Corrick Family Entertainers

Their performances included singing, dancing, handbell ringing, comic sketches and film presentations, as well as the playing of various musical instruments.

[6] In April 1898, at the suggestion of a Corrick relation,[note 3] architect Thomas Searell, Alice visited Hobart, Tasmania, and sang at the Town Hall under Vice-Regal patronage.

At her farewell concert in Hobart in November 1898[9] she was directly compared to renowned Tasmania singer Madame Amy Sherwin.

[11] It was during their initial five-day Hobart season that the description "The Marvellous Corricks" first appeared; this name was to become a standard moniker for the family during its later tours.

Travelling initially by bus and train, the family later invested in several Model T Fords to carry themselves and their ever-growing array of dresses, instruments and equipment, thus becoming the first motorized troupe in Australia.

In May 1905 the family returned to Tasmania to take a five-month break from performing, their first significant holiday in over four years of regular touring.

"[14] Alice took private lessons from Signor Moretti of the Royal Academy of Music, and achieved high praise from Madame Mathilde Marchesi of Paris.

In November 1912, the youngest daughter, Elsie, finally joined the family, making it complete for the first time since their early tours in New Zealand.

[18] This 'farewell tour' lasted until July 1915, when the family, exhausted by years of almost continuous performance, decided to settle in Launceston, in Tasmania.

[19] It was during the early New Zealand tours that Albert realised the power of advertising, and started to give audiences plenty of advance notice of their upcoming performances.

[22] On tour in Australia, their advertising ranged from a beautifully crafted piece for a charity concert,[23] to some unashamedly vaudevillian promotion.

[24] Leonard Corrick developed an early interest in photography, and while he was still in his teens he convinced his father to purchase a magic lantern projector.

This also allowed them to lure a larger audience in country towns, as they would shine bright lights into the night sky, attracting curious customers from surrounding areas.

While on their way back to Australia from Britain, aboard the SS Runic in 1909, they filmed "Sports and Play at Sea", again featuring themselves as well as other passengers and crew.

"The Day-Postle Match" became one of their most successful films, featuring a running contest between Australian sprint champion Arthur Postle and Irishman J.B Day, held in Kalgoorlie on 10 April 1907.

[note 4] Ethel was the first of the Corrick daughters to marry, falling in love with the family advance agent, Harold George Coulter.

In February 1913 Alice married Launceston businessman William Edward Sadleir, a land agent, in Bunbury, Western Australia.

He established a car business, but after this was unsuccessful he turned to playing in the ABC Military band, and moved to Sydney to live.

Gertie was the de facto manager of the family and along with Amy, Ethel and Leonard was active in theatre orchestras in Launceston.