Alfred Dampier

Alfred Dampier (1843?[1] 1847?[2] – 23 May 1908) was an English-born actor-manager and playwright, active in Australia.[1]

Alfred Dampier
Born1843
Horsham, Sussex, England
DiedMay 24, 1908(1908-05-24) (aged 64–65)
Paddington, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationActor, playwright
Years active1873–1908

Dampier was born in Horsham, Sussex, England, the son of John Dampier, a builder, and his wife Mary, née Daly.[1] Dampier had a stage career in Manchester before moving to Melbourne, Australia in 1873,[1] under contract to the Harwood syndicate, consisting of H. R. Harwood, George Coppin, Richard Stuart (father of Nellie Stuart), and John Hennings, managers of Melbourne's Theatre Royal.[2]

His first role was as Mephistopheles in his own adaptation of Goethe's Faust, followed by leading roles in Shakespearean dramas. After three years he undertook his own management and toured major towns in Australia and New Zealand, followed by America and England.[2]

On his return to Australia, Dampier formed his own company, often producing plays with an Australian theme. He staged five plays by F. R. C. Hopkins between 1876 and 1882, and adapted For the Term of His Natural Life (1886), Robbery Under Arms (1890), and The Miner's Right (1891).[1] The two roles with which Dampier was most associated were Jean Valjean in Valjean, an adaptation of Les Misérables, and Captain Starlight in Robbery Under Arms.[3]

Dampier died in Paddington, Sydney on 24 May 1908.

Family

Dampier was survived by his wife, one son and two daughters.[1] His daughter Lily Dampier was a noted actor in her own right, and married actor and director Alfred Rolfe, who adapted several of Dampier's plays to the screen.

Lily Dampier died in 1915. Dampier's wife died shortly afterwards from a stroke while touring America with her other daughter Rose and son Fred.[4][5] Rose Dampier died while on tour in Nebraska in 1919.[6]

Dampier's son Fred was also an actor although he was never as successful as his father, sisters or brother in law. Fred had a secret marriage to another actor, Vera in 1905.[7][8][9]

Select writing credits
  • Valjean (1869) – adaptation of Les Misérables
  • Faust and Marguerite (1873) – adapted from the legends
  • Saint or Sinner (1876)
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin (1879)
  • The Nihilists (1880)
  • Under the Southern Cross (1885)
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin (1886) – with John F Sheridan, adapted from the novel
  • Our Emily (1886)
  • An English Lass (1886) – filmed as The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole (1912)
  • Jess (1886)
  • For the Term of His Natural Life (1886) – with Thomas Somers, adapted from the novel – later filmed as The Life of Rufus Dawes (1911)
  • Marvellous Melbourne (1886) – with J H Wrangham and Thomas Somers
  • Shamus O'Brien (1889)
  • East Lynn (1889)
  • The Count of Monte Cristo (1890) – with Garnet Walch, adapted from the novel
  • Robbery Under Arms (1890) – with Garnet Walch, adapted from the novel – later filmed in 1911
  • For Love and Life (1890)
  • The Miner's Right (1891)
  • The Scout (1891)
  • The Trapper (1891)
  • This Great City (1891)
  • For Love and Life (1891)
  • Wilful Murder (1892)
  • Help One Another (1892)
  • Thou Shalt Not Steal (1896)
  • To the West (1896)
  • The Bush King (1901) – rewrite of 1893 play – filmed in 1911

References
  1. John Rickard, 'Dampier, Alfred (1843–1908)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 4, Melbourne University Press, 1972, p. 13. Retrieved 28 August 2014
  2. "Mr Alfred Dampier Dead". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 25 May 1908. p. 7. Retrieved 12 March 2020 – via Trove.
  3. Richard Fotheringham, "Introduction", Robbery Under Arms by Alfred Dampier and Garnet Walch, Currency Press 1985 p14
  4. "Mrs Alfred Dampier Dead". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW: National Library of Australia. 16 May 1915. p. 2. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  5. "Death of Mrs Dampier". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 6 May 1915. p. 10. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  6. "Death of Rose Dampier". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 22 May 1919. p. 8. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  7. "A Secret Marriage and Its Sequel". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 7 November 1914. p. 24. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  8. "Theatrical Divorce". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 4 November 1914. p. 9. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  9. "A Secret Marriage". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 November 1914. p. 6. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
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