Classical Musicians in Australia during the 1850s Gold Rush: The Colonial Tour of Miska Hauser, Virtuoso Violinist

Abstract

Among the multitudes lured to Australia’s shores in the 1850s by the glitter of gold were entrepreneurial musicians who hoped to attract audiences eager for entertainment and culture. The tours of nineteenth-century virtuoso musicians around Europe and the Americas are well-researched, but less so touring musicians to the Antipodean gold rush. While the 1850s gold rush had profound impacts on social, economic and political life in Australia, the impact of gold upon cultural life warrants more attention. Newspapers of the time record many visiting musicians who hoped to profit from the backwash of rivers of gold. This article opens a window onto this world by studying the concert tours around Australia from 1854 to 1858 of Miska Hauser. A European classical musician with elite violin school training, he is notable as the first world-class violinist to tour the Australian colonies. This study draws upon the digital records of colonial newspapers available online from the National Library of Australia. This article analyses the populist concert programmes that Hauser presented to diverse audiences during his indefatigable tours around Australia and explores the extent of his professional and financial success.