Gustavus Vaughan Brooke

There he showed talent in a school play; when he was allowed to see William Charles Macready perform in Dublin in March 1832 he was determined to go on the stage.

He continued to play in the provinces and Ireland, and in 1841 accepted an engagement with Macready's company in London, but finding himself cast for a small part declined the role.

He had successful seasons at Manchester, Liverpool, and other large towns, among his characters being Richard III, Romeo, Macbeth, Virginius, Hamlet, Othello, Iago and Brutus.

Other roles opposite Faucit included Claude Melnotte, Orlando, Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, Sir Giles Overreach, Leontes and Faulconbridge.

In the same season his rendering of Sir Giles Overreach was pronounced by one critic as not falling far short of Edmund Kean's, and more than one writer called him the greatest tragedian of the day.

After playing for some time in the country his magnificent voice began to fail, and in 1850 he was obtaining advice from a London specialist who would not allow him to appear more than once or twice a week.

On his return to England, Brooke played several of his old parts at Drury Lane, and for the first time, Macbeth, with such success that he not only re-established his own reputation but saved the fortunes of the theatre.

On his return to England about the middle of 1861 he played a season at Drury Lane, beginning in October with so little success that at its conclusion he found himself in financial difficulties.

Actor Fred Younge read a moving tribute to his longtime associate on 17 March 1866 at the Victoria Theatre, Sydney, the scene of many of his triumphs.

They supplemented the profits with donations from the public, but when the bust arrived from Charles Summers' studio in England, there was still insufficient funds to cover its cost, and Gilbert Roberts offered to make up the difference if it were first unveiled at his Duke of Edinburgh Theatre.

The custodians of the statue agreed and the ceremony went off smoothly,[8] however some important people took offence at not having been consulted[9] and held a more dignified unveiling at the art gallery attached to the Public Library, installing it between busts of Edmund and Charles Kean.