Harold S. Parsons

Harold Stephen Parsons (20 August 1885 – 8 January 1973) was a South Australian cellist and organist.

Career

Parsons was born in Nairne, South Australia, son of Stephen Parsons.[1] Theirs was a musical family: his father was an accomplished violinist and his mother an excellent pianist. Other members of the family played flutes and violins and Parsons was encouraged by neighbour C. J. Stevens to take up the cello, and began training with Thomas Grigg and Hermann Kugelberg.[2]

He began teaching at the Adelaide Conservatorium in 1907; twenty years later he was only exceeded in seniority by I. G. Reimann, Frederick Bevan, and T. H. Jones.[3]

On 28 April 1928 a complimentary benefit concert for Parsons was held at the Adelaide Town Hall.[4] Performers included most of Adelaide's professional musicians, and the highlight of the concert was the first performance of a composition for cello and orchestra by Gerald Walenn,[5] who was a violin teacher at the Elder Conservatorium 1917–1924.[6] The concert was opened with a duet by Parsons, playing a 1765 instrument by Giovanni Battista Gabrielli, and Miss Maude Puddy on violin.[7]

He acted as director of the Conservatorium for six months after the death of E. Harold Davies in 1947.[8]

Parsons was also an accomplished organist. He was given the privilege of opening the newly refurbished instrument at Prospect Methodist Church in 1968.[9]

He retired from the conservatorium in 1954.[10]

Family

Parsons married Helen Kate Wreford (1883 – 19 May 1937) on 3 December 1910.[11] Miss Wreford was a teacher of the 'cello at the Elder Conservatorium. Her father Henry Wreford (c. 1837 – 25 November 1917) was a senior employee of James Marshall & Co. and a leader of Methodism in Adelaide.[12] Their children include Helen, Mary, Henry and John.[13]

  • Henry Wreford Parsons (5 June 1918 – 19 January 1942) was an RAAF pilot,[14] killed in action over Malaya but listed as "missing" for five years.[15] He married Dorothy May Lucas on 20 July 1940.[16]

He married again, to Ellie Bertha Strempel[17] (died 18 May 1971)[18] in 1938

Recognition

The National Library of Australia holds a collection of cuttings related to Parsons.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Family Notices". The South Australian Advertiser. Vol. XXVIII, no. 8376. South Australia. 22 August 1885. p. 4. Retrieved 3 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Mr H. Kugelberg". Adelaide Observer. Vol. LV, no. 2, 946. South Australia. 19 March 1898. p. 16. Retrieved 4 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Twenty Years Service". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 12 March 1927. p. 16. Retrieved 23 July 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Harold Parsons". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. XCIII, no. 27, 053. South Australia. 30 April 1928. p. 10. Retrieved 23 July 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "Mr Harold Parsons". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 11 April 1928. p. 12. Retrieved 23 July 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ Pleskun, Stephen (2012): A Chronological History of Australian Composers and Their Compositions. Volume 1: 1901-1954. Xlibris. ISBN 978-1-4653-8226-9
  7. ↑ "Harold Parsons". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. XCIII, no. 27, 053. South Australia. 30 April 1928. p. 10. Retrieved 23 July 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "Cello Teacher May Retire". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. 95, no. 29, 380. South Australia. 10 December 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 23 July 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "Pipe Organ to Be Dedicated". The Standard (Adelaide). No. 362. South Australia. 1 May 1968. p. 4. Retrieved 23 July 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ "Tribute To Mr Harold Parsons". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. 97, no. 30, 003. South Australia. 11 December 1954. p. 18. Retrieved 23 July 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ↑ "Family Notices". The Chronicle (Adelaide). Vol. LIII, no. 2, 735. South Australia. 21 January 1911. p. 33. Retrieved 3 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ "Henry Wreford". Australian Christian Commonwealth. Vol. XXX, no. 1530. South Australia. 11 January 1918. p. 14. Retrieved 23 July 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "Family Notices". The Chronicle (Adelaide). Vol. LXXIX, no. 4, 202. South Australia. 27 May 1937. p. 26. Retrieved 3 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ "Record of service, RAAF". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "Private Casualty Advice". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 1 August 1947. p. 10. Retrieved 3 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ↑ "Quiet Wedding". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 24 July 1940. p. 13. Retrieved 5 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ↑ "Family Notices". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 7 May 1947. p. 18. Retrieved 5 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ↑ "In the Will of Ellie Bertha Parsons". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 21. New South Wales, Australia. 25 February 1972. p. 746. Retrieved 3 April 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ↑ "Biographical cuttings on Harold Stephen Parsons, cellist, containing one or more cuttings from newspapers or journals". National Library of Australia.
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