My australian identity assignment by alyssa ch

• 1. My Australian Identity Task 1 Research Assignment By Alyssa C-H

2. Personal information Date of birth: 19 May 1861 Died: 23 February 1931 Full name: Helen Porter Mitchell Nickname: Dame Nellie Melba Parents: David Mitchell and Isabella Ann Hobbies: Singing, Dancing and Piano 3. Family History - Beginnings: Her dad was a stonemason and her mum was a music teacher playing piano, harp and organ. They came to Australia in 1857 and her dad began a business as a building contractor near Richmond. From the age of 3 or 4 a young Nellie enjoyed listening to her mum play piano. Her mum would teach her music. She started off like normal kids just like us and started singing and playing the piano. Then she decided she wanted to sing so she sang at church. After a while the news of Nellies singing started to spread. She was very excited and knew she could do it. Little did she know the career she was going to have. The first time she ever sang in front of a crowd was when she was six at the Richmond Town Hall where she sang Shells of Ocean, with Comin thro the rye as an encore. For school she went to a local boarding school. When she was older she went to Presbyterian Ladies College in Victoria. 4. Family History - Growing up: In her teens Nellie was taught singing by Madame Lucy Chambers, a local celebrity in Melbourne who had sung in Italy. Nellie played piano and continued to sing many times at the church. When Nellie left school in 1880 her mum died. She was very upset and so she had to live with her dad. Her dad bought a sugar mill near Mackay in Queensland and they moved there. Now 21 years of age, Nellie married Captain Charles Nisbett Frederick Armstrong. They were married in Brisbane 22 December 1882. They chose to live in a tin roof house. Nellie wasnt very happy with her marriage although she had a son named George. On the 19th of January 1884 she left from Mackay to Melbourne; to set off on a big journey and explore more songs and music. After a long time apart they divorced and singing became her life. Now her career took off in Australia and Europe, where her 5. Why I picked the Dame: I picked Dame Nellie Melba because she was a female soprano opera singer and she is on the front of the Australian $100 note today. 6. Legacy: A Theatre in Melbourne, Victoria was named Melba Theatre after her. The Music Hall in Melbourne University is known as Melba Hall. There is a statue of her in Melbourne. Two foods are named after her as well. Peach Melba and Melba Toast. Both were created by a French chef who was a fan of Dame Nellie Melba in 1897. We think she enjoyed both. 7. Legacy (contd): The Peach Melba and Melba toast are still around today, all around the world. 8. Video The You tube video link below shows Dame Nellie Melba in many different ways. You also hear her singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rvghcgsBIQ 9. Bibliography: Dame Nellie Melba Wikipedia the free encyclopaedia Dame Nellie Melba Australian Dictionary of biography Dame Nellie Melba You tube Dame Nellie Melba 1 Dame Nellie Melba Opera trust Dame Nellie Melba Museum