Garnet Walch
Garnet Walch (1 October 1843 in Broadmarsh, Tasmania – 3 January 1913 in Melbourne), was an Australian writer, dramatist, journalist and publisher. The youngest son of Major J.W.H. Walch, of H.M. 54th Regiment, he went on to become the most popular, and arguably the most successful, writer for the Australian stage during the 1870s and 1880s, While many of his works were localised and updated adaptations (notably his pantomimes), it was his ability to tap into the public's mood and desires by expressing sentiments and making satirical allusions that made his works so popular. Walch wrote a wide array of genres and forms, including "serious" dramatic works, comedies, pantomimes, burlesques, melodrama, and comediettas. Throughout his career as a dramatist, Walch wrote for and collaborated with many of Australia's leading theatre industry practitioners of the period. His list of creative associations reads like a Who's Who of late 19th century Australian theatre: Harry Rickards, George Darrell, Alfred Dampier, Richard Stewart, William Saurin Lyster, J.H. Rainford, Mrs G.B.W. Lewis (aka Rose Edouin), and Alfred Sylvester to name but a few. He also wrote works for the Melbourne Theatre Royal's fluid management of Henry R. Harwood, Richard Stewart, J.R. Greville, John Hennings, and