Canowindra; or, The Darky Highwayman and the Settlers' Homes on the Abercrombie

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Canowindra; or, The Darky Highwayman and the Settlers' Homes on the Abercrombie
Written byCharles Edwards
CharactersRueben Holt
Lillian Trevor
Date premiered11 December 1863
Place premieredVictoria Theatre, Sydney
Original languageEnglish
Subjectbushrangers
SettingColonial Australia

Canowindra; or, The Darky Highwayman and the Settlers’ Homes on the Abercrombie, a tale of New South Wales in 1863 is a 1863 Australian stage play by Charles Edwards about bushrangers. The play was one of the earliest colonial stage plays about bushrangers.[1] It debuted at the Victoria Theatre in Sydney.[2][3][4]

It starred actor Charles Dillon and his wife in the lead roles.[5]

The plot involved various hold ups. According to Empire "the piece contains nothing to influence the minds of the rising generation to bushranging."[6]

Premise[edit]

"The principal scenes are laid in the occurrence of the late escort robbery. The incidents are the capture of Davis by Lyons, effected after both parties had discharged their six-barrel revolvers at each other; the bush shanty, where champagne is poured in a tin bucket, and sweetened with ration sugar; the attack on Canowindra; the bushrangers escape, and death of the chief of the gang."[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Williams, Margaret (1983). Australia on the popular stage, 1829-1929 : an historical entertainment in six acts. p. 108.
  2. ^ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. XLVIII, no. 7958. New South Wales, Australia. 11 December 1863. p. 1. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Advertising". Bell's Life In Sydney And Sporting Chronicle. Vol. XX, no. 714. New South Wales, Australia. 12 December 1863. p. 3. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Advertising". Empire. No. 3, 793. New South Wales, Australia. 11 December 1863. p. 1. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. XLVIII, no. 7959. New South Wales, Australia. 12 December 1863. p. 1. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "No title". Empire. No. 3, 794. New South Wales, Australia. 14 December 1863. p. 4. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "GENERAL NEWS". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. Vol. XX, no. 2431. New South Wales, Australia. 17 December 1863. p. 3. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.