became employed in theatrical production for J. C. Williamson Limited. Crowds gathered in Sydney for her funeral on 24 June 1931. People lined the streets and thronged around St. James' Church, where the first of a number of services was held. Stewart's remains were cremated at Rookwood Necropolis in Sydney after another service, and her ashes were taken to Melbourne. After a further series of services attended by more crowds, her ashes were placed in the family grave at Boroondara General Cemetery in suburban Kew on 27 June 1931.

Recognition "Nellie Stewart bangles" became a popular fashion accessory for young Australian and New Zealand women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Usually worn on the upper arm, they were an emulation of Nellie Stewart's style. In 1886, as a token of thanks for her support of a fund to commemorate the death of General Gordon of Khartoum, Stewart was presented with 25 gold sovereigns. She had them made into a simple bangle which she wore on her upper arm for the rest of her life. Jewellers, such as Angus & Coote, marketed the bangles.

In 1930, a portrait of Stewart was painted by W. B. McInnes. It is in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. From 1933, the "Nellie Stewart Memorial Cup" was given as a prize in Junior Theatre League drama contests for the best performance of an Australian-written play. In 1934, "Nellie Stewart Memorial committee" was formed to benefit Sydney hospital, which was supported by Nellie Stewart in her lifetime, and also raised funds for a monument to Stewart. In 1936, a rose garden was established and named the "Nellie Stewart Garden of Memory" at the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. A sandstone and bas relief memorial to Stewart was placed there in 1938.

In 1989, a $1 postage stamp was issued by Australia Post honouring Stewart together with J. C. Williamson. In 2001, an exhibition at the Arts Centre, Melbourne, marked the 70th anniversary of Stewart's death