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S. A. Fitzgerald toured Australasia as a character actor from the 1890s to the 1920s. He was born Stephen Australia Fitzgerald at West Maitland NSW in 1858, to Stephen Fitzgerald and Margaret McGuinness. His father, an emancipist, was a long-time mail contractor and coach operator in West Maitland. His mother was daughter of an emancipist. Stephen Australia married Mary Ann Ingram at West Maitland in 1878. He began his career as a tailor in West Maitland with a wide range of activities, but his main love was amateur theatre. In 1889 he moved to Sydney and turned professional. S. A. and Mary Ann had four surviving children, all sons, and all of whom went on the stage: Richard McGuinness (b 1882) as Max Clifton, Lancelot Sherlock (b 1884) as Lance Vane, Clifton Stephen (b 1889) as Cliffe Steven and James Balmain (b 1891) as Jim Gerald, a famous comedian in the first half of the 20th Century. Mary Ann died at Newtown in 1912. S. A. remarried Harriet Wallace in 1918. He died at Potts Point in 1940, Harriet at Mosman in 1949. Trove.
Life And Adventures Of John Vane, The Notorious Australian Bushranger, The, (S. A. [Stephen Australia] Fitzgerald, 1910) Spencer's Pictures, dp Arthur Higgins; Jim Gerald, Lance Vane, Max Clifton; longest title
Garry Gillard | New: 19 November, 2012 | Now: 7 August, 2020