Family background
Joseph F Addison, son of Felix Addison, was born in England in 1866. In about 1889 in London, England, Addison married Bertha Jane Hanscombe (or Curtis), a noted contralto soloist. She died on 1 December 1909, aged 38.
Addison died at his Surry Hills residence on 21 May 1928, aged 62. He was buried in the Catholic section of Waverley Cemetery.
Occupation & interests
After studying music in Italy, Joseph Addison arrived in Sydney with J C Williamson’s Company. He may have been the Joseph Addison who arrived on the Aberdeen on 14 December 1882. Joseph Addison, A.L.C.M., L.L.C.M., was a winner of several State Baritone Championships. For over 35 years, he was conductor of choirs at St Benedict’s Church, St Frances Church at Haymarket, and, for the last seven years of his life, at Sacred Heart at Darlinghurst.
Addison lived at 476 Crown Street in Surry Hills, which was known as Addison Hall and doubled as a venue. The building was later the Progress Hall.
Local government service
Addison was elected Alderman for Cook Ward from 1 December 1915 to 30 November 1918. From 1916 to 1918, he was a member of the Health and By-Laws Committee, the Electric Lighting Committee and the General Purposes Committee.
References
City of Sydney Archives: Aldermen’s Files; Photo: CRS 54/241
Gibbney, H J & Smith, Ann G 1987, A Biographical Register 1788-1939, ANU
Society of Australian Genealogists. AGCI Index
State Records of NSW: Immigration indexes
‘Death of Madame Addison’, The Catholic Press,16 December 1909, p. 30, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105186300
‘What’s in a name?’, The Sun, 21 December 1915, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221933306
‘Obituary’, The Catholic Press, 21 June 1928, p. 31, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106407634
Building Survey Card. 476 Crown St. (Progress Hall) Dance Hall and caretaker residence. 45/175. (09/06/1943), [A-00508245]. City of Sydney Archives, https://archives.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/959059
Clock Hotel card 2 side 2, 1930s, Tooth and Company Yellow Cards, Noel Butlin Archives Centre, Australian National University, http://hdl.handle.net/1885/97448