scene-painter, was undoubtedly the William 'Barberry’ listed as an artist in the Sydney Directory for 1857. Burbury was identified as a scene-painter at the Prince of Wales Theatre in February 1859 when, with James Guy and assistants, he painted the sets for Rolla; or, the Conquest of Peru; the scenery of The Bay of Tumbez (Act I, sc. i), Wild Retreat in the Interior of the Country (Act III, sc. ii) and Grand Square of the City (Act III, sc. iv) were specifically identified as his. In May 1863 Burbury and his assistants created the scenery for a production of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII at the Royal Victoria Theatre, advertised as having 'scenic effects never before attempted in the Australian colonies, every scene and appointment new’. He was still at the Royal Victoria a year later, but by March 1866 was employed for Lyster’s opera season at the Prince of Wales Opera House to assist John Hennings. In November Burbury was back at the Royal Victoria, painting the scenery for The Orange Girl. He also advertised 'BEAUTIFUL PANORAMIC VIEWS’ in 1866, in conjunction with an entertainment by Charles Miran, The Seven Ages of Man.
William Burbury died on 3 June 1882, aged sixty-three, and was buried in the Church of England section of Waverley Cemetery. His white marble headstone, which gives his name as 'Burbery’, is carved with an artist’s palette and three brushes, an ornament also used on the memorial to Edward Winstanley, another scene-painter.
- Writers:
- Staff Writer
- Date written:
- 1992
- Last updated:
- 2011
