Florrie Forde: her early life, in Australia

Since edition 5·1 of this page various "story of my life" articles (supposedly) by Florrie² were found in several scrapbooks of newspaper cuttings, theatre bills, notices, etc related to Florrie that had been collected by one James Flanagan in England. One would have hoped that these articles might help elucidate some details of Florrie's life, but unfortunately in most cases it is the opposite: there are many falsehoods (in fact, lies), omissions, contradictions, and alternative versions throughout the pieces that have resulted in more confusion than previously. The articles will be referred to as necessary below.

Her immediate families

Her mother

Florrie's mother, Phoebe SIMMONS (though later Phoebe Rosetta SIMMONS) was born c. 1845 in New York, USA to Susannah SOLOMONS and Barnett Joseph SIMMONS. On 19 July 1853 she arrived in Melbourne, Victoria with her parents and elder brother, Joseph, on board the Amphitrite from Liverpool, England. Phoebe died suddenly on 1 April 1892 at 38 Bourke St, Melbourne, aged 46 years.

The children of Florrie's mother are as follows. Note that some of this information has been derived from the indexes to registrations of births, marriages, and deaths, and consequently may not be completely accurate; to get a more detailed picture it would be necessary to get copies of the relevant register entries.

14 April 1861: Daniel James CAHILL and Phoebe SIMMONS were married at Ararat, Victoria.

1. 1862: birth of Barnett (Barney) Simmons CAHILL at Ararat.
   He died on 1 March 1916 at Auckland Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand.
2. 1864: birth of John Simmons CAHILL at Ararat.
3. 1865: birth of Louis Simmons CAHILL at Ararat.
   He died in 1867, one year old.

   Phoebe now got together with Francis Lott FLANNAGAN.

4. 1867: birth of Eliza (or Elizabeth) Susanna FLANNAGAN at Williamstown, Victoria.
   She died at 3 weeks of age.
5. c. March 1868: birth of Emily Susannah FLANNAGAN at Williamstown.
   She died in 1932 at South London.
6. 1870: birth of Flora May (or Marian) FLANNAGAN at Williamstown.
   She died on 30 November 1874 at Gertrude St, Fitzroy, Melbourne.
7. 1872: birth of Francis Victor FLANNAGAN at Collingwood, Melbourne.
   He died on 29 March 1931 at Lewisham private hospital, Lewisham, Sydney, New South Wales.
8. 1874: birth of Hannah FLANNAGAN (nicknamed Nan) at Fitzroy.
   She died on 21 November 1912 at Plympton, Devon, England.
9. 14 August 1875: birth of Flora FLANNAGAN – Florrie FORDE – at Gertrude St, Fitzroy.
   She died on 18 April 1940 at 21 Albyn Place, Aberdeen, Scotland.

   1 November 1876: Francis Lott FLANNAGAN and Phoebe CAHILL were married at Moor St, Fitzroy. Both claimed to be widowed.

10. 13 November 1876: birth of Joseph FLANNAGAN (a twin) at Gertrude St, Fitzroy.
    He died c. 7 December 1876.
11. 13 November 1876: birth of Samuel FLANNAGAN (a twin) at Gertrude St, Fitzroy.
    He died on 29 November 1876.

    Phoebe now associated with Thomas Henry SNELLING, though he also used his step-father's name, FORD.

    [21 June 1877: Francis Lott FLANNAGAN married Mary Elizabeth Anne FALLOON (née HARDY) at St Peter's, Melbourne. Francis Lott claimed to be a widower, his former wife having died in March 1874.]

12. 26 February 1878: birth of Phoebe Rosetta Snelling FORD at 201 Gertrude St, Fitzroy.
    She died on 5 May 1878 at Melbourne.
13. 1879: birth of Henry William SNELLING-FORD at Melbourne.
    He died on 25 June 1957 at Manly, Sydney.
14. 1880: birth of Louis Thomas FORD at Melbourne.
    He died on 19 June 1954 at Sydney.
15. 8 September 1882: birth of Herbert FORD at A'Beckett St, Melbourne.
    He died on 30 October 1940 at Marrickville, Sydney.

    20 February 1883: marriage of Thomas Henry SNELLING FORD and Phoebe CAHILL at the Registry Office, Carlton, Melbourne. Phoebe claimed to have been widowed in 1873, with 2 living and 2 dead children.

16. 1884: birth of Harold FORD at Fitzroy.
    He survived for only 3 weeks.
17. 15 May 1885: birth of Dorothy May SNELLING at Fitzroy.
    She died on 2 August 1954 at Elwood, Melbourne.

Her father

Florrie's father was Francis Lott FLANNAGAN, or Lott FLANNAGAN, though later the surname was spelled FLANAGAN, and may originally have been O'FLANNAGAN. He was born c. 1843 at Limerick, Ireland to Elizabeth SEXTON and Patrick FLANNAGAN, and arrived in Melbourne on 30 December 1854, with his parents and siblings, on board the Fulwood from Liverpool. Francis Lott died on 11 April 1907 at 12 Newland St, Waverley, Sydney, aged 64 years.

Francis Lott FLANNAGAN's children are as follows. As above, some of the details are taken from the register indexes and are not necessarily accurate.

1861: Francis Lott OFLANNAGAN and Fanny SMITH were married in Victoria.

Francis Lott got together with Phoebe CAHILL (née SIMMONS).

1. 1867: birth of Eliza (or Elizabeth) Susanna FLANNAGAN at Williamstown, Victoria.
   She died at 3 weeks of age.
2. c. March 1868: birth of Emily Susannah FLANNAGAN at Williamstown.
   She died in 1932 at South London.
3. 1870: birth of Flora May (or Marian) FLANNAGAN at Williamstown.
   She died on 30 November 1874 at Gertrude St, Fitzroy, Melbourne.
4. 1872: birth of Francis Victor FLANNAGAN at Collingwood.
   He died on 29 March 1931 at Lewisham private hospital, Lewisham, Sydney.
5. 1874: birth of Hannah FLANNAGAN (nicknamed Nan) at Fitzroy.
   She died on 21 November 1912 at Plympton, Devon, England.
6. 14 August 1875: birth of Flora FLANNAGAN – Florrie FORDE – at Gertrude St, Fitzroy.
   She died on 18 April 1940 at 21 Albyn Place, Aberdeen, Scotland.

   1 November 1876: Francis Lott FLANNAGAN and Phoebe CAHILL were married at Moor St, Fitzroy. Both claimed to be widowed.

7. 13 November 1876: birth of Joseph FLANNAGAN (a twin) at Gertrude St, Fitzroy.
   He died c. 7 December 1876.
8. 13 November 1876: birth of Samuel FLANNAGAN (a twin) at Gertrude St, Fitzroy.
   He died on 29 November 1876.

   21 June 1877: Francis Lott FLANNAGAN married Mary Elizabeth Anne FALLOON (née HARDY) at St Peter's, Melbourne.

   1878: Francis Lott and Elizabeth E. A. FLANNAGAN moved to Sydney.

   11 May 1882: death of [Mary] Elizabeth [Ann] FLANNAGAN.

   25 October 1882: marriage of Francis L. FLANNAGAN and Margaret SHIELD at St Peter's, Sydney.

9. 25 June 1883: birth of John Lewis FLANNAGAN at Woolloomooloo, Sydney.
   He died on 30 January 1939 at Hurstville, Sydney.
10. 17 February 1886: birth of Francis Lott FLANNAGAN at Sydney.
    He died on 1 November 1937 at Randwick, Sydney.
11. 28 September 1890: birth of Vera Elizabeth Isabella FLANAGAN at Waverley, Sydney.
    She died on 19 March 1928 at the Royal Hospital for Women, Paddington, Sydney.
12. 29 March 1893: birth of Phyllis Jeanette FLANAGAN at Waverley.
    She died on 22 April 1917 at Sydney Hospital, Sydney.
13. 30 January 1895: birth of Mary Isabella FLANAGAN at Waverley.
    She died on 30 July the following year at Waverley.
14. 9 March 1905: birth of Lillian Margaret FLANAGAN at Randwick, Sydney.
    She died on 21 March 1976 at Sydney.

F. L. Flanagan, as a monumental mason, was responsible for at least two grave monuments to members of the theatrical profession at Sydney's Waverley Cemetery: Arthur and Amy Dacre (Arthur Calbert James and Amy Roselle), and Sadie MacDonald. He maintained Sadie MacDonald's grave, at least, and on the anniversaries of her death decorated it with flowers.

SNELLING and FORD

Thomas Henry SNELLING, Florrie's step-father, was born on 15 November 1846 at Sydney, the first of four children of Henry Joseph SNELLING and Catharine GOLDEN. Henry Joseph SNELLING died at the start of June 1853 at Sydney, and on 12 January 1857 at Sydney, Catharine married William Henry FORD (and they had at least 10 children). W. H. FORD was a theatrical costumier, and after running his business in Sydney, by 1873 the family had moved to Melbourne.

Thomas Henry adopted his step-father's surname, though as can be seen above he occasionally used SNELLING for his children by Phoebe SIMMONS. The name FORD was also adopted by (some of) Phoebe SIMMON's children by Francis L. FLANNAGAN, including Florrie. When she started her stage career Florrie used FORD as her name, but when she performed at the Gaiety Theatre in Melbourne late in June 1892 it had been modified to FORDE; for what reason is not known. But FORD continued to be used occasionally, and even FORD and FORDE in the same advertisement. By late 1893 advertisements for shows in which she performed had settled on the spelling FORDE, but the other spelling still appeared from time to time in reviews in newspapers.

Thomas Henry SNELLING FORD died on 12 July 1914 at Phillip St, Balmain, Sydney.

The family trees

Below shows descendants of the various family lines. Details of persons known to be or possibly still living have been omitted. "q" refers to the quarter of the year in which the event was registered in England or Wales. The names of Florrie's half-siblings are in blue, those of her full siblings (if her parents' statements can be trusted) are in red. ("FLANAGAN" has been used consistently below.)

I ask anyone whose family is in any way connected with anyone who is listed below to get in touch.

Phoebe [Rosetta] SIMMONS (c. 1845 - 1-Apr-1892)
m.[1] 14-Apr-1861
Daniel James CAHILL (1838 - )

    1. Barnett (Barney) Simmons CAHILL (1862 - 1-Mar-1916)

    2. John Simmons CAHILL (1864 - )
       m. 1886
       Norah CARROLL (c. 1871 - 30-Jul-1896)

    3. Louis Simmons CAHILL (1865 - 1867)

m.[2] 1-Nov-1876
Francis Lott FLANAGAN (c. 1842 - 12-Apr-1907)

    1. Elizabeth Susanna FLANAGAN (1867 - 1867)

    2. Emily Susannah FLANAGAN (c. Mar-1868 - q4-1932)
       m. 1888
       Alexander Sutherland BROWN (14-Jul-1864 - q4-1947)

        1. Flora Sutherland BROWN (Little Flo) (26-Dec-1894 - q2-1979)
           m. 24-Jun-1918
           Percival Henry (Percy) CRUMNER (26-Dec-1892 - 18-Feb-1961)

    3. Flora May FLANAGAN (1870 - 30-Nov-1874)

    4. Francis (Frank) Victor FLANAGAN (1872 - 29-Mar-1931)
       m. 31-Oct-1894
       Alice Ada POWELL (c. 1871 - 12-Sep-1935)

        1. Victor Sayer FLANAGAN (25-Feb-1897 - 12-Mar-1949)
           m. 17-Aug-1924
           Elizabeth Elliott (Betty) PALAZZI (19-Dec-1898 - 24-Nov-1959)

            1. Phoebe Rosette FLANAGAN (21-Oct-1924 - 9-Dec-2002)
               m. 26-Jan-1948 and 7-Feb-1948
               Trevor Edwin WEINERT (28-May-1925 - 4-Jan-1998)
                   [Children]

            2. John Francis Edward FLANAGAN ( - 3-Sep-1996)
               m. 10-Feb-1951
               Shirley Marcia MILES ( - 10-Aug-1988)
                   [Child]

    5. Hannah (Nan) FLANAGAN (1874 - 21-Nov-1912)
       m. 22-Jun-1891
       Alfred TILTMAN (26-Mar-1866 - 21-Mar-1955)

        1. Emily Louisa TILTMAN (19-Nov-1892 - q4-1981)
           m. q3-1915
           Neville Stanley MORLEY (6-Mar-1890 - q2-1964)

            1. Nancy M. MORLEY (22-Dec-1916 - )
               m. q2-1950
               George William BLACKWOOD (28-Jul-1919 - 27-Apr-1996)
                   [Children]

            2. Peggy MORLEY (20-May-1918 - 31-Nar-2011)
               m. q4-1939
               John Herbert GIDLEY (22-Nov-1917 - 5-Apr-1996)
                   [Children]

        2. Phoebe Rose TILTMAN (12-Jul-1894 - ? q1-1969)
           m. q4-1913
           Charles J. BOWLES

    6. Flora FLANAGAN (Florrie FORDE) (14-Aug-1875 - 18-Apr-1940)
       m.[1] 2-Jan-1893
       Walter Emanuel BEW (21-Mar-1861 - )

       m.[2] 22-Nov-1905
       Laurence BARNETT (q2-1876 - 22-Oct-1934)

    7. Joseph FLANAGAN (13-Nov-1876 - c. 7-Dec-1876)
    8. Samuel FLANAGAN (13-Nov-1876 - 29-Nov-1876)

m.[3] 20-Feb-1883
Thomas Henry SNELLING (15-Nov-1846 - 12-Jul-1914)

    1. Phoebe Rosetta Snelling FORD (26-Feb-1878 - 5-May-1878)

    2. Henry William SNELLING-FORD (1879 - 25-Jun-1957)
       m.[1] 4-Feb-1902
       Ethel Emma PICCLES (10-Nov-1878 - 17-Jan-1912)

        1. Phoebe Rosetta SNELLING (12-Apr-1908 - 2-May-1946)
           m. 13-Jun-1934
           Harry Foreman GILES (17-Dec-1900 - 24-Mar-1984)

            1. Margaret GILES ( - c. 1976)
            2. [Child]

       m.[2] 17-Jul-1912
       Mary Jane Rowe NORTHEY (21-Apr-1880 - 31-Jul-1971)

    3. Louis Thomas FORD (1880 - 19-Jun-1954)
       m. 12-Aug-1933
       Cecelia Christiana Elizabeth J. LYNES (q3-1882 - 10-Jan-1951)

        1. Harry Clinton FORD (19-Jan-1909 - 5-Mar-1975)
           m. 29-Jan-1932
           Vera G. RUNCORN (q3-1912 - )
               [Children]

        2. Ngaere May Rata FORD (1910 - 2-Nov-1994)
           m. 9-May-1931
           Frederick Gordon GRAY (31-Jan-1906 - 9-Jan-1978)
               [Children]

    4. Herbert (Bert) FORD (8-Sep-1882 - 30-Oct-1940)

    5. Harold FORD (1884 - 1884)

    6. Dorothy May (Matie) SNELLING (15-May-1885 - 2-Aug-1954)
       m. 16-Jul-1906
       George Edward UPWARD (1880 - 18-Jan-1951)

        1. George Roy UPWARD (1907 - 12-Jun-1966)
           m. 1931
           Mavis Ethel WOODS (25-Jul-1907 - 1-Aug-1988)

            1. Peter George UPWARD (25-Sep-1932 - 7-Nov-1983)
            2. [Child]

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Francis Lott FLANAGAN (c. 1842 - 12-Apr-1907)
m.[1] 1861
Fanny SMITH

m.[2] 1-Nov-1876
Phoebe [Rosetta] SIMMONS (c. 1845 - 1-Apr-1892)

    [See above]

m.[3] 21-Jun-1877
Mary Elizabeth Anne FALLOON (née HARDY) (c. 1848 - 11-May-1882)

m.[4] 25-Oct-1882
Margaret SHIELD (q1-1863 - 9-Feb-1930)

    1. John Lewis (Jack) FLANAGAN (25-Jun-1883 - 30-Jan-1939)
       m. 22-Aug-1905
       Emily PARKES (c. Jul-1882 - 29-Jan-1919)

        1. Alice M. FLANAGAN (1905 - )
        m. 16-Aug-1928
        James Frederick HONEYWELL (3-Mar-1905 - )

        2. Robert J. FLANAGAN (10-May-1909 - )
        3. Francis J. FLANAGAN (20-Feb-1912 - )
        4. Caroline E. FLANAGAN (4-Jan-1914 - )

    2. Francis Lott FLANAGAN (17-Feb-1886 - 1-Nov-1937)
       m. 13-Jun-1914
       Florence Ada RICKETTS ( - 22-Oct-1963)

        1. Kenneth Ralph Lott FLANAGAN (1918 - 20-Mar-1971)
           m. 12-Jan-1946
           Nion Ellie HOWE (16-Nov-1920 - )

    3. Vera Elizabeth Isabella FLANAGAN (28-Sep-1890 - 19-Mar-1928)
       m.[1] 28-Aug-1909
       Charles Allen DAVISON (q2-1877 - 23-Mar-1911)

        1. Charles A. DAVISON (29-Mar-1910 - )

       m.[2] 28-Dec-1912
       George SHIELD (q4-1886 - ? 1969)

        1. Thomas SHIELD (26-Dec-1913 - )
        2. Harriet P. (Addie) SHIELD (26-Jul-1919 - )
        3. Margaret L. SHIELD (13-Jul-1921 - )
        4. Nora V. M. SHIELD (31-May-1923 - )
        5. Doreen SHIELD

    4. Phyllis Jeanette FLANAGAN (29-Mar-1893 - 22-Apr-1917)
       m. 14-Aug-1915
       Herbert Walter Alexander MANN (11-Sep-1892 - 24-Sep-1952)

        1. Evelyn Jane MANN (1916 - 1-Sep-2001)

    5. Mary Isabella FLANAGAN (30-Jan-1895 - 30-Jul-1896)

    6. Lillian Margaret (Lily) FLANAGAN (9-Mar-1905 - 21-Mar-1976)
       m. 2-Jan-1936
       Alfred COOPER (q4-1901 - 29-Jun-1989)
           [Children]

When and where was Florrie born?

In the entry in the register of births in the District of Collingwood, Colony of Victoria, Australia,
    Flora FLANNAGAN, 1875, registration number 21935/1875
(which was registered on 15 October 1875), it is recorded that Florrie was born on 16 August 1875. But in interviews in Britain later in her life she gave her birth date as 14 August 1876.³ Her father provided the required information for the registration and some of this is incorrect, in particular the ages of Florrie's siblings, which would be correct if the year were 1876. There is no doubt that Florrie was born in 1875 – this is the year of the register – and August is almost certainly the correct month, but the day of the month as registered may not be right because the details given by her father obviously cannot be relied on. She likely never had need of a copy of her "birth certificate" – she did not require a passport to go to Britain – and may never have seen her birth registration details; thus throughout her life she appears to have unwittingly given an incorrect year of birth, and consequently, age. (Her age at her death is given as 63, when in fact she was 4 months short of 65.) So the best that can be said is that Florrie Forde's birth date was either 14 or 16 August 1875.

Her place of birth is registered as Gertrude Street, Fitzroy – no house number is given. There are (at least) three possibilities:
the United Service Club Hotel,⁴ run by her father, at 88 Gertrude St;
the home of her maternal grandparents, Barnett and Susannah SIMMONS, at 179 Gertrude St;
or her father's monumental mason business at 200 Gertrude St (and his profession is recorded as mason).
The most likely of these addresses is Florrie's grandparents', as it would almost certainly have been the least busy and noisy; though if her mother worked at the hotel at the end of her pregnancy it is possible she had no alternative but to give birth to Florrie there. Her brother Francis (Frank) Victor Flanagan in an interview in 1922⁵ said that she was born in the hotel, but considering his age – only 3 years older than her – it is most unlikely that he would have remembered this from when it happened and thus he would have been told it by someone else. And there is no record known of Florrie saying she was born in a hotel.⁶ Her register entry should be contrasted with that of the twins Joseph and Samuel Flanagan, born on 13 November 1876 (15 months after Florrie), where the address given is Gertrude and Young Streets, where the United Service Club Hotel was situated, and Lott Flanagan stated he was a publican: this strongly implies that the boys were born in the hotel. Thus given the lack of details nothing definitive about the exact place of Florrie's birth can be stated.⁷ (The pub building is still standing, the exterior lines being much as they were in the 1870s. A recent view, courtesy of Google Street View, is: once the United Service Club Hotel, Gertrude and Young Sts, Fitzroy, Melbourne.)

Many homes in her early years

Precisely when Florrie's father and mother went their separate ways is not known but it was almost certainly before May 1877 based on the date of conception of Phoebe Rosetta Snelling Ford – and assuming her father was in fact Thomas Henry Snelling! Florrie's father married again on 21 June 1877 and later that year he had taken over another hotel, the Westminster Club Hotel at 29 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, though he could not get his licence renewed and partly in consequence was declared insolvent. In 1878 he and wife moved to Sydney, and presumably left some or all of his 4 surviving children (including Florrie) with their mother and step-father.

Francis Lott and Phoebe Flannagan moved house often, as did Phoebe and Thomas Henry Snelling [Ford], so Florrie had a succession of addresses to call home. Her step-father also ran pubs, and in her first 8 years she lived in at least three: the United Service Club Hotel at Fitzroy; the Palmerston Hotel, Canning St, Carlton; and the Tarrangower Hotel, a'Beckett St, central Melbourne; Ford relinquished the licence for this last in about March 1883. From 1883 on the Fords lived in Drummond St and Rathdown St, Carlton; Gertrude St, Fitzroy; and numbers 30 and 38 Bourke St (east), (central) Melbourne, though Florrie had most likely gone to Sydney before the move to number 38. (This was where Florrie's mother died on 1 April 1892.)

From Melbourne to Sydney

The standard story of Florrie's life states that she and one or more of her siblings were sent to a convent (school) following the death of their mother, and that Florrie and a sister subsequently ran away to an aunt in Sydney. The source of this story is not known, but at least some of it is not true, because Florrie performed in Sydney at least 5 months before the death of her mother, and also sang on stage with (supposedly) a sister (named "Carrie" in a newspaper review) before April 1892. And if she did stay with an aunt, it would have to have been a sister of her father, because her mother's only sibling was a brother.

A newspaper report⁸ from 1921 states that she recalled that she ran away from home (in Melbourne) to Sydney at the age of 14, which would have been late in 1889 or in 1890; but if she was mistaken about the date of her birth, she would have gone to Sydney in late 1890 or in 1891. And Charles B. Westmacott, in his memoirs,⁹ said that when she went to Sydney she worked as an under-housemaid at (New South Wales) Government House before she went on the stage.

At this time her father was living in Sydney, remarried and with children by his fourth wife Margaret née SHIELD, so it is possible Florrie stayed with them.

Florrie's sister Hannah (Nan) married Alfred TILTMAN in Melbourne on 22 June 1891 and by late 1892 they were living at Surry Hills, Sydney. This could also have been a destination for Florrie coming from Malbourne

Florrie's first pro gig

The earliest known published description of Florrie's professional career is in the weekly Sydney newspaper The Referee of 23 January 1895:¹⁰ here it is stated that she made her first appearance on any stage at The Polytechnic in the Imperial Arcade, Sydney, on February 1, 1892. But this is not correct: Florrie appeared at the Polytechnic from the time of its opening on Saturday, 19 December 1891.¹¹ Moreover, she and a "sister", named Carrie (though possibly it wasn't really her sister), performed as the Ford Sisters there, singing See Us Dance the Polka.

However, she probably had performed in public before this, though not on the "stage": on Monday, 9 November 1891, the Prince of Wales' Birthday public holiday, she was advertised to take part in Arthur Gordon's harbour concerts aboard the s.s. Alathea during cruises around Sydney Harbour.¹² This appears to have been a one-off pair of performances – if she did them: she is not named in the only review of the cruises (in The Sydney Morning Herald) – and she is not named in advertisements for nor reviews of the usual Sunday cruises before or after this date. In a 1916 article¹³ Florrie does mention performing on harbour cruises, but she says they were with Harry Rickards, and when she had been working for C. B. Westmacott, which was in late 1895 into 1896; and by this time her fame was established, so she should have been an advertised act. Harry Rickards and company did do Sydney Harbour cruises in early 1891 and December 1892, but there is no indication that Florrie took part in these; maybe, just maybe, she had some small part in Rickards' 1891 cruises.

But it appears likely that she was on stage before Arthur Gordon's cruises: in other later biographical articles she says that before she was at The Polytechnic she appeared in the chorus of Dan Tracey's company at the School of Arts, Sydney; though as a "background" performer her name isn't listed in the advertisements, so this is probably unverifiable.

Walter Emanuel Bew

Walter Emanuel BEW was born on 21 March 1861 at Sutton, Surrey, England. On 23 October 1882 he married 18-year-old Eleanor Jane ROGERS in Chelsea, Middlesex (now London); he was then a police constable. Walter arrived at Melbourne (without Eleanor Jane) on 10 January 1888 on board the s.s. Murrumbidgee from London; he is listed as a traveller and his destination was Sydney, which he reached on 16 January.

Bew was appointed a probationary constable to the Sydney police on 2 February 1888, but resigned on 28 February 1889. He was again appointed a probationary constable on 17 October 1890 and became an ordinary constable on 1 February 1892, serving with the water police in Sydney.

He and Flora Augusta FLANAGAN – Florrie FORDE – were married on 2 January 1893 at the Mariners' Church, George Street, Circular Quay, Sydney. Florrie was only 17½ years old (though her age is recorded as 19, and she may have thought she was 16½), and because less than 21 she needed her father's written permission to be married; though whether it really was her father who gave permission is anyone's guess. (Florrie performed at the Gaiety Theatre on the night of her wedding.)

How did this marriage come about, and what happened between them? Bew was living at a boarding-house at the time of the marriage, and may even have been at the same address – with Florrie when she was performing in Sydney? – 3 years later.

A pecularity of the civil registration of the marriage is that all details of it were not included in the register at the time it took place. Specifically, both parties' birthplaces, both ages, BEW's parents' names, and both fathers' occupations are noted to have been obtained from the church register on 2 December 1914, apparently as a result of a request for a copy of the marriage certificate. Who wanted this copy was not recorded.

What became of Walter Bew is a mystery. He is mentioned in a newspaper article¹⁴ about the water police at the end of 1895, and resigned from them on 20 April 1896.¹⁵ One report¹⁶ states that he went to Hong Kong and soon after died there, so that Florrie was a widow when she went to England; but Keith Harrison inquired at the Births & Deaths General Register Office of the Hong Kong Immigration Department and was told that no record was found of Bew's death. Another report¹⁷ claims that they were divorced, and again no record has been found regarding this: a report of the divorce of a well-known person usually made it into the newspapers, if only for its gossip value. When Florrie and Laurence BARNETT were married in London on 22 November 1905 she claimed that she was a spinster! She also later avowed that Barnett was her first and only husband.¹⁸

On 22 December 1917, Eleanor Jane Bew, Walter's first wife, died at Friern Barnet, Middlesex (now London), aged 52 years; it is noted that she was married. Thus Walter Bew's marriage to Florrie was definitely bigamous.

In none of Florrie's later biographical tales is Bew mentioned by name, and, more importantly, neither is her marriage to him. However, she tells of a marriage that was to take place – until she called it off on the very wedding day. The groom-to-be was much older than her (as was Bew) and rich (as Bew almost certainly wasn't), but acceded to her request to call off the marriage; and then they and guests sat down to the wedding breakfast lest it be wasted! This might be as close as Florrie could come to admitting to being married before her marriage to Barnett: if she didn't know what had happened to Bew she would have left herself open to a charge of bigamy.

Not the Melbourne Cup winner on stage

The Melbourne Cup of 1893 was run on the afternoon of Tuesday, 7 November; the winner was Tarcoola, ridden by Herbert Cripps. That day an advertisement for the Alhambra Palace of Varieties in Melbourne was published that stated: During this scene the WINNER of the MELBOURNE CUP will be ridden on to the stage by Miss Florrie Ford, in the colours of the successful jockey; the following day, when the race winner was known, this was modified to During this scene the WINNER of the MELBOURNE CUP is ridden on to the stage by Miss Florrie Ford, in the colours of TARCOOLA.

Did Florrie ride Tarcoola on the stage of the Alhambra on 7 or 8 November 1893? Almost certainly she didn't.

Much the same advertisements were run prior to and after the 1893 Victoria Derby, which was run on the previous Saturday, 4 November; that morning the Alhambra advertised: During this scene the DERBY WINNER will be ridden on to the stage in the colours of the successful jockey. Carnage won the Derby, and the following Monday the Alhambra advertisement now stated: During this scene the DERBY WINNER is ridden on to the stage in CARNAGE'S colours. The Argus noted on the Saturday morning:

There will be a change of programme at the Alhambra Palace of Varieties to-night, a special feature being a presentation to the winning jockey in the Derby, ...

and the review of Saturday night's show included:

The chief item of the first part was Miss Bella Perman's jockey song and dance "Dandy Jockey," in which a happy hit was made by the introduction of the colours of the successful jockey in the Derby.

There is no mention of Carnage being part of the show.

Note that the advertisements do not say, for example, During this scene Miss Florrie Ford will ride TARCOOLA on to the stage, in the jockey's colours.

For both the Derby and Melbourne Cup, if what is implied in the advertisements were to be true, i.e. that the winning horse were to go on stage, the manager of the show would have required the prior agreement of all the owners of the racehorses in each race to allow their horse, should it be the winner, to be taken on stage. This would not be impossible to accomplish, but it seems unlikely.

And after the shows on Cup night and the following day, there is no report of Tarcoola being presented on stage. (Though absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.) It seems highly unlikely¹⁹ that a valuable racehorse, such as a Melbourne Cup winner, would be taken onto the stage of a busy theatre; and especially so for the night of 8 November, when Tarcoola was to run in the Veteran Stakes race the following day. And would an inexperienced rider be allowed on a racehorse in such strange surroundings?

Sydney's The Bulletin of 11 November noted:

A "new first part" [at the Alhambra] has one great advantage over the legitimate drama in being open to receive topical allusions. Casual mention of the horse that won, incidental to a dance of jockeys or a grand bookmakers' chorus, elicits a double encore, [...]

Again, no mention of a horse on stage.

Did Florrie give the winning jockeys piggy-back rides on to the stage?! The advertisements would then state the truth! But again, prior agreements of all jockeys before each race would be needed. And again it might be expected that such an act would be reported.

Florrie's performances in Australia

The following table has been compiled mostly from advertisements, reports, and "reviews" (which were more often than not glorified advertisements) in various newspapers. But the appearance of Florrie's name in an advertisement did not mean that she appeared at the respective performance, and at least once she is mentioned in a report when it is known that she did not appear. In other words this list must not be considered 100 % accurate.

Start date	Finish date	Venue	Manager(s)
1891-??-??	1891-??-??	School of Arts, Sydney *	Dan Tracey
1891-11-09		On board s.s. Alathea on Sydney Harbour	Arthur Gordon
1891-12-19	1892-02-20	The Polytechnic, Sydney	Duncan McCallum and John Saville Smith
1892-01-31		Port Jackson Pavilion, Chowder Bay, Sydney	Steve Adson
1892-02-07 1892-02-14 1892-02-21 1892-03-13 1892-04-10 1892-04-15		Port Jackson Pavilion, Chowder Bay, Sydney (Mostly Sundays; afternoon and evening shows)	H. Morris and S. Thompson
1892-04-16	1892-05-06	Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney: understudy for Billie Barlow in Dick Whittington and his Cat	George Rignold
1892-05-07	1892-06-10	Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney: understudy for Billie Barlow in Little Jack Sheppard	George Rignold
1892-04-17 1892-04-24 1892-05-01 1892-05-08		Port Jackson Pavilion, Chowder Bay (Sunday afternoons and evenings)	H. Morris and S. Thompson
1892-05-15 1892-05-22 1892-05-29 1892-06-05 1892-06-12		Port Jackson Pavilion, Chowder Bay (Sunday afternoons)
1892-06-05 1892-06-12		Centennial Hall, Walker St, North Sydney (Sunday evenings)	J. Donnelly
1892-06-11	1892-06-17	Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney: Randolph the Reckless	George Rignold
1892-06-25	1892-08-20	Gaiety Theatre, Melbourne	Dan Tracey
1892-09-10	1893-02-24	Gaiety Theatre, Sydney	Dan Tracey
1893-01-01 1893-01-15 1893-01-22 1893-01-26 1893-02-05 1893-02-12 1893-02-19 1893-02-26		Coogee Palace Aquarium, Sydney (Mostly Sundays)	William Larmour
1893-03-04	1893-03-17	Opera House, Sydney	Richard F. Keating
1893-03-19		Coogee Palace Aquarium, Sydney	William Larmour
1893-03-25	1893-04-01	Gaiety Theatre, Sydney	Alf. M. Hazlewood
1893-04-03	...	Alhambra Music Hall, Sydney	Delohery, Craydon, and Holland
1893-08-16		Tivoli Theatre, Sydney: benefit for Cogill brothers
1893-08-23		Oddfellows' Temple, Sydney: charity concert
...	1893-10-07	Alhambra Music Hall, Sydney	Delohery, Craydon, and Holland
1893-10-08		Bondi Aquarium, Sydney (Sunday)	Alfred Wyburd
1893-10-14	1894-01-19	Alhambra Palace of Varieties, Melbourne	Frank M. Clark
1894-01-20	1894-02-09	Tivoli Theatre, Sydney	Harry Rickards
1894-02-17	1894-05-26	Theatre Royal, Brisbane	Lawton and Leslie
1894-06-16	1894-06-29	Gaiety Theatre, Melbourne	Cogill Brothers
1894-06-30	1894-08-03	Bijou Theatre, Melbourne	Cogill Brothers
1894-08-04	1894-10-01	School of Arts, Sydney	Harry Barrington
1894-10-06	1894-12-07	Oxford Theatre, Melbourne	Cogill Brothers
1894-12-22	1895-02-16	Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney: The House that Jack Built	George Rignold
1895-02-18	1895-03-09	Her Majesty's, Sydney: Susan with Two Lovely Black Eyes	George Rignold
1895-04-01	1895-04-27	Theatre Royal, Brisbane	Edmund Cannon
1895-05-11	...	Bijou Theatre, Melbourne	Frank M. Clark
1895-05-29		Exhibition Building, Melbourne: theatrical carnival
...	1895-06-14	Bijou Theatre, Melbourne	Frank M. Clark
1895-06-15	1895-06-26	Oxford Theatre, Melbourne	Frank M. Clark
1895-06-29	...	Tivoli Theatre, Sydney	Harry Rickards
1895-08-21		Lyceum Theatre, Sydney: farewell matinee for Harry Monkhouse	Williamson and Musgrove
1895-09-10		Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney: benefit for George Rignold
...	1895-09-27	Tivoli Theatre, Sydney	Harry Rickards
1895-10-05	1895-12-12	Opera House, Melbourne	Harry Rickards
1895-12-21	1896-01-17	Theatre Royal, Sydney: Pat, or The Bells of Rathbeal	C. B. Westmacott
1896-01-18	1896-02-21	Theatre Royal, Sydney: The Work Girl	C. B. Westmacott
1896-02-22	1896-03-06	Theatre Royal, Sydney: The Enemy's Camp	C. B. Westmacott
1896-03-13		Opera House, Sydney: benefit for George Dean	Cogill Brothers
1896-03-14	1896-03-17	Theatre Royal, Sydney: The Work Girl	C. B. Westmacott
1896-03-18	1896-03-20	Theatre Royal, Sydney: The Enemy's Camp	C. B. Westmacott
1896-03-21	1896-04-02	Tivoli Theatre, Sydney	Harry Rickards
1896-04-04	1896-04-17	Theatre Royal, Melbourne: The Enemy's Camp	C. B. Westmacott
1896-04-18	1896-05-01	Theatre Royal, Melbourne: The Work Girl	C. B. Westmacott
1896-05-14	...	Opera House, Melbourne	Harry Rickards
1896-05-23	1896-05-25	Exhibition Building, Melbourne: annual theatrical carnival
...	1896-07-24	Opera House, Melbourne	Harry Rickards
1896-07-25	1896-07-28	Academy of Music, Ballarat, Victoria	Harry Rickards
1896-07-29	1896-07-31	Exhibition Theatre, Geelong, Victoria	Harry Rickards
1896-08-01	1896-08-07	Royal Princess' Theatre, Bendigo, Victoria	Harry Rickards
1896-08-08	1896-09-11	[Taking a break?]
1896-09-12	...	Tivoli Theatre, Sydney	Harry Rickards
1896-10-07		Lyceum Theatre, Sydney: benefit for children of Frank Cates
...	1896-10-15	Tivoli Theatre, Sydney	Harry Rickards
1896-10-17	1897-01-22	Opera House, Melbourne	Harry Rickards
1897-01-23	1897-03-17	Tivoli Theatre, Sydney	Harry Rickards
≤ 1897-03-08	1897-03-17	Palace Theatre, Sydney	Harry Rickards
1897-03-20	1897-03-23 ?	Theatre Royal, Adelaide	Wybert Reeve

* Not confirmed (and probably unconfirmable)

The Federal Convention concert at Adelaide

On the evening of Friday, 26 March 1897 at the Theatre Royal, Adelaide, South Australia there was a special programme Under the Patronage and in the Presence of the PRESIDENT and MEMBERS of the FEDERAL CONVENTION²⁰ which had been meeting that week in the city. Did Florrie perform at this event? Unfortunately, the evidence for this is confusing. The reviews of her first show in Adelaide, on 20 March, refer to her having a slight cold (The Advertiser) or a severe cold (The South Australian Register), though both papers agreed that she was pushing it (for Adelaide audiences) with the lyrics of the songs she sang, which nonetheless appealed greatly to the occupiers of the theatre gallery.²¹

On 25 March the newspaper advertisements proclaimed that that night's show was to be the last night but two of Miss Florrie Forde; and at this time the programme for Friday's convention night had not been completed – See future advertisements. The following day (Friday) the advertisements for the Grand Federal Night made no mention of Florrie; and there was no further inclusion of her name in advertisements on subsequent days. The South Australian Register's review of the Friday night show named Florrie, but that of The Advertiser did not.²² To confuse matters further, despite her last night being advertised to be Saturday, 27 March, and her name no longer appearing in advertise­ments, The Advertiser on 30 March stated that she had performed on the previous (Monday) night.²³

When the alternatives for the place and date of her departure from Australia – see below – are accounted for, it is impossible to know whether or not she appeared at the Grand Federal Night. It should also be noted that even though Florrie told of her engage­ment at Adelaide,²⁴ no record has been found of her saying that she did the Federation convention show there.

Good-bye-ee to Australia

There was at least one false start to Florrie's leaving Australia: on 9 March 1895 she was given a benefit concert at Sydney's Her Majesty's Theatre prior to her departure for England.²⁵ She then went to Brisbane, and was there given a benefit concert on 26 April previous to her departure for England and America. She was reported to have had an engagement arranged in America,²⁶ but for whatever reason she did not leave Australia for another 2 years. (And she never went to the USA.)

Her departure from Australia was, surprisingly, unnoticed (or unreported). Nothing has been found about her in Australian newspapers following her season in late March 1897 at Adelaide's Theatre Royal until 12 June 1897, when the Daily News (of Perth, Western Australia) announced that she was in London.²⁷

In biographical details she gave in newspaper interviews later in her life, Florrie sometimes stated that the exact date of her arrival in England (though not specifically at which port) was 19 May 1897. She also said that the voyage took 7 weeks (which is somewhat longer than the usual trip time at that period), so she would have left Australia at the end of March or the beginning of April.

But in Thomson's Weekly News of 19 February 1916 she states that the ship she travelled on was the steamship Gulf of Bothnia and that it arrived at London on 19 May 1897. She also said elsewhere²⁸ that she went to Sydney (from Adelaide) to collect her belongings for the trip. As the Gulf of Bothnia left Sydney on 25 March she would have to have left Adelaide by 23 March; but this does not square with the continuing advertisements for her Adelaide shows, so maybe she went to Sydney a couple of days later and then to Melbourne from where the ship departed on 31 March. Unfortunately, few (if any) passengers, and certainly not Florrie, are mentioned in newspaper reports and other records of the Gulf of Bothnia's movements. Thus her exact departure place and date cannot currently be confirmed.

Before she gave her first public performance in London she had two weeks doing provincial shows: 28 June through 3 July 1897 at The Empire theatre, Cardiff, south Wales, and 5 July through 10 July at the Star Palace of Varieties, Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire.

Her first performances in Smogopolis were on the night of the August Bank Holiday, Monday, 2 August 1897,²⁹ when she did a turn at each of 3 music halls: the Oxford (at 8:30 p.m.), the London Pavilion (at 9 p.m.), and the South London (at 9:30 p.m.), receiving £3 for each.³⁰ (It was common then for performers to do more than one show a night.) And from this she didn't look back.

For her career in the United Kingdom, see Keith Harrison's very detailed history, Florrie Forde: The World's Greatest Chorus Singer, number RS48 in the Reference Series of The City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society.