Hi Losties, Weve been working with Helen English at the University, whos been researching the history of music making in the Newcastle of the 1870s. She came across a piece of music written in 1876 for a Myrtle Villa that sat somewhere on the Hill. Have a listen to a snippet of it recorded by Helen here: youtu.be/pzUfcRzSr1Y?t=24m28s The video should begin playing at the Myrtle Villa bit. We think weve located the site of Myrtle Villa on the Hill. Built by W. (William) K. (Kerr) Lochhead Esq. in the mid 1800s(?) it sat of the corner of Bingle St. and Terrace Rd on the Hill, and an overlay on Google Earth with an old 1886 survey has shown it up. There have been addons to the property over the years, but the original footprint of the house still stands where it did. At present it is on the Heritage Register (thansk Ann Hardy) as Corlettes Cottage environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=2170312 but we reckon its original name was Myrtle Villa, and for some reason it has been lost! Here is some info from the Newcastle Chronicle on the Myrtle Villa Polka from 1876: — We have received a very charming polka, bearing the above euphonious title, dedicated to our esteemed townsman W. K. Lochhead, Esq., and composed by the popular Maestro, Herr Franz Becker. Our fair readers will find the composition remarkably pleasing, being in an easy key, and without any of those sudden transitions which at times render polka music rather difficult of rendition. We heartily commend Myrtle Villa polka to the notice of our music-loving friends. Mater and Co. of Pitt-street, Sydney, are the publishers. (Newcastle Chronicle, 22 Jan 1876, 4) It might be great to have a performance there, in the park, across the road from the house, so that the Myrtle Villa Polka can finally come home.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 23:57:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015