'The Clubs feel a ton weight' - The Great Gazza- Juggler and Equilibrist.

 

Although many famous and talented international jugglers visited Australia, there were others who were probably equally talented but less renowned. These jugglers were mainstays of the Australian and New Zealand entertainment industry for decades. One such juggler was William ‘Gazza’ Walden, who performed with his family as ‘The Gazzas’

William Alfred Walden, later to be known as ‘The Great Gazza’ a juggler and equilibrist, was born in Wellington New Zealand in 1874. His father, James, was a clerk and a detective, and quite a colourful character. In the early 1900s, James was famous for his chronically upset stomach and subsequent printed testimonies for Dr Williams Pink Pills. According to numerous advertisements appearing between 1904-1907, James was one of the oldest identities in Wellington, a veteran of the Māori Wars, a crack shot, a keen oarsman, and a straight and honest man. He was also the father of a large family, including William who was his second son.

It is perhaps not surprising that with this eccentric man as a father, that by 1902, William, still living at home with James and mother Margaret, described himself as a ‘theatrical.’ But it was not until 1905, that his juggling feats began to appear in the local press.

William started the year juggling for a charity function in Foxton, where he ‘indulged in juggling quite successfully.’ By the end of the year, he was performing for Percy Dix as ‘Gazza’ the juggler. He used the name for decades in various forms.

At this stage he was mainly juggling and balancing. He juggled for 15 minutes, and part of his act was a cannon ball trick inspired by Cinquevalli.

‘He takes an ordinary billiard cue upon the tip of which is balanced a heavy cannon ball, balances the cue on his chin, with a quick movement of the hand, knocks the cue away and catches the heavy ball between his shoulders.’

A reviewer called it, ‘hair raising’ and stated that ‘one feels a sigh of relief when he completes his performance.’

Around this time William married Ada Oakes in Christchurch New Zealand. She was an Australian who was also involved in the theatrical profession. Ada and William soon became a double act as the ‘juggling Gazzas’.

In 1906 William was performing in various vaudeville halls around New Zealand. Ada had given birth to their first child Margaret and was recuperating at home, whilst her husband toured as ‘Rudolph Gazza’, Asia’s military juggler’ for a group called America’s Entertainers.

The pair toured the circuit performing for circuses, small variety groups and regional shows for several years in Australia and New Zealand. In 1910 they re-emerged from relative obscurity as the ‘Two Gazzas Military jugglers extraordinaire’. The highlight of that year was a booking at the Alhambra Theatre where William did the cannon ball trick and performed ‘balancing prodigies with a three-legged table supported on the butts of three billiard cues. Ada meanwhile provided the ‘whimsical embellishments’ of a ‘clowning partner’ whilst he juggled.

Three years later they were performing as a trio, little Margaret was now the world’s youngest contortionist and Ada was walking on a wire. Their younger children, William and Harry were too small for the act.  Advertisements spruiked them as veterans of Wirth’s and Fitzgerald’s circuses, the premier circuses of the day, and touted their act as direct from the Fuller’s vaudeville circuit. This pedigree implied that they were a high class turn.

The Gazza Troupe with Baker's circus 1923

At this time, William played the banjo and did juggling tricks, Ada balanced on a ladder resting on a high wire and walked on it gracefully, and Maggie contorted her small frame into strange shapes. They spent the year providing entertainment between films at the new movie theatres and making the occasional appearance in variety programmes. It was a tough schedule with three children and five mouths to feed and they were always hustling for the next gig.

During the first World War they travelled across the Tasman several times with the children. William was too old to fight, and the children too young.  In 1915 they toured regional areas of Australia with Ridgeway’s circus and Vaudeville Company. William juggled, Ada walked the wire and the children performed as acrobats and contortionists. They also performed at the new Sydney Stadium.

It was a punishing schedule travelling through the north of Australia to the south and back across the Tasman to New Zealand. The conditions were tough, the pay low and the work hard, somehow, they managed to survive as a family.

At the end of the war, they had a mini renaissance and found continuous work in both Australia and New Zealand for several years.

In 1920 they performed at the popular Tighes Theatre in Newcastle. In 1921 they returned to New Zealand with Ridgeway’s Circus. They had been associated with the Ridgeways for some time, but the association came to a bitter end when William sued the circus for back pay. The conditions in the circus were not very good, Ada complained about the food saying that it was ‘unsatisfactory’. By this time, they had another child, Stella. William decided to leave and gave the Ridgeways notice, but the circus kept their 5-pound wage. The Gazzas won the subsequent court case and received their pay.

They remained in New Zealand and in 1923 were performing in their own show as, The Gazza Troupe

Margaret performed as a mind reader and was described as a ‘talented young lady’ who earned wide applause. William did sketches and conjuring, Ada walked the wire, and their pet fox terrier did tricks. They included juggling, balancing and acrobatics and the two younger boys also contributed to the show, whilst the whole troupe provided music. They were ‘neat, refined and well balanced’ and possessed ‘exceptional talent.’

They travelled by car to their next destination, but their solo efforts were not very successful. Eventually they joined up with McEwan, the magician, but he thought their show was too weak for the cities. They parted company acrimoniously and William had to sue for lost wages again. Again, he won.

They returned to the regional tours in Australia in the mid-1920s but by the end of the decade William was performing alone. The depression was stifling demand for entertainment, and it seems that Ada and the children had settled elsewhere. By the early 1930s William was performing alone and in 1932 showed as ‘Gazza, the almost blind juggler, the only one in the world’.

William continued to juggle and do odd jobs in circus and theatres. He performed in Queensland near Ipswich where Ada lived with the family and travelled to Sydney quite often to perform in benefits and smaller shows.

In February 1939, the 62-year-old, using the name William Clifford, decided to attempt a world record in juggling. He proposed to juggle three clubs while walking between Gosford on the central coast of New South Wales to Newcastle which was 83 km or 52 miles away.  He estimated that it would take 14 hours and said he would only stop for cups of tea. For the first time he was quoted in a newspaper saying, ‘by the time I reach Newcastle the clubs will feel like a ton weight’

And his picture was published too.

The Great Gazza attempting a world record walking whilst juggling (1939 newspaper)

He completed the feat and attempted a similar trek a month later from Gosford to Sydney. This  walk gained a smaller amount of publicity.

In 1940, 64-year-old William was working with Thorpe Mc Conville’s Wild West Show. A travelling show that visited all the regional areas of Australia. The featured attraction was trick horse riding, but William was performing as ‘Gazza the Great’ juggling and balancing.

After one show he retired to bed and was smoking, somehow his mattress caught fire and he was unable to escape. A passer-by saw the smoke and rushed in to save him, but it was too late, he was found on the floor, dead from smoke asphyxiation.

Gazza was survived by Ada and his children. Harry, his second son, served in World War 2 as a musician and entertainer and survived to settle in Tasmania, Margaret, the child contortionist married in Sydney in 1934 and settled in Sydney. Ada lived in Ipswich until her death in the  1960s.

They are little remembered in the pantheon of juggling stars in Australia, but the Gazzas were a juggling family, and William remained a juggler until his death. Their family was one of many who eked out a living as performers, suffering vicissitudes and troubles and triumphs in the Australasian entertainment industry during early 20^th Century. Their struggles were typical of fringe performers who had nothing but family to support their dreams and aspirations in a fast-changing world.  

Odds and ends and Ads...Kremo Family, Morris Cronin, Long Tack Sam, Melba Littlejohn, Rhodesia, Selbo, The Brunins..W C Fields.

 Many years ago I purchased about 10-20 scrap books from an old collector. Sometimes I look through them and discover some interesting things. Some I've shown before, but it's nice to have them together.

Advertisement for the Kremos, the greatest of all Risley Acrobats, in Theatre Magazine

The Brunins in Theatre Magazine

A tiny ad for Selbo- The King of Clubs in Theatre Magazine.

WC Fields as a juggler..

Melba Littlejohn in a 1920s Australian newspaper

and here she is again

Morris Cronin and his complete London Company in Mr Cronin's world famed Juggling Act.

A 1900 matinee to support the distressed actors fund. Mdme Rhodesia is performing in this. Ferry the human frog is also performing under the auspices of the Tivoli.

Look on the right hand side under Fitzgerald brother's circus and Tivoli.

Long Tack Sam 1923

A Short Magical Diversion- Suee Seen/ Olive 'dot' Robinson

 

She was an integral part of one of the world’s most famous magic acts but died in obscurity in the United States. Suee Seen, Chung Ling Soo’s assistant was a sensation when she toured Australia in 1909 with her famous husband.

Augusta Pfaff also known as Olive Path, was born around 1863 in Cleveland Ohio. She was a short petite young girl and at an early age worked in a vaudeville chorus line. From this she met first, magician ,Harry Kellar and then, magician , Alexander Herrmann.  These men were legendary performers, and Olive, a small statured lady who stood under five feet tall, was an essential on stage assistant for both. She was skilled, discreet and deft, all vital characteristics for magic performance.  

Through Herrmann she met William Ellsworth Robinson, a man who specialised in making magical apparatus. Robinson had ambitions to become a magician,  but lacked charisma on stage. After seeing a Chinese Magician, Chung Ling Foo, Robinson decided to create an act capitalising on the fad for all things eastern. He also blatantly stole some of Foo’s tricks. In a classic example of Orientalism, Robinson became the ‘Chinese’ magician Chung Ling Soo, and Olive, who he nick named ‘Dot’ became his assistant as Suee Seen, and later, his second wife.

By 1909 . Soo was widely regarded as one of the most skilful magicians and illusionists in the world. Australian Tivoli Theatre owner, Harry Rickards, in an amazing coup, managed to persuade the magician and his assistant, Dot, to tour Australia and New Zealand that year. They were one of the most successful and popular acts ever presented on the Tivoli Circuit.

Chung Ling Soo decorated his set in elaborate Asian style, with heavy curtains and oriental accoutrements. His presentation was as Chung Ling Soo, a man of half Scottish, half Chinese ancestry, although he had no Chinese ancestry at all. Suee Seen, Dot, did not claim to be Chinese, but appeared as Mrs Chung Ling Soo, in long robes and plaited hair.

A postcard from Adelaide dated 1910 ( my collection)

Robinson and Olive had been together for a long time, and William was a bit of a playboy. In 1907 he met Louise Blatchford and they had a child together. Dot and William’s relationship was quite strained due to this. But when they travelled in Australia they mostly appeared together, with Dot stuck to William’s side.

Olive was an integral part of the Chung Ling Soo phenomenon. She palmed props, appeared and disappeared at the whim of the magician and played her role as Mrs Chung Ling Soo to perfection. She also appeared on several postcards alone as Suee Seen.

In Australia she appeared in almost all the on stage illusions.

There was the dice trick. A tower of large dice was stacked on a small table, Chung Ling Soo  covered it, and seconds later,  Suee Seen would appear magically from thin air.

In what Charles Waller called ‘a beautiful illusion’ Suee  appeared in a many sided crystal lantern floating above the stage by a chain,  and when covered by a cone she magically transformed into a blooming orange tree.

In the cauldron illusion, a large pot was placed on stage. The Magician poured buckets of water, a dead pigeon, rabbits and fowls into it. Then a fire was lit, the water boiled, steam poured out and from the haze stepped tiny Suee Seen

Then there was the arrow trick. Chung Ling Soo, hoisted an arrow attached to a string in a bow. The magician aimed at a target, pulled back the string, but  Suee Seen would run in front of him, and was accidentally shot with the arrow. The string was seen running through her stomach from front to back.

In the bullet catching trick. Where the magician would catch bullets fired from a gun in his teeth and spit them out into a plate, Dot was responsible for the sleight of hand that ensured the marked bullets appeared in the right place at the end of the trick

According to a New Zealand newspaper,

 When she is not hanging from a hook, she is bouncing from a trap- or being cooked in a cauldron- or changing costume in a moment, in the twinkling of a hook and eye

Undated postcard- my collection

Her role in all these illusions was essential to the success of the act. So much so , that after the marriage collapsed, Chung Ling Soo retained her services as his assistant at a wage of 25 pounds a week. A very generous sum for the time. The pair maintained a professional relationship as William continued his affair with Ms Blatchford. Although officially married, Dot and William did not share rooms on the road and had separate residences outside their touring schedule.

Dot worked with Soo and Company until a dark night in March 1918 in England. That evening, the bullet catch trick went horribly wrong, and Chung Ling Soo, magician and pretender died on stage from a bullet wound.

Dot was there that night and stayed by his side as he was taken to hospital. She was inconsolable when he passed away.

Dot stopped performing. Unfortunately she was barely remembered in Robinson’s will, inheriting only one third of the estate, the majority of which went to Louise Blatchford and her children with the magician.

Dot stayed in England until 1922, then moved to the US where she lived in relative obscurity until her death in 1934

She was originally buried in an unmarked grave. However, an online campaign  led by magic historian  Diego Domingo, resulted in her burial place being  recognised in 2016. Today she is regarded as one of the most famous and skilled magician assistants in history

An Encaged Bird- Elimar the Juggler Part One

 This three part article on Elimar was inspired by David Cain's short mention here. I want to thank Elimar's daughter, Robyn, for taking the time to chat with me about her father. A lot of the information comes from official documents in the Australian Government Archives and newspaper accounts.

Part Two   Part three

 Elimar, the juggler who walked on a slack wire, was a promising young performer who took his act around the world in the late 1930s. However, his career was derailed during World War 2 when he was interned in Australia for six years.

Elimar Clemens Buschmann was born in Cologne Germany on November 18, 1917, to August Buschmann and Martha Meuller. He was the third and youngest son of the couple.

When he was 14, just before the Nazis came to power, Elimar left school, apparently against the wishes of his parents. He later told an Australian newspaper that he ran away to join the circus.

‘My parents found me already launched on a tight rope walking career and took me back home. They made me promise never to walk a wire again. However, when they found how interested I was, they released me from my promise and facilitated the study I have given to wire walking.’

It seems that Elimar was a wire walker before being a juggler. He found his first employment locally in Cologne, Dusseldorf and in other towns close to home, but his first international tour was to Switzerland. 

After this he began touring Europe, he claimed to have performed in France, the United States, and shared beer with the King of Denmark.  In Australia he told the press an exciting story about an adventure in Budapest where he was abducted and forced to impersonate a local prince.

‘Once I got used to the idea it was good fun- until a frantic girl, probably one of the prince’s discards, burst into the palace with a gun’

Elimar claimed to have been injured by one of the three shots she fired, but fortunately he survived the ordeal.  The journalist reporting this story doubted its veracity, but enjoyed its telling, proving that Elimar, even at a young age, was a skilled raconteur. 

Elimar from an early programme.

What is true is that in 1938 he was performing at the Palladium in London. In January the next year he was back in Germany and obtaining an exemption from military service from the government. Elimar was sending money to his parents regularly, and he believed this was the reason the government gave him an exemption.  

He returned to England in 1939. There was lots of war talk at the time but Elimar, at 22 years old and obsessed with his career, thought little of it.  When performing in London in April, he was spotted by Australian Frank Neil, who ran the Tivoli circuit. Neil booked Elimar for an Australian tour at around 50 pounds a week. The fair haired, 6 foot tall, lightly built young German juggler was on his way to Australia and was enthusiastic and excited about the adventure.

He left England in August 1939 on the Moloya. It was an eventful journey. On September 3, whilst Elimar was at sea, England declared war on Germany and Australia declared war the same day. The next port of call for the Moloya was Bombay, India, a British Colony, where Elimar and the other German passengers were interned for three weeks. The internment policy at that time was quite relaxed, so the internees were released to continue their journey to Australia after signing a document stating that they would take no action to harm the British Empire.  But more drama ensued when Elimar got into an argument with a fellow passenger about lights. Due to war time restrictions, all sea traffic had to travel in darkness, so there were strict rules about smoking on board and lights in the cabins. Elimar claimed that he had chastised a refugee for smoking in the open, while others claimed that Elimar had ignored the order to dim the lights in his cabin. The facts were disputed, but the German juggler and enemy alien was reprimanded, and a record was kept of the incident.  

He finally arrived in Australia in October 1939. For the first three weeks he stayed in Melbourne and relaxed, then he appeared on the Tivoli stage in November. He performed in a revue called, Carry On. The act was very well received by the Tivoli audience.

 He started on the floor, proving to be a skilled juggler with his feet on the ground, then moved to a slack wire and astonished the crowd with his abilities. Amongst his feats were juggling 8 hoops whilst balancing on one leg, and the highlight, standing on the loose rope, swinging a hoop on one leg, balancing a ball on a stick suspended from his mouth, and juggling eight hoops at the same time. The newspapers called him a ‘juggling genius’ and the ‘world’s greatest juggler on a wire’. His feats were described as ‘truly miraculous’ and he was touted as being ‘the only man in the world who has achieved what hitherto was termed impossible.’

He spent five weeks at the Tivoli in Melbourne and six weeks performing in Sydney. Tragedy struck the Tivoli circuit in January the next year, when Frank Neil, the man who had hired Elimar, died, and new management took over the theatre chain. Yet the performances continued. In February 1940 he juggled in Queensland at the Regent Theatre, entertaining between movies, in March he appeared in South Australia, but it seems his Tivoli contract expired shortly afterwards.  

Elimar was a German alien in an Australia at war. Almost immediately after war was declared, the Australian authorities had rounded up and interned known fascists and members of the local Nazi party. Other enemy aliens, including visitors such as Elimar, were subjected to stringent rules. He was obliged to inform the authorities when he left the police district or travelled more than 5 miles from his lodging, was required to visit the local police station regularly and sign yet another document stating that he would not do anything detrimental to the British Empire. However, in general, the Australian government was quite casual about enemy aliens. There was no urgency to intern them as facilities and money were an issue, and the authorities felt that their round up of German fascists, who they had been watching for some time, was sufficient to keep the country secure.

In April 1940, Elimar disobeyed the rules. He was lodging at the Alexandra Hotel in Melbourne and reporting to the local police station as required. One Monday after fulfilling his duty he was drinking at the hotel, when his friend, George Nichols, Australian comedian, and fellow Tivoli performer, invited him to go to Dimboola to shoot quail. Elimar thought this was a great idea and spent almost a week in the country with George and a group of Germans, to whom, on George’s advice, he posed as Danish.   They had an enjoyable trip and went to the annual military ball. However, when Elimar returned to his hotel in Melbourne that Friday, a detective was waiting for him. He was arrested and interned at Tatura internment camp for not informing the authorities of his movements.

He was swiftly released and after paying a 10 pound fine, was free to perform again.

Elimar from a newspaper 1940

In May 1940 he was touring Queensland with George Sorlie, a local vaudevillian and aspiring impresario. Also on the tour were several local performers including Buddy Morley, who was infatuated with Dawn Butler, a teenager, who assisted Elimar during his act. They toured the north of Queensland under a canvas tent and the group was warmly welcomed and applauded every night.

In Brisbane in July, Elimar gave an interview to a local paper, where he claimed to be Danish, and told the story of being abducted in Budapest.

That month, Elimar was happily performing with little care for events in the outside world. But the situation with the Allies had changed, the phoney war was over, and it was becoming increasingly real to Australians. Germany had invaded Denmark, and France had signed an armistice with the Nazis. The Allies situation looked bleak and somebody in the performing arts community did not think Elimar was fully supporting their effort.

‘Actors’ in the vaudeville community reported him to the authorities. Apparently Elimar had said ‘you will all be speaking German soon’, had openly made comments supporting Germany, and was having arguments about the war with fellow performers.  Elimar subsequently denied these allegations and suggested that professional jealousy may have caused some ill will. His salary was enormous compared to the wages of local performers.  However, the authorities decided that there was enough evidence of Nazi sympathies, and he was detained again.

In July, he was arrested in Brisbane and interned in Gaythorne internment camp, where he remained until October.  From there he was transported to Tatura internment camp in Victoria. He was to spend the next six years in Tatura as a prisoner of the Australian government.

 

 PART TWO

PART THREE

 

I am unable to sing- Elimar the juggler Part 2

 

This is part two of a three part article on Elimar the juggler. This mainly concerns his imprisonment in an Australian internment camp. There is very little information particularly about Elimar in the camp, but the transcript of his appeal is available through the Australian National Archives. Most of the information here comes from that document. Some files about Elimar are still sealed. 

PART ONE    PART THREE

Tatura is a beautiful town in country Victoria, it was a perfect site for an internment camp because of its isolation. It was a bare bones camp, there were corrugated iron huts with bunk beds but no insulation, sitting close together on a large flat plain, barbed wire surrounded the housing and armed soldiers guarded the perimeter. The internees were treated as prisoners of war, there were set food times and menus, daily parades and roll calls. For a travelling performer in particular, the lack of freedom of movement would have been excruciating.

Camp 1 was the male camp. In October 1940 it was populated by a group of German men who were mostly members of the Australian Nazi party and had been rounded up almost immediately after the outbreak of war. In the camp they had their own regulations and enforcement, Nazi ideology was celebrated, and they openly supported Germany during the war.

This was the atmosphere that awaited 23-year-old Elimar Clemens Buschmann as he entered the camp that was to be his home for the next 6 years.

Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack Woodcut of Tatura internment camp 1941,National Gallery of Victoria.

When arrested Elimar possessed his juggling and slack wire walking outfits and a leather bag full of personal property. The personal property was undoubtedly his juggling props. He also had 30 shillings in cash, but as he later sadly admitted, he had not saved any of his handsome salary, so the 30 shillings was not enough to sustain him during his long imprisonment.

Fortunately, there were some things to do in Tatura. The prisoners had arranged lectures and performances, and one prisoner had a personal projector for films. Elimar spent time practising juggling, although it was difficult. The terrain was windy, and the roofs of the huts and communal areas were low. When speaking about being unable to juggle, Elimar said ‘Unfortunately I feel like an encaged bird, so that I am unable to sing’

He could and did receive letters from his family in Germany, and he was surrounded by his countrymen. However, it is unlikely that he agreed with the dominant fascist ideology of the camp.

In 1941 the Australian government allowed internees to lodge an appeal against their internment and Elimar travelled to Melbourne to plead his case. He did not have any legal representation and had to rely on his own wits to try and persuade the Tribunal that he could be released into the community.

When deciding to free an internee, the government considered several different issues. Amongst these were the age of the internee, (being military age was a disadvantage), the subject’s commitment to their home country, the possibility of disruption in the community, and whether they could be blackmailed by their home government. The questions the Tribunal put to Elimar during the appeal reflected their concern with these matters.

Elimar was young, and of military age, in addition, both his brothers were doing war work for Germany. One was on active duty. When asked if he would work for Germany if he was a resident there, he replied

‘Of course, I would have to obey the laws of the country’

When it was suggested that the German government could threaten his parents if he did not do their bidding in Australia, Elimar insisted ‘I would not believe that they would make my parents suffer for anything I would do wrong here.’ He also said that he would honour the commitment he made not to do anything to injure the British empire

Elimar insisted that ‘I am really international in a way, as I am just a performer to the audiences of the world.’ Although he did admit that he had sympathies with his parents who were in Germany, when asked if he wanted Germany to win the war.

Oddly Elimar seemed to have no inkling that a fellow performer had informed on him. He insisted that he was on good terms with everybody in the profession, that he had no arguments about the war, and that he was confident that he could obtain work with either his former employer George Sorlie or the Tivoli or even Wirth’s Circus if released.

Throughout the hearing he showed an eagerness to return to work and most of his answers concerned his desire to return to performance. He was obviously frustrated with his position, and anxious to pursue his career as a juggler. Overall, his answers suggested a young man who cared more about professional juggling than politics.

The Tribunal regarded Elimar favourably. They described him as an’ honest and decent chap’, an attractive youth who impressed them with his character and demeanour. However, there were several points against him. He was of military age, he had undoubted sympathies and connections with Germany, and he could be blackmailed because his parents still lived there. However, the factor that most weighed against him was the risk that he could cause disruption in the performing arts community.

It was suggested that this could be ameliorated if he had a contract upon release, but this was countered with the fact that his fellow actors had denounced him. It seemed there was fear that, given his high-profile profession, his release would cause unfavourable publicity, and dissension within the community.  There was also the possibility, not mentioned but implied, that Elimar could be in some personal danger if he left the protection of the camp.

Elimar was returned to Tatura.

Tatura was developing its own community. By July 1941 camp 1 had a hairdresser, a tailor, a garden, a carpentry shop, a school, a newspaper, illicit liquor, and the inmates were performing concerts and shows. There were several skilled musicians, a few actors and some writers at Tatura and entertainment was a feature of the camp’s life. According to Elmar’s family, he played a major role on the entertainment committee.

Regular shows which lampooned the internee’s situation were part of life at Tatura and Elimar participated in at least two of these. In 1943 Die Klage Sal, with a ‘new variety program organised by the corrugated iron company under the direction of E Buschmann’, was prominently advertised in a handmade program. The reference to corrugated iron was an obvious nod to the omnipresent huts surrounding the audience.   Similarly, at Easter 1944, E Buschmann was a featured player in the performance of Die Strape nach Dover, another show at the camp theatre.

 

Part of a programme from Tatura Internment Camp- E Buschmann on left hand side

There were also conflicts in the camp. Internees were organised according to nationality so fascists and anti-fascists, Jewish refugees and anti Semites could be in proximity. This caused dissension and occasional violence amongst the inmates.   Some of the inhabitants who had no income relied on handouts from the German government, which was contingent on expressions of loyalty, whilst day to day living depended on the whims of men who were devoted followers of Hitler.

When several internees, amongst them Elimar declared their intention to remain in Australia, the Nazis in the camp were ferocious in their condemnation. Elimar had told the Tribunal that he intended to make Australia his permanent home and this determination did not change despite his perilous circumstances.

 The atmosphere of claustrophobia caused by constant monitoring of mail, movements and activities for six years must have taken a psychological toll on everybody who experienced it. For Elimar, who came to the camp as an aspiring 23-year-old juggler of elite ability with a promising future, the lack of practice, experience, networking, activity, and stimulation must have been an ordeal.

The war ended in 1945 with the defeat of Germany and the victory of the Allied forces, amongst them Australia. The inmates at Tatura were released slowly. They were shown movies of the liberation of Belsen to illustrate the reality of the Nazi regime and thoroughly vetted and cross examined before being released to the community. Many who were irredeemable fascists were deported.

Elimar was released in May 1946, he was 29 years old and eager to continue his career, but he was to face more obstacles.

PART ONE   PART THREE

I am just a performer to the audiences of the world.- Elimar Part 3

 This third part of the story of Elimar is sourced from newspapers and from Actor Equity files held in Sydney. I am trying to discover more about the Equity case through files in Melbourne- however I cannot access these without permission, which I am trying to obtain. Once again thanks to Robyn, Elimar's daughter, for sharing her memories. 

Part one  part two

After six years of internment, Elimar Clemens Buschmann, juggler, was released from Tatura camp in March 1946. He headed to Melbourne and in April made his reappearance on stage in a charity performance at St Kilda Town Hall. Later that month he was preparing for a return to professional performance in a Tivoli revue called Forbidden City.

Elimar in 1946 from the Forbidden City Programme

Forbidden City starred a roll call of Australian performers who had been popular during the war. Amongst them were Val Jellay, Iris and Ron Shand, Lulla Fanning, Babby Le Brun, Summer Lock Elliott and Elimar’s old friend George Nichols. George had never gained the fame of his sister Joy, who was a War time superstar, but he had been employed steadily on the Tivoli circuit during the war where his impersonations and comedy made him a household name.

However, there were rumblings amongst the cast about the German Juggler and his loyalties. It seems this was prompted in part by Elimar’s application for membership of the union, Actors Equity. Without that membership he would be unable to perform, as the arts industry in Australia was a closed shop at that time.

Forbidden City opened to rave reviews but the principals in the cast were unhappy with Elimar’s presence and threatened to walk out. They held a meeting where they agreed that Elimar should leave the show when it moved to Sydney, or they would boycott the production. They complained to Actors Equity and were assured of support if they decided to make the show ‘black.’ They were outraged that an alleged Nazi sympathiser was working when former soldiers and Australian performers were unemployed.

In early June the storm broke and the tabloid newspaper, The Truth, was reporting the scandalous fact that a German, a man who had been interned during the war as a suspected Nazi, was performing on the Australian stage. Somebody had informed on Elimar- again.

Elimar was front page news, the fact that he had been interned for the whole duration of the war was a red flag for the newspapers, who assumed this was due to his Nazi sympathies. Equity stated that

‘The background of the war against Nazism seems to have been forgotten by the Melbourne Tivoli manager Mr Jack Martin, He appears quite content to use any measure to ensure profits for his company. Mr Martin appears to have forgotten Buchenwald and numerous other Nazi torture camps. A member of Equity, Max Pearce, died in one of these hell holes and a number of our members were killed in the war against Nazism’.

David Martin the managing director of the Tivoli defended the juggler

‘He is not replacing any other performer, and I do not think there is another artist in the world, and definitely not Australia whose work may be compared to his.’

Indeed, Charles Waller who probably saw Elimar during this run said that

‘His work and manner showed tremendous improvement since his last appearance at the The Tivoli. With this act he was fit to star on any programme.’

Six years of internment had perhaps made Elimar a more mindful, and creative performer.

Nonetheless, the improvement in skill and presentation meant nothing if he was banned from joining Equity. In late June Elimar was subjected to an investigation by the union. He and those who had ‘denounced’ him were summoned to the union offices in Victoria and Elimar was asked a series of questions regarding his loyalties.

The union called general meetings in July so that the membership could vote on his application for membership. The investigation had determined that

‘It is our firm opinion and belief that at no time was Elimar a Nazi or Nazi sympathiser and he is completely exonerated after full and thorough enquiry.’

The motion to accept his application for membership was approved by 195 votes to 14.

Elimar proceeded to work in Sydney in Forbidden City, he was described as one of the ‘bright spots’ of the show and received a good reception from the Sydney audience.

Despite being cleared by equity and enjoying success, he was still subject to some animosity from his fellow performers. Val Jellay an Australian Tivoli performer who was one of his on-stage assistants in Forbidden City and knew him around this time said.

‘Elimar was so demanding of himself. Whenever possible he would rig his slack wire working for hours and if he missed a trick, he would slap his own face with force and real venom yelling and swearing in German. The result was a sensational act. …. because of his nationality he was shunned and made to feel an enemy. Even fellow artists would turn from him. Elimar was a gentleman, that was all I knew. ‘

His other assistant was Dawn Butler, real name Sadie Dawn Butler. Dawn and Elimar had met in Brisbane before the war when she was still a teenager. During the war Sadie had been constantly employed as a member of the famous Tivoli ballet, she also worked as a choreographer for the Tivoli shows.

Elimar and Dawn Butler (aka Sadie Dawn Butler) From a newspaper 1940

Dawn’s war time experiences included some ill-fated romances. In 1942, she went through a marriage ceremony with comedian Buddy Morley, who had accompanied Elimar on the Queensland tour with George Sorlie in 1940. Early in the war Morley had joined the Australian Infantry Force (AIF) and toured the Middle East, upon his return in 1942, he and Dawn got married and lived as husband and wife for 9 months. However, Buddy had not divorced his previous wife. He was a bigamist. He was charged with bigamy and gaoled. Dawn was left to fend for herself at the Tivoli.

Her adventures were not over. As a Tivoli ballet girl, she had many admirers, one however, was braver than the others. One night after returning home exhausted from another show, Dawn discovered a pair of men’s shoes under her bed, attached to them were the legs of Russell Maher, an admirer who hoped ‘to sneak a kiss’. Dawn ran outside screaming and called the police. Maher was imprisoned for two months.

 Dawn was now performing on stage with Elimar, the gentleman, every evening, and a romance developed. In July, the romance became a marriage. The pair married in July after Elimar was cleared by Equity and proceeded to develop a double act that they took around the world.

1947 saw Elimar and Sadie in New Zealand on tour with a Tivoli revue called, It’s Foolish but it’s fun. Elimar juggled hoops and balls on the floor and on the slack wire but the most popular part of his turn was the audience interaction.

‘No one was more popular with the audience than Elimar the juggler, not so much with his brilliant juggling either on the floor or on a slack wire as with the way he brought the stalls, circle, and gallery into his act. He kicked or threw a ball to them and when they returned it gave a remarkable display of retrieving.’

Elimar would catch the ball on a mouth stick, balancing and swaying and making both the audience member and himself look good. The company also performed at a Food for Britain charity event on this tour. There was no press mention of Elmar’s war time record.

In New Zealand, Elimar was advertised as ‘The International Juggling Genius’ which suggests that it was around this time that he was filmed by Tex Glanville, a fellow juggler.

In 1950, Elimar was contracted to star in Ice Follie, a revue performed on ice. Elimar had never skated and according to family legend hired an ice-skating rink for a few nights so he could learn the skill. When the show opened in Perth, he juggled on ice skates for part of the act and for the other half wore soft slippers which resulted in very wet feet.

Elimar and Sadie Dawn spent most of the early 1950s touring the world. In 1951 they appeared at the London Palladium. According to Billboard in July that year

‘Best of the bunch was Elimar. Starting off at stage level juggling 8 hoops, balancing a ball on his head and waving a band around his leg he mounted onto a wire tightrope and did the same things there to great applause.’

In 1951 he was back on skates in Chicago the Billboard reviewer said

‘He was the first skating juggler used here. His juggling of a tennis racket between two juggling sticks was the big bit…. his closer with a maze of strobe rings going in different directions was highly effective visually.’

Elimar from a Harlem Globetrotters Programme 1955

By 1954 he was performing in the Harlem Globetrotters floor show. It was a time of segregation, and the Globetrotters were subject to its discriminatory practices. They were refused accommodation in hotels, played to segregated audiences and were often abused by racist comments from their audiences. Before 1950, when the American National Basketball Association (NBA) was desegregated, they were one of the few opportunities for professional and paid appearances for talented African American basketballers. By the time Elimar joined them they were increasingly becoming more entertainment focused.

 Elimar stayed with the Globetrotters for many years, he appeared in Israel in 1955 and in 1956 he and Sadie travelled to Brazil, probably also with the Globetrotters.

By 1958 Elimar had returned to Australia and was performing in Sydney. In 1959 he appeared in the revue Many Happy Returns, which starred Australia’s most popular performer Gladys Moncrief. Also in this show was a young singer, Louise Matheson.

Louise born 1934 in Queensland was a talented performer who had appeared in several Australian legitimate theatre shows. In 1955/56 she performed in the long running and tremendously popular show Kismet. It ran for a year, and the next year she was in the Pyjama Game, another popular production.

In 1959 she was part of the singing chorus in Many Happy Returns, and it was here that she and Elimar probably met. They would spend the next 15 years together.

 

Louis Matheson, in White Dress from the newspapers

In the early 60s Elimar and Louise toured with the Harlem Globetrotters. Their daughter remembers,

They were billed as "Elimar and Louise"…… Mum and Dad's act comprised three sections. First Dad would juggle using balls, tennis rackets, and clubs and do a routine with a bunch wooden cube. Mum would toss him stuff. Then Mum would sing, her style a fusion of Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland with some French songs thrown in for good measure, while the rig was set up behind the curtain. Then Dad would perform on his wire, juggling and using numerous small hoops on his arms and one leg. Again, Mum would toss the rings, he would get them all spinning then do a bit where he would throw a ball to the audience, and they would throw it back for him to catch on a stick held in his mouth.

Elimar in 1954

In 1965, Elimar stopped touring and returned to Australia to work on the ‘fringes of carnie life’. In 1977 he had a home in Sydney.

Elimar passed away in Sydney in 1999, after a life of tribulation and juggling. He was an incredible performer, a talented juggler, and a man who crossed cultural boundaries to entertain people around the world.

PART TWO

 

 

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Cinquevalli 1909

Some pictures of Cinquevalli, the greatest juggler who ever lived, from a 1909 Magazine. I particularly enjoy how he balances a hat while having his morning tea.

Cinquevalli came to Australia in 1909 and toured the Tivoli Circuit. He was a friend of the owner, Harry Rickards and the two often socialised together in Sydney.

He was a photographer, a musician, a linguist and a remarkable showman

At one stage he had an Australian assistant Walter Burford. His assistant was an integral part of the act and his humour was a major part of the show.

Cinquevalli was the epitome of style and talent. He was also very well liked by the Australian public and the vaudeville community. He visited Australia four times between 1899 and 1914 and performed to packed houses every time.