108-627: Leuralla is a historic house in Leura , a suburb in the Blue Mountains , in New South Wales , Australia . It was the location of the Leuralla Toy & Railway Museum , which closed in 2022. The present house was built between 1910 and 1914 and was designed by architect Edward Hewlett Hogben . The garden was developed around the 1914 house and is 5 hectares (12 acres) in size. A formal garden lay out
216-503: A weatherboard spandrel . There is a single-storeyed sandstone outbuilding with a gabled roof on the Olympian Parade side of the grounds. Andreas established an exotic garden from his earliest ownership of Leuralla and much of it was saved from the 1909 bushfire. It was redeveloped around the 1914 house and is still 5 hectares (12 acres) in size. A formal garden lay out was used originally by Andreas and later Paul Sorensen improved
324-497: A Hallé concert, Cardus proposed "a 150 per cent [import] tariff against this sort of American dry-goods". He professed to think that Sullivan 's "preoccupation with comic opera, to the neglect of oratorio and symphony" was a "deplorable" loss to English music, although he also wrote that without Gilbert , nothing of Sullivan's music would have survived. Cardus championed Delius against the consensus of his fellow-critics: "His music looks back on days intensely lived through; it knows
432-453: A blacksmith. Cardus's autobiographical works refer to his father as a violinist in an orchestra, but there is no other evidence for this. Four days after the wedding, Cardus's father left by boat for America, with the intention that Ada follow. However, Ada changed her mind and went to live with Eliahoo Joseph, a Turkish merchant and possibly a pimp, with Ada a prostitute. John Frederick Newsham returned to England and divorced Ada in 1899. It
540-914: A collection of toys, children's literature, games and models from the 20th Century. Items included rare tinplate trains, airplanes, zeppelins, ships, automobiles, lead and elastolin figures, as well as working model train layouts complete with train station, harbour, farm & garden and military scenes. Represented characters included Alice in Wonderland, Tintin, Babar, Winnie the Pooh, Noddy and Rupert Bear, Popeye, James Bond, Action Man, Barbie and Harry Potter. Important dolls, teddybears and stuffed animals, Meccano, construction kit, games and jigsaws, children's literature & comics were also represented. The grounds feature an outdoor display of model trains and original ephemera from NSW railways such as signage, benches and station contents, which were being removed and disposed of in
648-403: A cricket writer, although he was hardly known there in his musical capacity. The 1936–37 MCC tour of Australia under G.O. Allen was the occasion of Cardus's first visit to the country. During the tour he made, or consolidated, friendships with players and colleagues including C. B. Fry and Donald Bradman . Fry, a former England cricket captain, was a boyhood hero of Cardus, and was covering
756-499: A daily two-hour study of music or music literature. Flight was his secret, flight and the curving line, now higher, now lower, tempting, inimical; every ball like every other ball, yet somehow unlike; each over in collusion with the others, part of a plot. Every ball a decoy, a spy sent out to get the lie of the land; some balls simple, some complex, some easy, some difficult; and one of them—ah, which?—the master ball. Cardus, in his Autobiography , writing of Wilfred Rhodes In
864-488: A daughter, of Harry and Alice, and the Evatt family connection to the property began. Clive Evatt Jnr, an Andreas grandson, managed the property. Clive Evatt and his wife, Elizabeth Evatt, are the founders of the present museum. They are responsible for the exhibition of H.V. Evatt QC KStJ (1894 – 1965) memorabilia and for the toy and railway collection displayed in various buildings. Herbert Vere Evatt
972-549: A devoted admirer to the extent that, eventually, questions were raised about his critical blindness to her technical weaknesses. He wrote of her singing that it was, "like the woman herself ... imbued with a quiet but reliant sense and a feeling for the fun and goodness of life". He was devastated by her death from cancer in October 1953; the following year he edited and contributed to a memorial volume of tributes. For The Manchester Guardian , Cardus wrote around 30 music articles
1080-477: A foregone conclusion. The focus of much of Cardus's cricket writing was the Lancashire side of the inter-war years, and in particular their twice-yearly battles with rivals Yorkshire . His eye was as much on the players and their personalities as on the game, on "the match within the match", with the actual scores treated as secondary. Cardus justified this: "Do I add up the notes of a Mozart "Vivace" to evaluate
1188-727: A former Chief Justice of New South Wales , Leader of the Australian Labor Party , the third President of the United Nations General Assembly , the first Chairman of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission , and a Justice of the High Court of Australia . The property was home to the NSW Toy and Railway Museum. which closed in 2022, with the toys subsequently auctioned off. As of April 2024,
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#17328864489321296-546: A group of like-minded autodidacts at Alexandra Park or, in the winter, at the Lyons café in Albert Square , to discuss and debate for whole afternoons. At first Cardus's schedule of self-improvement was random; eventually he compiled what he called a "cultural scheme" whereby he devoted a set weekly number of hours to different subjects. Cardus's interest in music began with the popular tunes sung by his mother and her sisters in
1404-489: A highlight of Cardus's musical calendar; in 1936 he saw Toscanini conduct a performance there of Wagner 's Die Meistersinger that, he said, "will remain in the mind for a lifetime ... Toscanini held us like children listening to a tale told in the chimney corner, lighted by the glow of olden times". Cardus's final prewar Salzburg visit was in 1938, just after the German-Austrian Anschluss which led to
1512-490: A highly paid permanent contract to cover both music and cricket for the SMH he considered his options; with some reluctance he agreed to cover the MCC's 1946–47 tour of Australia for the SMH and also for The Times and The Manchester Guardian . The novelist Charles Morgan wrote of Cardus's reports, "the best [I have] read these 40 years. Who shall dare to say now that George Meredith
1620-433: A journalist into something more substantial. After his wife announced her intention of sailing from England in 1941 to join him, Cardus declined to move to a larger flat to accommodate them both, and rented a separate establishment for her a mile away. They dined together once a week, but otherwise continued to lead largely separate lives. By the end of the war Cardus's thoughts were turning to England. Refusing an offer of
1728-514: A keen antagonism towards much of contemporary music; discussing Pierre Boulez 's Pli selon pli after a performance in 1965, he said he "could not relate the varied succession of aural phenomena to music as my musical intelligence and senses recognise music". In 1964 Cardus was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In a letter to his friend Marjorie Robinson he described
1836-535: A knighthood, Neville, take it. It makes tables at the Savoy so much easier to come by". Edith Cardus died on 26 March 1968. Despite their separate day-to-day lives, she had been an influential presence for nearly all Cardus's adult life; they had communicated by telephone almost daily, and he felt her loss keenly. After her death he left the National Liberal Club and moved into her flat, which remained his base for
1944-754: A lack of central direction was adversely affecting the orchestra, and his biting criticisms of some performances led to temporarily strained relations. There was nothing pitiable in him, nothing inviting sympathy in this wreck of a physique. He was wrapped in a monk-like gown, and his face was strong and disdainful, every line on it graven by intrepid living. Cardus, writing of his meeting with Frederick Delius , October 1929. Cardus often expressed views contrary to popular and critical opinion. He dismissed Stravinsky 's The Rite of Spring as "a sophisticated exploitation of primitive rum-ti-tum". When Harty introduced Gershwin 's symphonic poem An American in Paris into
2052-422: A lifelong love affair ... In his eyes she could do no wrong". A flamboyant character, Beatrice brought colour into Cardus's life; she encouraged him to read worthwhile books and her memory, Brookes asserts, "remained a potent inspirational force" throughout his later life as a writer. She also bought him his first cricket bat . These years were a period of intense self-education. Cardus became an habitué of
2160-457: A mere game." His books on cricket were widely reviewed in the Australian press in the 1920s and 30s; one critic commented in 1929, "Mr. Cardus mingles fancy with fact. The latter is preferable." Another Australian writer, quoting him extensively in 1932, observed, "Mr. Cardus is a gifted writer and a most impartial critic." By 1936 he was known to a considerable section of the Australian public as
2268-663: A more natural setting than the iconoclastic frenzy of the Lyons café where socialism vied with Richard Strauss for pride of place in the race to modernity". The Daily Citizen paid poorly, and Cardus's association with it ended in April 1914. Cardus spent his winters in Manchester, studying hard in anticipation of any opportunity for an opening as a music critic, eking out his summer savings by taking temporary clerical work. Around 1916 he met Edith King, an art teacher and amateur actress who became
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#17328864489322376-464: A performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute ): The opera in fact is the only one in existence that might conceivably have been composed by God. Cardus's Guardian review, 3 May 1961. In the decades after the war many of Cardus's earlier heroes and acquaintances died. On Fry's death in 1956 Cardus wrote of him as "A great Englishman, measured by any standards of occupation, art and civilisation". In 1959, still in harness, Newman died at
2484-468: A position he held for 20 years. Cardus's emergence as cricket correspondent was concurrent with another appointment, that of deputy and successor designate to Langford as music critic. In January 1920 Cardus reported on two recitals by the Russian tenor Vladimir Rosing , and apparently impressed Scott with the quality of his notice, although the accuracy of Cardus's summary of events has been questioned. With
2592-837: A private visit to Australia from mid-January to mid-March 1938. When he joined The Herald in 1940, his initial brief was to cover a series of concerts conducted by Beecham for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). Daily contact between the two men during Beecham's time in Australia between June and October 1940 helped to consolidate their friendship. At the end of his tour Beecham tried to persuade Cardus to join him in sailing to America, asking, "Do you propose to stay in this barbarous country all your life?" Cardus insisted on remaining in Australia, but moved from Melbourne to Sydney. Concluding that he could not satisfactorily review concerts for an evening newspaper, he joined
2700-399: A real estate agency. The Alexandra Hotel, overlooking the railway station, offers panoramic views from its back veranda. There are a substantial number of restaurants, cafes and coffee shops along Leura Mall, among the boutiques, gift and antique shops. Leura is home to many formal, English-style, cool-climate gardens, influenced or designed by Paul Sorenson , which provide elegant walks and
2808-447: A regular attender at the Lyons café meetings. In the summers, when Cardus returned to Shrewsbury, she kept him informed of musical and cultural events in Manchester. The Shrewsbury years, which Brookes describes as a "magical interlude", ended suddenly when, at the end of the 1916 summer, Alington was appointed headmaster of Eton . Initially it seemed likely that Cardus would join him there as his secretary, but Cardus's military exemption
2916-748: A small boy he had begun to visit Old Trafford Cricket Ground to watch Lancashire matches: "The first cricketer I saw was A.C. MacLaren ... I can still see the swing of MacLaren's bat, the great follow-through finishing high and held there with the body poised". In 1902 he saw the Test match against Australia in which Victor Trumper scored a century before lunch and thereby won a permanent place among Cardus's heroes. Cardus first played cricket on rough waste land close to his home in Rusholme; as he matured he developed as an effective medium-paced off break bowler , and for several seasons from 1908 onwards he played as
3024-524: A wealthy family. It is an imposing two-storey house set in extensive grounds in the Federation Free Classical style and is notable for its entry portico and stair, symmetry , and bracketed cornice. The walls and chimneys are rendered and the building is on a rockfaced sandstone base. Leuralla has a hipped roof with short projecting hipped wings on the southern and northern sides. The wide external sandstone staircase which has twin flights from
3132-547: A weekend professional in Manchester league cricket. "I am not ashamed to confess that I seldom hesitated, as soon as a batsman came to the crease , to let him have a quick one bang in the penis; after which a quick, simple straight one would invariably remove him from the scene". In the spring of 1912, in search of a change from his unrewarding clerical job, Cardus applied for the post of assistant cricket coach at Shrewsbury School , citing his bowling averages in Manchester club cricket . He reasoned that, by living frugally during
3240-478: A weekly, fifteen-minute talk on music, illustrated by records, for the children's Argonauts Club programme and regularly wrote for ABC Weekly . Cardus rented a small flat in the Kings Cross district of Sydney, where he wrote his Ten Composers (1945) and Autobiography (1947). He said later that he found the discipline of writing for seven hours a day difficult at first, but that the process had turned him from
3348-412: A year. These included "survey" pieces, which often reflected his personal enthusiasms; a regular subject was the music of Gustav Mahler , who in the early 1950s was by no means a popular composer with British audiences. Cardus sought to change that, with a series of articles between 1952 and 1957 under titles such as "Mahler's Growing Influence", "Misunderstanding Mahler", and "The Mahler Problem". He wrote
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3456-510: Is forgotten?" In April 1947 Cardus returned to England. He had not as yet decided to leave Australia permanently, but "felt in need of spiritual refreshment". He found a war-weary England in which much had changed; familiar landmarks had disappeared, and old friends and acquaintances had died. The Free Trade Hall was a burnt-out shell, and the Queen's Hall in London completely destroyed; however, Cardus
3564-601: The Blue Mountains National Park . Leura is situated adjacent to Katoomba , the largest centre in the upper mountains, and the two towns merge along Leura's western edge. The original inhabitants of the area were the Dharug and Gundungurra people. Archaeological evidence at Lyrebird Dell in South Leura suggests that Aboriginal occupation of the region may date back more than 12,000 years. The first Europeans to enter
3672-767: The Royal Festival Hall . Outside London, Cardus was a regular visitor to the Edinburgh Festival and to Glyndebourne , and was in Manchester for the reopening of the Free Trade Hall and the "homecoming" of the Hallé Orchestra in November 1951. The inaugural concert concluded with Kathleen Ferrier singing "Land of Hope and Glory". Cardus had first heard Ferrier at the Edinburgh Festival in 1947; he became
3780-563: The Salzburg Festival , where he met Beecham and began a friendship which lasted until Sir Thomas's death in 1961—despite numerous disagreements. One of Cardus's notices in 1937 so incensed Beecham that he announced he would not conduct any concert at which Cardus was present. Cardus later numbered Beecham, with Elgar and Delius, as "one of the three most original spirits known in English music since Purcell". The annual Salzburg Festival became
3888-731: The 1939 season was summarily truncated. On 1 September, the day that Germany invaded Poland, Cardus observed the removal of the bust of W. G. Grace from the Lord's pavilion ; he was informed by a bystander: "That means war". It has been argued that this should be regarded as a good story rather than literal truth: there was no match at Lord's that day, and Cardus was on holiday in Derbyshire. Following Langford's death in May 1927, Cardus became The Manchester Guardian ' s chief music critic. For several years he had worked closely with Langford, whose influence on
3996-456: The 1953 Test Matches against Australia. In the English winter of 1954–55 Cardus made his final visit to Australia, to report on the Test series for The Sydney Morning Herald ; he undertook to write "impressions" rather than day-to-day reports on play. He found time to enjoy Sydney's theatrical and music scene, but was disappointed in what he perceived as a decline in the city's musical standards. (On
4104-469: The 1980s. The house also features a commemorative museum to the great Australian politician, intellectual and statesman Dr. H V Evatt. The museum included a display of Nazi-themed toys that were used to indoctrinate children in the German Nazi era. A sign at the display said that the museum "disclaims and condemns" such use and that they are shown for public knowledge. After the closure of the museum in 2022,
4212-587: The Dardanelles Pass, before ascending to Echo Point via the Giant Stairway. The area is popular for bushwalking and photography. Neville Cardus Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus , CBE (2 April 1888 – 28 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became The Manchester Guardian ' s cricket correspondent in 1919 and its chief music critic in 1927, holding
4320-767: The Leura Shakespeare festival. Self-styled as "the Garden Village", the Leura Gardens Festival is held annually in October. The Festival is a registered charity and raises money for the Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital in Katoomba by opening private gardens to the public. Not connected with the garden festival but also held at the same time is the popular Leura Village Fair. Natural attractions include Sublime Point to
4428-596: The Leuralla property is for sale. Another major attraction is the Everglades Gardens , the former home of Belgian -born industrialist Henri van de Velde now administered by the National Trust . The Everglades includes van de Velde's Moderne -style home and 5 hectares (13 acres) of landscaped gardens designed by Paul Sorensen . The Everglades has an outdoor theatre which often hosts productions such as Cirquinox and
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4536-651: The Nazi-themed toys were excluded from the sale of the collection. Leura, New South Wales Leura ( postcode : 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales , Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main Western railway line and Great Western Highway that bisects
4644-541: The Shrewsbury summers, he would be able to finance his winter studies of music and literature. His application was successful, and in May 1912 he began his duties. He worked initially under Walter Attewell, a former Nottinghamshire professional, and later under the Yorkshire and England cricketer Ted Wainwright . Cardus established good working relations with both of these, but identified most closely with Cyril Alington ,
4752-742: The Tests for the London Evening Standard . In Bradman, Cardus found a sophistication and sensitivity that other writers had failed to detect. When interviewed on his arrival in Australia, Cardus speculated how he would cope for the six months of the tour without music; he was touched when the following day music students in Perth gave him a private recital of music by Chopin and Hugo Wolf . During this tour Cardus wrote for The Herald in Melbourne, and broadcast about cricket on Australian radio. Cardus made
4860-465: The Teutonic captivity. He showed us other and more sensitive worlds". After Beecham's death, Cardus organised the publication of a celebratory memoir, as he had done with Kathleen Ferrier. To an extent the departed idols were replaced with new heroes: in music, Herbert von Karajan , Otto Klemperer , Clifford Curzon and Claudio Arrau ; in cricket, Keith Miller and Garfield Sobers . Cardus maintained
4968-477: The age of 90; Cardus considered him the most outstanding of all music critics, and thought he should have been appointed a Companion of Honour (CH), or even to the Order of Merit . Beecham died on 8 March 1961. Cardus had for some years noted a decline in his old friend's powers, though he had written in 1954, on the occasion of Beecham's 75th birthday, of the debt the music world owed to the conductor: "He led us out of
5076-515: The area, in 1813, was the expedition of Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth. They were followed by the expedition of George Evans in November 1813 and the road-building party of William Cox in the following year. When the western railway line was constructed across the Blue Mountains in 1867–68, a gatehouse (No 9) was erected where the line crossed the Western Road near
5184-443: The chief reporter, Haslam Mills, who paraphrased Shakespeare : "Some men are born to shorthand, others achieve shorthand, while others have shorthand thrust upon them". Mills advised Cardus to concentrate on style: "We can be decorative at times; we can even be amusing. Here, possibly, you will find scope". Within a year Cardus had been moved from the reporters' room to take charge of the paper's "Miscellany" column. He also resumed
5292-485: The composer and conductor Sir Eugene Goosens ; and music critic and cricket commentator Sir Neville Cardus CBE . During the 1927 Royal Tour of Australasia , Harry Andreas had acted as a fishing guide for The Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth ) in the Bay of Islands , whilst the young Princess "Lillibet" was at home in London. Leuralla housed a toy museum from 1980 to 2022. It included
5400-569: The cricketing and musical worlds, with among others Newman, Sir Thomas Beecham and Sir Donald Bradman . Cardus spent the Second World War years in Australia, where he wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald and gave regular radio talks. He also wrote books on music, and completed his autobiography. After his return to England he resumed his connection with The Manchester Guardian as its London music critic. He continued to write on cricket, and produced books on both his specialisms. Cardus's work
5508-437: The date of registration of 15 May 1888 was such that using the birth date of 2 April would have breached the requirement to register a birth in no more than 42 days. Some sources give the birthdate as 2 April 1889, Neville's mother was Ada Cardus, one of six daughters of Robert and Ann Cardus of 4 Summer Place, Rusholme. On 14 July 1888, when the baby was three months old, Ada married Neville's father, John Frederick Newsham,
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#17328864489325616-492: The deprived aspects of his childhood; his biographer Christopher Brookes asserts that "Cardus was the product neither of a slum, nor a cultural desert". Robert Cardus, though uneducated, was not illiterate, and was instrumental in awakening his grandson's literary interests. Theatres, libraries and other cultural facilities were easily accessible from the Cardus home. Neville described his formal schooling as limited to five years at
5724-519: The duties of part-time secretary to Scott, who was at this time over 70, and had edited The Manchester Guardian since 1872. Despite his years, he struck Cardus as "of inexhaustible energy and aliveness". Scott was a demanding employer, who gave his young writers free rein, but expected in return long hours and total dedication. Driven hard, sometimes to the point of exhaustion, Cardus nevertheless relished these years, and never complained to Scott of weariness. Early in 1919 his role changed again, when he
5832-469: The family home. He remembered hearing for the first time the melody of the "Vilja" song from Franz Lehár 's operetta The Merry Widow , which "curled its way into my heart to stay there for a lifetime". In April 1907 he was "swept ... into the seven seas of music" by a performance of Edward German 's operetta Tom Jones . "I am unable to explain", Cardus wrote many years later, "why it should have been left to Edward German—of all composers—to release
5940-443: The first volume of a detailed analysis entitled Gustav Mahler: His Mind and his Music ; the book, dealing with Mahler's first five symphonies, was published in 1965, but was poorly received by critics. Volume II was never written. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Cardus wrote cricket articles; these included an annual reflection for Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and occasional columns for The Manchester Guardian , for whom he covered
6048-948: The flood". He began going to the Hallé Orchestra 's concerts at the Free Trade Hall where, on 3 December 1908, he was present at the premiere of Elgar's first symphony , under Hans Richter . He regularly attended the fortnightly concerts at the Royal Manchester College of Music , where students' performances were assessed by the principal, Adolph Brodsky . As part of his scheme of study, Cardus briefly took singing lessons, his only formal instruction in music. In 1916 Cardus published his first musical article, "Bantock and Style in Music", in Musical Opinion . Alongside his intellectual pursuits Cardus played and followed cricket. As
6156-423: The following day, showed little sign of his later characteristic style: "I simply had no intention of writing on cricket for any length of time; this was a spare-time affair ... and I fitted myself into the idioms and procedures of the sporting writers of 1919". Scott nonetheless saw a potential, and from the beginning of 1920 Cardus became the paper's regular cricket correspondent, under the by-line "Cricketer",
6264-489: The forename "Neville" in place of "Fred", and adopted the initials "N.C." for his music reviews, to distinguish this persona from "Cricketer". In August 1921 Cardus gained what he termed "the only scoop of my career", when he reported the unexpected victory by 28 runs of MacLaren's scratch side over the previously unbeaten Australian touring team . The match, at The Saffrons ground at Eastbourne , had attracted little interest from other cricket correspondents, being treated as
6372-545: The garden overall. There is a sculpture garden on the south side of Olympian Parade. The amphitheatre on the edge of the escarpment takes advantages of its spectacular setting overlooking the Jamieson Valley. As the home of the Katoomba Music Society in the 1930s, Leuralla hosted numerous interesting musical guests including: the internationally renowned pianist Solomon Cutner CBE , known as The Great Solomon;
6480-458: The ground under a single storey portico. The portico is topped by a first floor balcony with balustrading. Doric columns complement the entry and the front door is multi-paned and has sidelights . There are symmetrically placed hipped roof bay windows on the northern and southern sides of the portico. The roof is covered in slate and ridged in terracotta . The garage has Federation Anglo-Dutch style influences and its walls are shingled with
6588-559: The immediate commissioning of a second autobiographical work, Cardus was not under immediate financial pressure. He left Australia again in the spring of 1949, and although he spent the English winter of 1950–51 in Australia, writing about the 1950–51 England v. Australia Test series for the Sydney Morning Herald , London was thereafter his permanent home. Here he worked as a freelance writer, in which role he resumed his association with The Manchester Guardian . In December 1951 he
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#17328864489326696-463: The investiture at Buckingham Palace , remarking that the Queen "might have been any nice shy young lady in D.H. Evans or Kendal Milnes ". Just over two years later Cardus was awarded a knighthood , the first music critic to receive such an honour, although in all likelihood it was awarded as much for his cricket writing. Years previously Beecham had advised: "In the unlikely event of you being offered
6804-443: The local board school , where the curriculum was basic and the methods of tuition harsh: "[T]he boy who showed the faintest sign of freedom of the will was caned". There is, however, doubt as to whether his schooling lasted only five years and whether he attended a board school or a Church of England school. The experience did not curb Neville's intellectual curiosity; at a very young age he was expanding his cultural horizons, through
6912-523: The local libraries, and extended his reading from Dickens to include many of the masters of literature: Fielding , Thackeray , Conrad and—with more reservation— Hardy and Henry James . In due course he added philosophy and metaphysics to his curriculum; this began with his discovery of George Henry Lewes , which led him on to the works of Kant , Hume , Berkeley and, eventually, Schopenhauer . He supplemented these studies by attending free lectures at Manchester University , and met regularly with
7020-527: The music, and the composer becomes a living presence. Reader's letter to The Sydney Morning Herald . For ABC Cardus presented a weekly hour-long programme, "The Enjoyment of Music", which enlarged the audience for classical music across the country. His topics included concert works, such as the late Beethoven string quartets and Mahler's Ninth Symphony , operas including The Marriage of Figaro and Der Rosenkavalier , and performers such as Wilhelm Furtwängler and Arturo Toscanini . He also gave
7128-399: The music?" To meet Cardus's requirements, the players were sometimes "enlarged", notably Emmott Robinson , the veteran Yorkshire all-rounder of the 1920s who through Cardus's pen became "the apotheosis of Yorkshire cricket and Yorkshire character". In the 1930s, Cardus's style became less effusive, as his older heroes were replaced by players with, in his view, less romantic appeal. Bradman
7236-407: The opportunity to visit when open to the public in early October each year. In 2016, Leura was named in the list of top 50 most irresistible, exotic, historic and postcard-worthy small towns in Australia. One of the most prominent of Leura's historic homes is Leuralla , the former home of Clive Evatt , an Australian politician, barrister and raconteur. Evatt was the brother of H.V. "Doc" Evatt ,
7344-511: The paper did not send "Cricketer" to Australia to cover the "Bodyline" tour of 1932–33. Cardus was generally approving of Jardine's controversial bodyline tactics, writing on 5 March 1933: "[H]ad [Jardine] been a weak man, all the energy of Larwood [England's premier bowler] might have proved as vain a thing as it did in 1930". In 1936–37, Cardus accompanied the MCC team to Australia; otherwise he continued to write on English domestic cricket until
7452-543: The paper, as "the means whereby to continue my education". To bolster his chances he enclosed specimens of his writing. The result was, first, a temporary unpaid position as Scott's secretary, but in mid-March Scott offered a job on the paper's reporting staff. The writer J. B. Priestley later asserted that Cardus, who did not know shorthand , was engaged not as a reporter, but as a "writer". In Cardus's own account of these years he appears to have been fully engaged in reporters' duties, his lack of shorthand being dismissed by
7560-447: The pathos of mortal things doomed to fade and vanish". At the 1929 Delius Festival in London, Cardus briefly met the composer, who thought he looked too young to be The Manchester Guardian ' s music critic, and counselled him: "Don't read yourself daft. Trust to y'r emotions". Also against the grain of critical opinion, Cardus commended the then unfashionable music of Richard Strauss and Anton Bruckner . In 1931 Cardus visited
7668-465: The present Sorensen Bridge. The gatekeepers were the first permanent European residents of the area, Another early presence occurred following the discovery of coal in the Jamison Valley below the present Leura golf course in the early 1880s, which led to the establishment of a colliery. The earliest appearance of the name Leura was on a plan of subdivision, dated January–March 1881, for land south of
7776-466: The railway line belonging to Frederick Clissold. On his plan Clissold named a distinctive waterfall Leura Falls. Many theories have been advanced as to the origins of the name of Leura, but the debate has by no means been settled. When the land was offered for sale later in 1881 as the Leura Estate, however, the name was well on its way to general acceptance. Perhaps the first large home erected at Leura
7884-466: The rest of his life. In the ensuing months he worried about his deteriorating relationship with The Guardian ; the paper had been renamed in 1959 following reorganisation, and its editorial offices had moved to London in 1964. Cardus felt that much of the old ethos had departed, and that his once-sacrosanct copy was now at the mercy of subeditors. He was particularly incensed by the treatment meted out to his 1969 Edinburgh Festival reports, and referred to
7992-406: The school's headmaster: "Because of Alington I call myself ... an old Salopian". Alington first detected Cardus's intellectual potential when he found him reading a copy of Gilbert Murray 's translation of Euripides 's drama Medea . In August 1914, in addition to his cricketing duties he became Alington's secretary, after the previous incumbent joined the army at the outbreak of war; Cardus
8100-625: The south and Gordon Falls park, which offer panoramic views of the Jamison Valley , and Leura Cascades in the southwest. There is a network of tracks, part of the Prince Henry walk that go from Wentworth Falls to Echo Point , taking in many attractions along the way, including in the Leura area, the Pool of Siloam, Elysian Lookout, Olympian Lookout, Leura Cascades, Leura Falls, Jamison Lookout, Linda Falls and
8208-448: The spring of 1919, while recovering from a serious pulmonary condition, Cardus took up a suggestion from his news editor, William Percival Crozier , that he should watch some cricket at Old Trafford and, if he felt able, write reports on a few matches. He had earlier written four articles on cricket for the newspaper. On 19 May 1919 Cardus went to the first day of Lancashire's match with Derbyshire. His first published cricket report, on
8316-471: The staff of The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) . At first Cardus failed to adjust his expectations to the prevailing standard of music-making in Australia, which was not at that time comparable to the best on offer in Europe or America. He was accused of being "just one more sneering Pommy bastard come to hand down higher wisdom to the ignorant colonials." His biographer Christopher Brookes suggests that Cardus
8424-546: The subeditors' room as "the Abattoir" in one of many letters complaining of editorial butchery. As well as his work for The Guardian Cardus wrote occasionally for The Sunday Times , a particular pleasure to him in view of his failure to achieve Newman's post. In 1970 he published Full Score , the last of his autobiographical works and, in Daniels's view, the least substantial of all the Cardus books. In his eighties, Cardus assumed
8532-705: The succession to Langford assured, and a significant increase in salary, Cardus was happy to devote his summers exclusively to cricket. He remained circumspect about his commitment to the sport: "Never have I regarded my cricket as more than a means to an end; that end being always music". Nevertheless, he developed a style of cricket reporting that quickly lifted him to the forefront of contemporary sports writers. He did this, according to his fellow cricket writer Gerald Howat , by using imagery and metaphor to create "a mythology of characters and scenes". John Arlott described Cardus as "the creat[or] of modern cricket writing". The new sense of financial and professional security
8640-677: The two posts simultaneously until 1940. His contributions to these two distinct fields in the years before the Second World War established his reputation as one of the foremost critics of his generation. Cardus's approach to cricket writing was innovative, turning what had previously been largely a factual form into vivid description and criticism; he is considered by contemporaries to have influenced every subsequent cricket writer. Although he achieved his largest readership for his cricket reports and books, he considered music criticism as his principal vocation. Without any formal musical training, he
8748-550: The withdrawal in protest of many of the Festival's leading figures. Despite financial incentives from London newspapers, Cardus remained loyal to The Manchester Guardian . On the outbreak of war in September 1939 the Free Trade Hall closed, requisitioned for military purposes. The Hallé Society left Manchester to tour with Sargent around the north-west of England. With no music in Manchester and all first-class cricket suspended, Cardus
8856-513: The world record for slowness, and quoted minutes and seconds. Responding to Harty's outraged protests, Cardus threatened to bring an alarm clock to the next performance, "less for critical purposes than for those of personal convenience". When Harty left, he was not replaced as chief conductor; the Hallé employed distinguished visiting conductors such as Beecham, Malcolm Sargent , Pierre Monteux , Adrian Boult and Ernest Ansermet . Cardus considered that
8964-516: The worlds of reading and of music hall and pantomime . When he was 10 years old he discovered the novels of Dickens ; years later he wrote that there were two classes of person, "those who have it in them from birth onwards to appreciate Dickens and those who haven't. The second group should be avoided as soon as detected". His earliest creative writing took the form of a handwritten magazine, The Boy's World , full of articles and stories he had written. He circulated it among his schoolmates, until it
9072-523: The younger man was equalled only by that of Ernest Newman , Langford's predecessor as the paper's music critic: "Langford taught me to feel and translate, while Newman taught me to observe and analyse". Cardus's fellow-critic Hugo Cole has described his approach as personal rather than academic, based on his own reactions to the music he was hearing, and with a complete independence of judgement. Cardus was, Cole says, "the last distinguished music critic never to have received formal musical training ... he
9180-409: Was Clive Evatt Snr's brother but had no particular connection with Leuralla and had a home of his own in Leura. In 1903 a house, known as Leuralla, was built on the current site but was destroyed by bushfire in 1909. Between 1910 and 1914 the present house was built and the design was influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright . The house is an example of an early 20th Century permanent residence for
9288-573: Was England at 6.5%. 81.7% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 39.8%, Anglican 15.7% and Catholic 14.0%. Leura's elevation of 985 metres (3,232 ft) AHD leads to occasional snowfall in winter and a climate that reflects all four seasons distinctly. The village centre lies on Leura Mall which is divided at this point by a wide grassy median strip planted with flowering cherry trees by Danish -born landscape gardener Paul Sorenson . The historic streetscape has been largely preserved, although there
9396-568: Was Leura House, high on the northern side of the Western Road, in the late 1880s. Another early house was Mondeval in Railway Parade which was built in the 1890s. A railway platform was erected in 1891, followed on Christmas Eve 1892 by the opening of the Leura Coffee Palace. Postal facilities were established in 1893 and during the next 20 years land on both sides of the railway line was subdivided and offered for sale. A new railway station
9504-476: Was a writer first, and a music critic second". Cardus's lack of deference sometimes led to friction, as with Hamilton Harty , chief conductor of the Hallé Orchestra from 1920. In his reviews of the Hallé concerts until Harty's departure in 1933, Cardus frequently criticised the conductor's choices and interpretations. On one occasion he observed that Harty's rendering of the adagio in Beethoven's Ninth had broken
9612-499: Was an exception; after his exploits in the England versus Australia Test series of 1930 Cardus described the Australian as "an incredible exponent who in himself sums up all the skill and experience that have gone before him ... he has kindled grand bonfires of batsmanship for us". Selections from Cardus's Manchester Guardian cricket writings were published in a series of books between 1922 and 1937. Because of financial constraints
9720-495: Was an official organ of the early Labour Party ; mainly out of admiration for Bernard Shaw Cardus had joined the Independent Labour Party , but quickly lost interest in socialism: "Their creed or system was obviously not to be a means to an end but an end in itself". According to Brookes, the influence of Shrewsbury School affected Cardus to the extent that "[t]he playing fields of an English public school were for him
9828-399: Was applying critical standards "more appropriate to Salzburg than to Sydney". Over the next two years Cardus and the public slowly came to terms with each other, and by 1942 he was both popular and respected among Australians. Mr Cardus's phrasing and diction are music itself, and his comments so graphic that one lives and moves for the time being in the scenes and situations associated with
9936-660: Was appointed the paper's London music critic, on a permanent salaried basis. In 1949 Cardus set up his London home at the National Liberal Club , while Edith took a flat in Bickenhall Mansions, just off Baker Street . The pair lived harmoniously apart, though in frequent contact, until Edith's death. Cardus found London's musical life invigorating, with five major orchestras and a host of distinguished conductors and solo artists performing regularly. Toscanini paid his final visit to England in 1952, with two concerts at
10044-613: Was built in 1902. While the early focus of activity had been along the Western Road, with the construction of the Coffee Palace and the railway station, Leura Mall began to dominate. Most of its commercial buildings date from 1900 to the 1920s and today the Mall is the focus of Leura's daily business activity. Leura has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: At the 2016 census , there were 4,644 people in Leura. 66.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth
10152-434: Was discovered and torn up by an irate teacher. After Robert Cardus's death in 1900 the family moved several times, eventually breaking up altogether. Cardus left school in 1901 and took a variety of short-term, unskilled jobs before finding more secure employment as a clerk with Flemings' marine insurance agency. He lived for a time with his Aunt Beatrice with whom, according to Brookes, he had at an early age "embarked on
10260-483: Was initially influenced by the older generation of critics, in particular Samuel Langford and Ernest Newman , but developed his own individual style of criticism—subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast to the objective analysis practised by Newman. Cardus's opinions and judgments were often forthright and unsparing, which sometimes caused friction with leading performers. Nevertheless, his personal charm and gregarious manner enabled him to form lasting friendships in
10368-425: Was known as "Fred". There has been confusion over his birth date. The birthdate of 2 April 1888 is as given on his baptism record; and it is 2 April when he celebrated his birthday, albeit believing that he was born in 1889: Cardus himself hosted a dinner party on 2 April 1959 believing this to be his 70th birthday. His birth certificate shows a birthdate of 3 April 1888, but this has been argued to be incorrect, since
10476-467: Was local concern regarding the development of a shopping complex on the site of a former distribution warehouse. Redesigned to better suit the Leura Mall ambience after consultations with the wider community, the new shopping complex was completed in 2010, hosting a Woolworths (now Metro) supermarket and liquor store. The historic post office building continues to operate as a post office but is also home to
10584-466: Was made junior drama critic under the direction of C.E. Montague , the paper's principal theatre critic who had returned from war service with no great desire to continue in the role. Cardus's principal ambitions still lay in the direction of music criticism, though he recognised that this door was closed while Samuel Langford , music critic since 1906, remained in post. In preparation for any opportunity that might arise in that direction, Cardus maintained
10692-401: Was probably instrumental in the decision of Cardus and Edith King to marry, on 17 June 1921. The marriage, which lasted until Edith's death 47 years later, was unconventional; the couple led individual lives and rarely lived together, while remaining devoted friends. Cardus described his wife as "a great spirit and character, born for sisterhood not marriage." From this time onward, Cardus used
10800-482: Was publicly recognised by his appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1964 and the award of a knighthood in 1967, while the music and cricket worlds acknowledged him with numerous honours. In his last years, he became a guru and inspirational figure to aspiring young writers. Neville Cardus was born on 2 April 1888 in Rusholme , Manchester . Throughout his childhood and young adulthood he
10908-478: Was rejected for military service because of his poor eyesight. Cardus did not find his duties at Shrewsbury onerous. He made frequent trips to Manchester, for Hallé concerts or to watch Thomas Beecham conduct at the Manchester Opera House . He found time for other work; thus, in the winter of 1913–14, he was the music critic for the northern edition of The Daily Citizen . This short-lived newspaper
11016-712: Was said that within a few years Ada and Neville had returned to her parents' home in Summer Place. Robert Cardus was a retired policeman; Neville referred to him as receiving a small pension, although a search of police archives found no trace of this. The family took in neighbours' washing, and the household income was further supplemented by his daughters' earnings from part-time prostitution. In his autobiographical writings, Cardus refers to his home environment at Summer Place as "sordid ... unlettered and unbeautiful", yet enlivened by laughter: "Humour kept breezing in". Commentators have suggested that Cardus tended to overstate
11124-409: Was short-lived; Cardus's lengthy and discursive concert reviews were incompatible with this paper's style, and were ruthlessly cut by subeditors. At the end of 1948 he was back in Australia, proclaiming his intention to settle there permanently. This determination, too, was brief; the lure of London life proved irresistible. Because of the commercial success of his Autobiography , published in 1947, and
11232-598: Was struck by the apparent good health of the English music scene. He also found an undamaged Lord's , and enjoyed a season of magnificent cricket, marked by the batting exploits of the Middlesex pair, Denis Compton and Bill Edrich . Cardus was back in Sydney by the end of the year, but early in 1948, having accepted an offer from The Sunday Times to cover that year's Test series against Australia , he left for England again. Another factor that brought Cardus to England in 1948
11340-481: Was the prospect of succeeding Newman, whose retirement as chief music critic of The Sunday Times was assumed to be imminent. However, Newman had no intention of retiring, and made it clear that he would resent any successor-designate looking over his shoulder. Feeling slighted, Cardus resigned from the paper and accepted an offer from the London Evening Standard to be its music critic. This new appointment
11448-536: Was under review; the uncertainty of his position ended the possibility of a post at Eton. He left Shrewsbury in September 1916 with little money, and no immediate prospects of regular work. In the winter of 1916–17 Cardus continued his private studies while working intermittently; among various jobs, he collected insurance premiums for a burial society . Early in January 1917 he wrote to C. P. Scott , The Manchester Guardian ' s editor, asking for any available post at
11556-455: Was unemployed, "imprisoned in Manchester, useless to anybody". Thus, when he received an offer from Sir Keith Murdoch to join The Herald of Melbourne in Australia, he accepted immediately. Cardus had been known to Australian readers since the 1920s, when The Argus in Melbourne reported his view that Australians made cricket "a war game ... with an intensity of purpose too deadly for
11664-502: Was used originally by Andreas and later Paul Sorensen improved the garden overall. An amphitheatre is located on the edge of the escarpment and overlooks the Jamison Valley . Leuralla was built for the independently wealthy yachtsman and big-game fisherman Harry Andreas (1879 – 1955), his wife Alice and their young family. Harry and Alice Andreas lived at Leuralla until after World War II. In 1928, Clive Evatt QC (1900 – 1984) married Marjorie Andreas,
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