James Cassius Williamson 1844-1913

Seeing his future as an entrepreneur, Williamson had astutely secured the Australian rights to the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire. He swiftly scuttled a flotilla of unauthorised Australian productions of H.M.S. Pinafore, leaving the way clear for his own, in which he appeared as Sir Joseph Porter, with Maggie as Josephine.

In the early 1880s, Williamson founded the Royal Comic Opera Company, and leased the Theatre Royal in Melbourne and other theatres interstate. For the next 32 years, sometimes in partnership with George Musgrove and Arthur Garner, he headed an organisation that dominated the Australian stage. He purchased the latest London and New York successes, and imported the brightest stars to play in them. He established a chain of fine theatres around the country, beginning with the Princess in Melbourne in 1886.

Williamson and Maggie Moore separated in 1891. The split was a bitter, both claiming the rights to Struck Oil. Maggie married actor Harry Roberts, and continued to revive Struck Oil for many years, much to Williamson’s fury. He even managed to write his autobiography without mentioning her name! Maggie retained the loyalty of her fans, finally retiring in 1924. She died in 1926 in San Francisco.

‘The Divine Sarah’ – Sarah Bernhardt – toured for Williamson in 1891, packing theatres with productions performed in French. During the difficult years of the depressed 1890s, Williamson maintained his fortunes, largely through a hugely popular pantomime, Djin-Djin, which he wrote in association with Bert Royle. A dancer in this production, Mary Weir, became his second wife. They had two daughters.

In 1902, Williamson staged Ben Hur, only to lose the entire production in the fire that destroyed Her Majesty’s Theatre in Sydney. From 1904 he worked in partnership with George Tallis and Gustave Ramaciotti. It was an era of great actors – Wilson Barrett starred in The Sign of the Cross, Julius Knight in A Royal Divorce, and Roy Redgrave (Michael’s father) in L’Aiglon. Florodora, The Merry Widow, and Our Miss Gibbs were the big musicals. When Ramaciotti retired in 1911, Williamson became governing director of his last and largest company, J.C. Williamson Ltd – referred to by everyone as ‘The Firm’. His partners were Tallis, Hugh J. Ward and Clyde Meynell. Williamson’s final major enterprise, marking the 50th anniversary of his professional theatre debut, was the celebrated Melba–Williamson Grand Opera Company of 1911.