Born Mary Wilson at Richmond, Victoria, she was also known by her stepfather's name, Fawaz, before adopting the name of her country as a stage name prior to her debut in 1922 at Covent Garden. Known as one of the world's greatest Wagnerian sopranos Florence Austral married the Australian virtuoso flautist John Amadio in 1925 and toured widely with him in America and Australia. After the Second World War she returned to Australia almost completely paralysed with multiple sclerosis. She nevertheless taught until her retirement in 1959. Austral died at a nursing home in Newcastle on 16 May 1968.
View the full record at Australian Women's Register
AUSTRAL, FLORENCE MARY (1892-1968), singer, was born on 16 April 1892 at Richmond, Victoria, only daughter of William Wilson, a Swedish carpenter formerly known as Wilhelm Lindholm, and his wife Helena Mary, née Harris, a dressmaker. Her father died in 1895 and her mother set up in business; in 1903 she married 28-year-old Syrian book-keeper John Fawaz, a staunch Methodist. The singer was known as Florence Fawaz until 1921 when she adopted the professional name of Florence Austral.
View the full record at Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
Available online
Available online
Available online
Available online