FRANK MOORE | HOBART BRANCH

Following the ABC’s successful tour of Tasmania in 1951, the Tasmanian Boys Choir, established by Jeffrey Boyes, applied for affiliation. In 1952 it became the Hobart branch of the Australian Boys Choir.

Frank Moore joined the Hobart branch in 1952, aged 11, and became a second soprano. His most memorable experience was the 1953 debut tour of the combined Adelaide, Hobart and Melbourne branches of the ABC - destination New South Wales.

“We travelled to Melbourne by air and were billeted by choir members there,” said Frank. “We then took the overnight train to Moss Vale in NSW and got to know the boys from Melbourne and Adelaide really well.”

Following performances and sightseeing in Moss Vale and Wollongong, the group travelled to Sydney for the highlight - two performances at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Cruising home to Melbourne on board the Westralia was also eagerly anticipated, however rough weather ensured few escaped seasickness.

“None of us could face the dining salon until we reached the calmer waters of Port Philip Bay where, with appetites recovered, we made up for lost time and nourishment,” Frank reminisced.

At the end of 1953, the Tasmanian Branch sang Christmas Carols in Fitzgerald’s Department Store in Hobart and each boy was presented with an engraved pocket knife. “I still have mine,” Frank smiled, “along with a passion for singing that continues to this day.”

As well as joining the Melbourne and Adelaide boys on tours and at music schools, the Hobart branch performed many concerts and toured in its own right, most memorably the 1955 tour of west and north Tasmania. Sadly, these were amongst the last performances of the Hobart boys: the experiment was deemed unsustainable and the branch dissolved in 1956.