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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

[edit]

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 1949–1956, and the 1957 semifinals, are held in Australia's National Film and Sound Archive.[5]

Winners

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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

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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)

[edit]
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

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Notes

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  1. ^ 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.

References

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  1. ^ Barbara Mackenzie; Findlay Mackenzie (1967). Singers of Australia. Lansdowne Press.
  2. ^ "Opera for the People is News". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 21, 577. Victoria, Australia. 16 July 1946. p. 9. Retrieved 19 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Big Prizemoney Offered in Nationwide Radio Quest". The Mercury. Vol. CLXIX, no. 24, 372. Tasmania, Australia. 20 January 1949. p. 21. Retrieved 19 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "New Mobil Quest". Barrier Miner. Vol. LXIII, no. 17, 198. New South Wales, Australia. 30 October 1950. p. 9. Retrieved 19 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Australian radio series (1930s–1970s) A guide to holdings in the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (p.133)" (PDF). National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "BARITONE WINS £1000 PRIZE IN MOBIL QUEST". Weekly Times (Melbourne). 21 September 1949. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  7. ^ Germain, John. "A baritone who was 'showbiz' through and through". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Miss Trudy Daunt Runner-up In £1000 Mobil Quest". The Dandenong Journal. 21 September 1949. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  9. ^ Blackshaw, Adam. "Before they were famous: Joan Sutherland". National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Maryborough Chronicle (7 September 1950). "Mobil Quest to Joan Sutherland". Maryborough Chronicle. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f The Age (Melbourne) (6 September 1951). "Soprano Wins Mobil Quest". The Age. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Sun Aria Winner In Concert Here". Sunraysia Daily (Mildura, Victoria). 29 November 1951. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  13. ^ a b The Age (Melbourne) (4 September 1952). "Former Gunner Wins Mobil Quest". The Age. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  14. ^ a b c "Eric Mitchelson To Star In Mobil Show". 2 October 1952. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  15. ^ a b "CRONULLA AND DISTRICT MUSIC CLUB". The Observer (Cronulla). 16 October 1952. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  16. ^ a b "THE CRONULLA AND DISTRICT MUSIC CLUB". The Observer (Cronulla). 25 September 1952. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  17. ^ a b c d "Mobil Quest stars on arrival in Perth (photo and caption)". Sunday Times (Perth). 4 October 1953. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Sparkling Concert at Boulder". Kalgoorlie Miner. 3 October 1953. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Sang into Quest Final". The Courier-Mail. 30 August 1954. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  20. ^ a b "Mobil Quest Finalist". Advocate (Burnie, Tasmania). 9 September 1954. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  21. ^ Brisbane Telegraph (Second Edition) page 23 (9 October 1953). "City Hall Will be an Opera House". Brisbane Telegraph. Retrieved 4 May 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ a b c "R. Austron wins Mobil Quest". Advocate (Burnie, Tasmania). 9 September 1954. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  23. ^ McGinnes, Mark. "Statuesque yet steely soprano". The Age. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  24. ^ a b c d e f "CHALLENGE IN MOBILE QUEST HEAT". Glen Innes Examiner (NSW). 25 June 1951. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  25. ^ a b c d e "EIGHTH HEAT OF MOBIL QUEST". The Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate. 6 May 1952. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  26. ^ a b c d "'Stars Of Mobil Quest' BRILLIANT CONCERT". Kalgoorlie Miner. 17 September 1954. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  27. ^ a b c d e "Mobil Quest Won By Sydney Tenor". Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton). 9 September 1954. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  28. ^ "[Advertising]". Brisbane Telegraph. 12 October 1949. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  29. ^ "[Advertising]". Brisbane Telegraph. 12 September 1950. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  30. ^ "Concert for violinist". The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, Victoria). 16 November 1951. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
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