Mobil Quest
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The Mobil Quest was an Australian competition for operatic vocalists which ran from 1949 to 1957, sponsored by the Vacuum Oil Company and broadcast by Melbourne radio station 3DB and relayed to affiliates throughout Australia. It is remembered with wry amusement for judging Ronal Jackson the 1949 winner ahead of Joan Sutherland.
History
The quest was founded in 1949 with the stated aim of "bringing to the attention of the public the best vocal talent available in the Commonwealth"[1] The Vacuum Oil Company had an honorable association with classical music in Australia, having supported Opera for the People concerts and broadcasts since 1946.[2]
The contest was run Australia-wide, with contestants first passing an audition conducted by a participating radio station, which then conducted a series of heats to select that station's candidates for the semi-finals. Eighteen winners, three from each State, then competed in Melbourne to select the six who competed for the £1,000 prize at a grand final at the Melbourne Town Hall. The heats were broadcast in the relevant State capitals, and the finals broadcast through all participating stations. Lesser prizes for finalists were, respectively, £300, £100, £50, £25, and £15,[3] later £300, £150, and £50 each for the other three finalists.[a] Each singer who appeared on air received a broadcasting fee and all semi-finalists received an all-expenses trip to Melbourne.[4]
The Mobil Quest radio broadcasts between 1949 and 1956, and the 1957 semifinals, are held in Australia's National Film and Sound Archive.[5]
Winners
| Year | Winner | 2nd | 3rd | Equal 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Ronal Jackson[6][7] | Trudy Daunt[8][6] | William Smith[6] | |
| 1950 | Joan Sutherland[9][10] | David Allen[10] | William Smith[10] | |
| 1951 | Margaret Nisbett[11][12] | Clifford Powell[12] | June Bronhill[11] | |
| 1952 | Donald Smith[13] | Eric Mitchelson[14] | Elizabeth Allen[14][15][16] | Marjorie Conley[15][16] |
| 1953 | Elizabeth Allen[17][18] | Robert Allman[17] | Raymond McDonald[17][19][20][21] | |
| 1954 | Ronald Austron[22] | John Shaw[22] | Raymond McDonald[20][22] | |
| 1955 | Marjorie Conley | Margreta Elkins[23] | Heather Begg | Conrad Berensen |
| 1956 | Noel Melville | Heather Begg | Lance Lloyd | |
| 1957 | Nance Grant | Robert Bickerstaff | Richard Bromley | Peter Campbell |
Heats and finals
| Year | Queensland | New South Wales | Victoria | Tasmania | South Australia and Northern Territory | West Australia | unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | |||||||
| 1950 | |||||||
| 1951 | Ernest Knight[24] | Betty Prentice[24] | Joan Aird[24] | Eric Mitchelson,[11] Maureen Boyce,[11] Loris Sutton,[11] Edwin Liddle[11] | |||
| 1952 | Ernest Knight[25] | Audrey Worrad[25] | Dorothea Deegan[25] | ||||
| 1953 | |||||||
| 1954 | Valerie Collins[19][26] | Dorothy O'Donahoo[26] | Molly McGurk[26] | Lance Ingram,[27] Neil Warren-Smith,[27] Edwin Liddle,[27] Ronald Neill[27] | |||
| 1955 | |||||||
| 1956 | |||||||
| 1957 |
Musicians (finals and recital tours)
| Year | Conductor | Orchestra | Pianist | Compere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Australian Symphony Orchestra[8] | Christine Whyte[28] | ||
| 1950 | Christine Whyte[29] | |||
| 1951 | Hector Crawford[13][24] | Australian Symphony Orchestra[24] | Christine Whyte[30] | John Curtis[24] |
| 1952 | Hector Crawford[25] | Australian Symphony Orchestra[25] | Henri Penn[14] | |
| 1953 | Margaret Schofield[18][17] | |||
| 1954 | Marie van Hove[27][26] | |||
| 1955 | ||||
| 1956 | ||||
| 1957 |
See also
Notes
- To give some idea of the value of the prizes, a skilled worker's weekly wage at the time might have been £20, a new car £1000, and a house £5000.