ABSTRACT
Peggy Glanville-Hicks was born in Melbourne, Australia, on 29 December 1912. Her father, Ernest, was an Englishman who had emigrated to new Zealand as an anglican minister. A substantial part of Melbourne's musical life in the 1920s centred on the albert street conservatorium, and for the first time Glanville-Hicks found herself in a deeply artistic environment. British music dominated the musical life of 1920s Melbourne, and the proselytizing of fritz hart was not the only reason. The formation of the British Music society further fuelled the growth of British music in 1920s Melbourne. In post-federation Melbourne, musical accomplishment was seen as an expression of 'gentility, taste and social distinction' and an admirable background for marriage, although unacceptable as a profession. In 1932 nothing seemed impossible for Glanville-Hicks. An exciting artistic world beckoned, one that was far removed from the parochialism of 1930s Melbourne.
