Australian Encounters

Nellie Melba and Enrico Caruso 1902

3 min

The imperious Australian soprano and the effusive Italian tenor had transformed La Boheme from a slow burn sleeper into a blockbuster hit that's still putting bums on seats a century later. Their double act was sensational.

Joe Lyons and Benito Mussolini 1935 and 1937

3 min

Herr Hitler was busy in the Rhineland, so Joseph Aloysius Lyons decided to pay a visit to Signor Mussolini instead. It was 1935 and collecting dictators was de rigueur for Australian politicians on visits to Europe.

Rupert Murdoch and Kamahl 1958

3 min

Just before Christmas, 1958, Rupert Murdoch, then aged 27, met a sensitive young Tamil on the dodge from the immigration authorities. A poor scholar with black skin, Kamahl's days in White Australia were numbered.

George Johnston and Leonard Cohen 1960

3 min

In the backroom bar of the Katsikas brothers' grocery store, amid tins of olive oil and sacks of flour, a young unknown Canadian poet met an Australian expatriate named George Johnston.

Kylie Minogue and Michael Hutchence 1987

3 min

Kylie Minogue met Michael Hutchence at a bash after the Countdown Awards in 1987. By the time their two-year affair ended, it had transformed a singing budgie into a femme fatale, and set Kylie's course towards pop divadom.

Lionel Rose and Elvis Presley 1968

3 min

Twenty-year-old boxer Lionel Rose was in Los Angeles to defend his world bantamweight title. When he received the message that Elvis wanted to meet him, he jumped under the shower and drove straight to the MGM lot.

Edward Kelly and Redmond Barry 1880

3 min

In 1880, an unschooled Catholic bushman and a Protestant judge traded points, back and forth, neither ultimately persuading the other. "Edward Kelly," concluded Redmond Barry, "I hereby sentence you to death by hanging."