Changing the Voices of Teachers and Children: Singing and Elocution in South Australia in the Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth Century

Abstract

In 1931 new enrolee in Adelaide Teachers' College, Isabel Kimber, began her two-year course. (1) At that time Olive Carter (known as Ollie) was lecturer for elocution, production, and correct speech, and Frank Gratton was in charge of music, both at college and in Department. Kimber recalled that, We all had to sing to Ollie Carter and she'd tell us whether we had room or what we had. (2) Those with drawing room voice were encouraged, while those with something else received remedial attention. Regular lectures were given on music and production. Sometimes content might overlap. Teachers and, for example, their fourth-grade students, were expected to practice recitation of such poems as Land of Counterpane by Robert Louis Stevenson and Hiawatha Goes Hunting by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. (3) In 1900 South Australian school inspector Alexander Clark had noted skills and importance of recitation of poetry that demanded a great variety of treatment ... [which needed] not only pure and correct pronunciation of consonants and vowels, but an effort to find an appropriate speed. (4) There had been concerns about vocal tone, singing tone, and elocution from inception of state-supported education in South Australia during second half of nineteenth century, as elsewhere. That Worrying Australian and Slang Concerns about Australian accent were noted early on in Australian colonies. In 1844 Mrs. Charles (Louisa Anne) Meredith noted that a very large proportion of Australians have the same nasal twang as many Americans. (5) Mrs Meredith was not alone. In 1859 Richard Horne wrote of the colonial (6) After this initial flurry of concern, however, comment waned and for next twenty-five years there was little public debate by authorities, governmental or self-appointed, about twang. Then debate resumed. In late 1880s music educator Samuel McBurney entered fray, offering what Baker called number of semi-phonetic observations. (7) On January 18, 1894, Bulletin published poem, Austrylian [sic] Songstress, which concluded with lines: Twere [sic] better if thou never sang, Than voiced it in Australian (8) The Bulletin opined in leader headed Twang on January 6, 1892: The early English convicts, mostly from London, brought it [the accent] with them. Early Australian parents were too busy, and generally too uneducated, to notice that their offspring had caught complaint, and said 'kike' for 'cake.' ... If thing is to be eradicated reformers must start upon State schools at once, for every year brings its thousands of recruits to twang brigade. At present there is no effort made to raise standard of State school accent, nor are masters in general aware that it is terrible thing to hear youngsters reading. They read nearly as nasally themselves. The twang is everywhere ... If it remains on familiar terms with society for few years longer, it will become accepted pronunciation of country. (9) Disparagingly, this accent was ascribed as vulgarity which was brought to Australia long before rabbits, sparrows, snails and other British nuisances were grafted upon our budding civilisation. (10) Baker dispels notion that Australian accent is solely variation of Cockney dialect but also ascribes it to more northern English modes of speech, from which origins it has developed independently in Australia. He states: allegation that Australians talk like Cockneys must be regarded as one of popular myths. (11) The Educators' Response Despite debate concerning provenance of Australian accent, colonial educators heard call to action. Once decision had been made that there was only one way of pronouncing English, South Australian Education Department partook enthusiastically of 'the vulgar insolence of telling other Englishmen that they do not know how to speak their own language. …