ABSTRACT
On 20 July 1885 the R.M.S. Parramatta arrived at the Glenelg jetty near Adelaide, South Australia. Among disembarking passengers was Helen Lenoir, having travelled to the colony from London for what was to be a single brief visit to members of her family. Her arrival attracted the attention of the local press, for she had now achieved an international reputation in theatrical management after only a few years of employment with Carte. In December 1879 she had been entrusted with the modest task of supervising a special matinee of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance at Paignton to establish the copyright in England before the opera was staged in the United States. In 1880 she had greater responsibilities, often based in New York as Carte’s representative, establishing links with American theatre managers and dealing with a litany of lawsuits arising from unauthorized publications and performances of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas. Yet, had it not been for a family dispute, the consequence of a clash of personalities between Helen and her sister, perhaps these achievements might have eluded her.
