The Development of Orchestras in the Early 1900s

Charles Cawthorne formed the Adelaide Grand Orchestra in 1899.  This was conducted by Charles J. Stevens, and Peter Dawson (1882-1961), the great Australian baritone, made his Adelaide debut with the orchestra on July 19th, 1899.  A very popular amateur orchestra of the time was Hopf’s Orchestra Society, formed by Ludwig Hopf in 1896, which performed light orchestral music and played at the Adelaide Oval ‘continentals’.

During World War I, Hubert Winsloe Hall  conducted an orchestra led by Sylvia Whitington, which raised money for war charities between 1915 and 1918.  From 1918 to 1920, Hooper Brewster Jones (1887-1949)  conducted the Adelaide Orchestra, which gave a number of concerts in Elder Hall.  During World War I, Thomas Grigg’s Orchestra gave professional performances .  Some of Adelaide’s hotels, including the South Australian Hotel, had small orchestras at this time.  The Grosvenor Hotel’s orchestra was well-known, having about six members.  The hotel orchestras supplied background music.

- Robert Brown