Horsham’s Aussie theatre star

Did you know Horsham has a link to the success of theatre on the other side of the world in Australia?

It’s thanks to Horsham-born Alfred Dampier who made his mark after settling in what would be his adopted country.

Dampier was born this day (February 28) in 1843, the son of a builder. However, it seems young Alfred set his sights on the stage and eventually ended up in Manchester as part of a theatre company. He appeared in various plays and built up a good reputation as an actor.

However, a decision to move to Australia in 1873 proved life-changing!

He secured a position as part of Melbourne’s Theatre Royal company and became renowned for his role as Mephistopheles in his own adaptation of Goethe’s Faust, as well as impressing in various Shakespearean roles.

After touring the USA and his home country he returned to Australia to form his own company.

He married the actress Katherine Alice Russell and they had three children, all of whom became actors with varying degrees of success.

Through his company, Dampier continued to provide plays for several years and was keen to promote those works with affiliations to his adopted country.

He died in Sydney in 1908, aged 64, after a distinguished career as a dramatist, actor, manager, director and producer.

A monument was erected at his grave to mark his contribution to Australian theatre.

Tributes during his career included ‘Mr Dampier has proved himself an actor of the highest merit’ and that he was ‘unquestionably an actor of rare qualities’.