The existence of some music group bearing such a name was advertised as early as 1908, but regular activity began with violinist Cyril Monk's leadership.
Other members of his quartet were Anton Tschaikov (2nd violin), Stephen Vost Janssen (viola) and Gladstone Bell (cello).
The first concert was held at the YMCA Hall (Sydney) on 2 June and included the Australian premiere of Claude Debussy's String Quartet.
By 1913 season he was replaced by Ludwig D'Hage[2] (who moved to Sydney from Rockhampton the previous year).
Among Australian performances made by it were quartets by César Franck, Ernest Chausson and Maurice Ravel.