Opera star Dame Nellie Melba is the face of our $100 note, and
the inspiration for the famous Peach Melba dessert. In short
she’s an icon – one of Australia’s original divas. But how did
she go from young Melbourne tomboy to domestic abuse survivor and
then global superstar?
Leigh dives deep on Nellie’s life of tragedy and drama, worthy of
its own opera, and proves to Alecia this diva is a little
saltier than the sweet pudding named in her honour.
Plus, we explore the origins of long service leave and
how Nellie falls flat on her face during her first audition
in Europe.
Warning: This episode discusses intimate partner violence.
Melba, Nellie. Melodies and Memories. London: Thornton
Butterworth, 1925.
“Melba Remembers—An Interview with Dame Nellie Melba.” The
Home: An Australian Quarterly 3, no. 2 (June 1, 1922)
“Coombe Cottage: Dame Nellie Melba’s Home—Third of a Series of
Studies of Notable Australian Homes.” The Australian Home
Beautiful: A Journal for the Home Builder 6, no. 6 (June 1,
1928)
“In Dame Nellie Melba’s Paris Home.” The Home: An Australian
Quarterly 11, no. 7 (July 1, 1930)
Campbell, Rachel M. “Dame Nellie Melba: Celebrity and the
Portrait.” Context: A Journal of Music Research, no. 40
(January 2015): 69–79.
Modjeska, Drusilla, Susan Dermody, and John Docker,
eds. Nellie Melba, Ginger Meggs and Friends: Essays in
Australian Cultural History. Malmsbury: Kibble Books, 1982.
Blainey, Ann. I Am Melba: A Biography. Melbourne: Black
Inc., 2008.
Wainwright, Robert. Nellie: The life and loves of Dame
Nellie Melba. Allen and Unwin: Sydney, 2021
Davis, Richard. Nellie Melba: The legend lives. Mile End:
Wakefield Press, 2025
Woollacott, Angela. To Try Her Fortune in London: Australian
Women, Colonialism, and Modernity. Oxford University Press USA,
2001.
Hosted by Alecia Simmonds and Leigh Boucher
Supervising Producer: Hannah Reich
Producer: Hannah Jose
Video producer: Christian Harimanow
Executive Producers: Clare Rawlinson and Eric George
Head of ABC Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn
Theme: Martin Peralta
Artwork: Gabriel Virata-Alves
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