George Coppin
George Selth Coppin | |
---|---|
entrepreneur and politician |
George Selth Coppin (8 April 1819 – 14 March 1906) was a comic actor, a theatrical
Early life
Coppin was born at Steyning, Sussex, England, son of George Selth Coppin (1794–1854),[3] a Norwich surgeon,[4] and Elizabeth Jane, née Jackson.[1] His grandfather had been a well-known clergyman at Norwich. George Selth Coppin Senior studied for the medical profession, but abandoned this to join a group of travelling actors.[1] George Coppin Junior (he rarely used his middle name, Selth)[3] became an assistant in his father's company; George and his sister performed their own act by 1826.[1]
At the age of 18 Coppin had an engagement at the Woolwich theatre, and soon afterwards was playing at Richmond, where he became low comedian at a salary of twenty-five shillings a week. He next obtained an engagement at the
Australia
Coppin decided to leave England in search of other opportunities; a coin toss meant he sailed for Australia, not America, towards the end of 1842, arriving in Sydney on 10 March 1843.[1] Coppin negotiated with Joseph Wyatt and had a successful season at the Royal Victoria Theatre.[1] Coppin bought a hotel but, being quite inexperienced, lost his money and went to Hobart, Tasmania in January 1845. At Launceston he formed a company, recruited George Herbert Rogers,[3] and in June 1845 took it to Melbourne and opened at the Queen's Theatre, recently built by John Thomas Smith.
In August 1846, Coppin went to Adelaide, converted a billiard room into the New Queen's Theatre with a 700-seat capacity, and on 2 November 1846 began his season[1] with The King and the Comedian, Coppin playing the part of Stolbach (the comedian).[3] Coppin subsequently played a variety of parts including Sir Peter Teazle, Jacques Strop in Robert Macaire, Jemmy Twitcher in The Golden Farmer, Don Caesar in Don Caesar de Bazan and many others in forgotten plays.[3] In 1848 Coppin transferred the management of the theatre to John Lazar.[1]
Coppin and Lazar refurbished the old Queen's Theatre which, renamed "Royal Victoria Theatre", opened on 23 December 1850[5] and enjoyed great popularity, which lasted until the Theatre Royal opened in 1868. Around 1850 Coppin built Semaphore Hotel (and thereby gave that suburb its name)[6] and the "White Horse Cellars", an hotel and theatre in Port Adelaide, later owned by William Knapman.[7] Coppin suffered losses in his copper-mining investments and with the exodus of his hotel and playhouse patrons to the Victorian diggings, he became insolvent.[1]
He left Adelaide for Victoria in December 1851, tried his fortunes briefly as a gold-digger without success, began playing at
The partnership of Brooks and Coppin was dissolved in 1859 and Coppin, having become security for a large sum in connection with the Melbourne and Suburban railway, was in financial difficulties again. The line was sold and he became freed from his liability. In 1862 he built the
Coppin initially made his reputation as an actor but, after he had been a few years in Australia, management took up increasing amounts of his time. He was a comedian, who starred in parts like
In 1864 Coppin again lost his money and went to the United States. At a farewell dinner he was presented with a cheque for £300 and was given a public reception when he returned in 1866. He joined
In 1869 Coppin spearheaded The Old Colonists’ Association of Victoria, which received a government grant of land in North Fitzroy for the establishment of safe, dignified, affordable housing for needy early settlers at a time when there was no social welfare system of any kind.
In 1869 Coppin purchased the property "Invergowrie"[9] in Hawthorn in Melbourne's inner east, and soon subdivided the large landholdings, establishing two streets through the area, namely Coppin Grove and Shakespeare Grove.[10] (The joke has been made that Coppin named the two streets after his two favourite thespians.) Despite the land subdivision, "Invergowrie" survives at 21 Coppin Grove,[a] and is regarded as one Hawthorn's most important historical buildings.[12] Coppin Street, Richmond was also named after George Coppin.[13]
George Coppin was also a very senior leader within Freemasonry and a pioneer on many levels. He was an active Freemason from his stay in Adelaide until his death. He played a key role in the formation of the Grand Lodge of Victoria in 1883, of which he became the first Grand Master. The Coppin Masonic Lodge in East Brunswick bears his name as does Coppin Hall at the Royal Freemasons Homes.
Political career
In April 1858 Coppin began to take an interest in public affairs — he became a councillor in the
Coppin was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly for East Melbourne[4] in May 1874[14] and did useful work; for example, he established post office savings banks. Coppin was opposed to the payment of members of Parliament, and when the act passed to pay them, he gave his salary to charities. Coppin retired from theatrical management on 28 June 1882, but remained a member of the Legislative Assembly until losing his seat in March 1889.[14] Soon after, in August 1889, he was elected as member for Melbourne Province in the Victorian Legislative Council, holding this seat until August 1895.[14]
Later life
Coppin took an interest in the development of Sorrento, Victoria where he had a seaside home, and kept up his connection with the Old Colonists' Association (which he had founded), the Victorian Humane Society, Gordon House, the St John's Ambulance Service, the Australasian Dramatic and Musical Association, and other institutions. When managing the Cremorne Gardens he had brought out the first balloon to ascend in Melbourne, and was responsible for the acclimatization of English thrushes and white swans. He was also the first to suggest the value of camels for the Australian interior.[3] He died early in the morning of 14 March 1906, aged 86. He was married twice, firstly in August 1855 to Harriet Hilsden née Bray (Gustavus Brooke's sister-in-law, died 2 September 1859), and then on 4 June 1861 to her daughter Lucy Hilsden, who survived him with their two sons and five daughters. Two of the three daughters of his first marriage also survived Coppin.[1] His daughter Blanche Brooke Coppin married George Rossi Ashton (born 1857), a well-known black-and-white artist and brother of Julian Ashton, in Melbourne on 23 October 1883.[16]
A bronze plaque to Coppin's memory was unveiled at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, on 26 March 1939. He is there described as "Philanthropist and Father of the Theatre in Victoria".[3]
A well-received biography Coppin the Great : father of the Australian theatre, written by Alec Bagot was published by Melbourne University Press in 1965.
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Sally O'Neill, 'Coppin, George Selth (1819–1906)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3, Melbourne University Press, 1969, pp 459–462. Retrieved 13 April 2010
- Launceston Examiner. Tas. 29 November 1881. p. 1 Supplement: Supplement to the Launceston Examiner. Retrieved 4 December 2012 – via Trove.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Serle, Percival (1949). "Coppin, George Selth". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ^ a b Mennell, Philip (1892). . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
- ^ "The Theatre". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 24 December 1850. p. 3. Retrieved 9 August 2012 – via Trove.
- The Register. Adelaide. 4 January 1928. p. 5. Retrieved 3 May 2015 – via Trove.
- ^ "Old Buildings at the Port". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 18 December 1933. p. 22. Retrieved 2 May 2015 – via Trove.
- ^ "Latest Intelligence". Bendigo Advertiser. Vol. XV, no. 3935. Victoria, Australia. 8 January 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 31 October 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ "VHD".
- ^ "Coppin Grove · Hawthorn VIC 3122, Australia".
- ^ "Killer named after fatal stabbing spree in Melbourne's eastern suburbs". 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Home". hawthornhistoricalsociety.com.au.
- ^ "Coppin St · Richmond VIC 3121, Australia".
- ^ a b c d e "George Selth Coppin". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ "Theatre Royal". The Star (Ballarat). Vol. IV, no. 69. Victoria, Australia. 22 March 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 31 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 11, 654. Victoria, Australia. 27 October 1883. p. 1. Retrieved 4 December 2017 – via Trove.
Sources
- Lee, Sidney, ed. (1912). . Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- [Anon.]; Banerji, Nilanjana. "Coppin, George Selth (1819–1906)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32562. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
External links
- George Coppin 1819–1906 at Live Performance Australia Hall of Fame