AustLit

'In December 1882, Eliza O’Flaherty died of “diabetes and exhaustion” at her lodgings in Sydney. Aged 64, Eliza lived in a brick cottage behind a dyeworks, where she had been employed as manager for two years. Her demise might seem unremarkable: a widowed, childless woman of the 19th century who had been worn out by work. But O'Flaherty was actually Eliza Winstanley, the first woman to play Richard III in an Australian theatre, and an early star of the colonial stage.' (Introduction)

'Eliza Winstanley (1818 - 82) and Maria Taylor (1805? - 41) were English-born actors who were among the early leading performers in Barnett Levey's acting company at his Theatre Royal in George Street, Sydney. Taylor's parents were 'singing actors' who, in the first years of the nineteenth century, performed at London's Haymarket and Covent Garden theatres, and were regularly engaged for the summer seasons in provincial theatres. Winstanley also came from a theatrical family - her father was a scenic painter and her younger sister Ann was a performer. This article describes how Maria Taylor and Eliza Winstanley brought their theatrical skills and resilience to the task of building a theatrical culture in Australia. Both women faced many challenges in their personal and professional lives but both possessed the capacity to bounce back, continuing to practise and refine their craft in difficult circumstances.' (Publication abstract)