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Produced and published by the School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne
Published July 2008
Published July 2008
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Choral groups were formed in Melbourne by Germans in the late 1840s. The Liedertafel Harmonia began in the 1850s. Carl Gottlieb Elsasser (1817-85) who arrived in Melbourne in 1854, was a key figure, along with Julius Buddee, Julius Siede and Herr Schlempter. In 1860 the Harmonia joined the Melbourne Deutscher Turn Verein, becoming the Turnvereinliedertafel. Its successor, still active today, is the Liedertafel Arion, re-established in 1957 by the Club Tivoli, Deutscher Verein Melbourne. The Melbourne Deutscher Liedertafel was formed in 1868, and re-established in 1879 as the Melbourne Liedertafel, with English language as its medium. The Metropolitan Liedertafel (originally the South Yarra Liedertafel) was formed in 1870. In 1905 the Melbourne Liedertafel and Metropolitan Liedertafel combined to become the Royal Victorian Liedertafel, which in 1980 became the Royal Victorian Choir.