The Australasian Dramatic and Musical Association (ADMA) was a

friendly society A friendly society (sometimes called a benefit society, mutual aid society, benevolent society, fraternal organization or ROSCA) is a mutual association for the purposes of insurance, pensions, savings or cooperative banking. It is a mutual org ...

in Australia and New Zealand. It was founded in 1871 at the instigation of

George Coppin George Selth Coppin (8 April 1819 – 14 March 1906) was a comic actor, a theatrical entrepreneur, a politician and a philanthropist, active in Australia.Sally O'Neill,Coppin, George Selth (1819–1906), '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', ...

, and initially was confined to the colony of Victoria. Its objects were: *1. To provide a home for the aged and infirm *2. A fund for charity *3. A provident institution *4. Museum and library The provident fund was entirely dependent on members' subscriptions; the other aspects were reliant on support from the general public. The inaugural committee included wardens:

, Julius Siede, William Pitt, Joseph Simmons, George Chapman, Richard Capper, Lachlan McGewan,

John Hennings John Hennings (c. 1833 – 13 October 1898) was a theatrical scene painter and theatre manager in Melbourne, Australia. He has been identified as Johann Friederich Hennings, probably born on 6 July 1835, son of Danish-born parents Johann Hennings, ...

, William S. Lyster, Henry B. Wilton, Frederick Coppin, John Dunn, and Henry Walter Scott. A controversy arose in 1872 when the name of the Governor of Victoria (

Viscount Canterbury Viscount Canterbury, of the City of Canterbury, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1835 for the Tory (political faction), Tory politician Charles Manners-Sutton, 1st Viscount Canterbury, Sir Charles Manners-Sutt ...

) was removed from the

free list A free list (or freelist) is a data structure used in a scheme for dynamic memory allocation. It operates by connecting unallocated regions of memory together in a linked list, using the first word of each unallocated region as a pointer to the ne ...

of some theatres in the colony at the behest of the Association. It was held by the Association that his inclusion had been a courtesy extended to the Queen's representative (and his retinue) as part of a tradition which also involved a donation from the Governor's allowance to the theatre management, which this Governor had neglected to follow, as had Charles Perry the (Anglican) Bishop of Melbourne. It is more than likely that this was an impetus, if not the motive, behind the Association's formation. Coppin went to some effort to promote membership of the Association, to the point of selectively employing actors who were members for certain productions at the Theatre Royal; in 1875 he brought an action against

Ilma de Murska ''Ilma'' is a genus of skipper (butterfly), skippers in the family Hesperiidae. ReferencesNatural History Museum Lepidoptera genus database
Hesperiinae Hesperiidae genera {{Hesperiinae-stub ...

for singing selections from ''

The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an Irish Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La Gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is "I Dreamt I Dwel ...

'' without his permission as rights holder. She was made to pay 10 guineas into ADMA funds, plus court costs. A Bill was passed by the Victorian Parliament in 1876 and amended in 1888, permitting the Association to set up a permanent fund for the benefit of members. Thomas Kennedy, who died 4 June 1902, was secretary of ADMA from 1887 or earlier to 1902, and also of the Distressed Actors' Fund. The office of "master" was held by George Coppin 1872–1877,

Wybert Reeve Wybert Reeve (c. 1831 – 21 November 1906) was an English actor and impresario, important in the history of the theatre in South Australia. History Reeve was born in London, the only child of well-to-do parents who died when he was around five ...

1887 and

J. C. Williamson James Cassius Williamson (26 August 1845 – 6 July 1913) was an American actor and later Australia's foremost impresario, founding the J. C. Williamson's theatrical and production company. Born in Pennsylvania, Williamson moved with his fami ...

1893–1905 The Association became inactive and its affairs were taken over by the Actors' Association of Australasia, based in Sydney. A Bill was passed in 1907 which passed control of the Actors' Homes, including those at Rushall Crescent, North Fitzroy, to the Old Colonists' Association of Victoria. The association was finally wound up in 1940 and its remaining assets transferred to the Old Colonists' Association of Victoria.

References

{{Reflist 1872 establishments in Australia 1940 disestablishments in Australia Organizations established in 1872 Friendly societies