AustLit

Journalist, theatre director, writer, poet, librettist.

Stanley August Kilminster grew up in Lambton, Newcastle (New South Wales) and was active in local theatre and various music competitions from an early age, as was his sister Pressie. While a student at the Newcastle Public School in 1904 he won a gold medal for singing and two years later was one of a select group of students to be awarded a state scholarship.

Sometime after completing his schooling Kilminster moved to Sydney where he became involved with amateur theatre as an actor and later director and writer. Arguably his biggest success in theatre occurred in 1915 when his musical comedy What Is It?, was staged by the Eastern Suburbs Musical Comedy Society. A collaboration with musician and music director Hubert Russell, the show was well received by the Sydney critics.

In addition to his theatrical pursuits Kilminster had a number of stories and poem's published in various periodicals, including the Bulletin and The Lone Hand. While little is known about his career as a journalist, he is known to have also submitted freelance political observations and correspondence to various regional newspapers Border Morning Mail and Riverina Times (Albury) and National Advocate (Bathurst) beginning in 1916. He is also recorded as having lived in Melbourne in the mid-1920s and at some stage during the next few years travelled to Canada.

Kilminster was eventually brought back to Australia by Sun Newspapers Ltd and given a sub-editorial position. His employment was terminated in early-1931, however, and led to him suing the company for £1,000 on the grounds of insufficient notice. Although the verdict was awarded to the defendant, Kilminster was granted leave to appeal ('Law Report.' The Sydney Morning Herald 29 July (1931), p.8.

No details regarding Kilminster's life and career after 1931 have yet been located.