This fascinating subject came up on the Geelong and District Mailing List. The interest and input from Mailing List members developed to the point where it warranted its own web page.
List of winners: Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo
The competition began as the Sun Aria in 1924 in Ballarat with the South Street Society. Similar Sun Aria competitions then commenced in Geelong and Ballarat. The latter two seem to have ceased by 1934 and 1936, while others commenced in Sydney and Canberra. It was the Ballarat based competition that survived to become the Herald Sun Aria Competition. Heats are held annually in Ballarat with the final being held at Hamer Hall in Melbourne.
Some of the better known winners in the various Aria competitions include Marjorie Jackson (1928 Geelong), Dame Joan Sutherland (1949 City of Sydney), June Gough [Bronhill] (1950 City of Sydney), and Dame Kiri te Kanawa (1966).
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Marjorie LAWRENCE won the Sun Aria competition (Geelong) in 1928. It was held at the Palais Royal, Moorabool Street, Geelong Sadly she was one of our locals who was better known overseas than she was in Australia. Marjorie Florence LAWRENCE was born 17 Feb 1907 at Deans Marsh, Victoria, Australia. She was the daughter of William LAWRENCE and Elizabeth SMITH. Marjorie's mother died in 1909 - the family lived in Deans Marsh until c.1921 when they moved to a property near Winchelsea. |
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At the age of nineteen, Marjorie was an entrant in a musical competition in Colac in 1926. The competition was open to both male and female contestants. Marjorie was "well placed in seven events" and won an equal first and a second prize. In 1927 Marjorie's family built the Globe Theatre in Winchelsea for her. Following her win in Geelong, Marjorie gave a farewell concert on 21 September 1928 before departing for overseas and beginning her studies in Paris in December 1928. |
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The Globe Theatre still exists today and is protected by a Heritage Overlay. The theatre was also the scene of one of Marjorie's triumphant home-comings in 1939. At Marjorie's request, and in accordance with a promise made before she went abroad, she commenced her Australia Tour at Winchelsea with a concert on 17 June. Apart from a few seats reserved for members of the press, Marjorie insisted that ONLY locals could attend her Winchelsea concert. Each time she returned to Australia, she always visited Winchelsea and family and friends in Deans Marsh where she also made time to join the choir for Sunday service in the St John's Church of England church. Marjorie died 13 January 1979 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, where she lived with her husband Thomas KING. |
List of winners: Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo
These lists has been compiled from Singers of Australia: from Melba to Sutherland by Barbara MacKenzie and Findlay Mackenzie, published in 1967. Additional results not listed below can be found in this publication.
Some updates / corrections have been made to the list below by locals and descendants of contestants.
The Sun Aria (Geelong)
| Year | Position | Contestant |
| 1925 | 1 | Arnold Ashworth |
| 2 | William Cadzon | |
| 3 | Olwer Marshall and May Daley | |
| 1926 | 1 | William A Bossence |
| 2 | Maisie Ramsay | |
| 3 | Colin J Thomson | |
| 1927 | 1 | Lorna Miller |
| 2 | May Daley | |
| 3 | Mrs Florence Pryor | |
| 1928 | 1 | Marjorie Lawrence |
| 2 | Alice Wells | |
| 3 | Ernest Wilson | |
| 1929 | records unavailable | |
| 1930 | 1 | Miss Florence Erikson |
| 2 | Norman Menzies | |
| 3 | Miss M Cumming | |
| 1931 | 1 | Myra Hardenack |
| 2 | Eulalie Moore | |
| 3 | Harold Murphy | |
| 1932 | 1 | Anne Harvey |
| 2 | Charles E Lomas | |
| 3 | Lola Edwards | |
| 1933 | 1 | Ailsa McKenzie |
| 2 | John Dudley | |
| 3 | Rene Craig and Mary Lilley | |
The Sun Aria (Royal South Street Competitions) [Ballarat]
| Year | Position | Contestant |
| 1924 | 1 | Lawrence Power |
| 2 | Morva Davies | |
| 1925 | 1 | Pauline Gallagher |
| 1926 | 1 | Edward Hocking |
| 1927 | 1 | Arnold Matters |
| 1928 | 1 | Nancy Marley |
| 2 | Florence Erikson | |
| 3 | Sydney Holmes | |
| 1929 | 1 | May Craven |
| 1930 | 1 | Norman Menzies |
| 1931 | 1 | Adele McKay |
| 1932 | 1 | Emilie Hooke |
| 2 | Nancy Studley | |
| 3 | Etta Bernard and Jeanne Teychenne | |
| 1933 | 1 | Newstead Rush |
| 2 | Beatrice Oakley | |
| 3 | Joan Jones and William Laird | |
| 1934 | 1 | Dennis Dowling |
| 2 | Hinemoa Rosieur | |
| 3 | Alan Coad | |
| 1935 | 1 | Nance Osborne |
| 1936 | 1 | Sylvia Fisher |
| 1937 | 1 | Joan Jones |
| 1938 | 1 | Alfredo Luizzi |
| 2 | Mavis Webster | |
| 3 | Vera Hickenbotham | |
| 1939 | 1 | Mavis Webster |
| 1940 | 1 | Joyce Ross |
| 2 | Frances Forbes | |
| 3 | Vera Hickenbotham | |
| 1941 | 1 | Amelia Scarce |
| 2 | Kathleen Seabrook | |
| 3 | Frank Lasslett and Peggy Knibb | |
| 1942-1944 | no contests | |
| 1945 | 1 | John Lanigan |
| 2 | Jean Thompson | |
| 3 | Patricia Howard | |
| 1946 | 1 | Maxwell Cohen |
| 2 | Morris Williams | |
| 3 | Patricia Howard and Robert Simmons | |
| 1947 | 1 | Charles Skase |
| 2 | Keith Neilson | |
| 3 | Nita Maughan | |
| 1948 | 1 | Mary Miller |
| 2 | Joan Arnold | |
| 3 | Robert Simmons | |
| 1949 | 1 | Betna Pontin |
| 2 | Joan Arnold | |
| 3 | Halinka de Tarczynska | |
| 1950 | 1 | David Allen |
| Reserve Award |
Verona Cappadona |
The Sun Aria (Bendigo)
| Year | Position | Contestant |
| 1925-1930 | Not available | |
| 1931 | 1 | Kathleen Carroll |
| 2 | Monica Miller | |
| 3 | Godfrey Beckwith | |
| 1932 | 1 | Miss M Butler |
| 2 | Nance Osborne | |
| 3 | Joan Jones and Miss I Turner | |
| 1933 | 1 | Jeanne Teychenne |
| 2 | Charles E Lomas | |
| 3 | W Howling | |
| 1934 | 1 | Margaret Black |
| 2 | Lena Worland and Gladys Richards | |
| 1935 | 1 | Freda Northcote |
| 2 | Molly Hislop | |
| 3 | Miss M Daniels and William Laird and Miss S Richards |
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1965: photo of people lined up outside Allan's music shop to buy Sun Aria competition tickets
History: Royal South Street Society
About: Royal South Street Society