The Fabulous Thorntons

By Gray Clapham

This story has been researched and written by Gray Clapham, great grandson of Neville Hale Thornton. It initially follows the life and times of Neville after his arrival in New Zealand in 1866 and continues with the stories of his daughters, particularly the Australia-born eldest who became famous in New Zealand as the burlesque star and theatrical entrepreneur ‘Miss Amy Vaughan’. Most of this information has been gleaned from the New Zealand National Library’s Papers Past archives, the My Heritage ancestry website and also the website findagrave.com. Some observations are thoughtful conjecture by the writer.

The first part of the adventurous life story of Neville Hale Thornton was exceptionally well told in the memoir he wrote of his life up until the moment, as a 32-year-old, he sailed for New Zealand from Australia in 1866. This is an attempt to document his story after he arrived in Hokitika until his death in Wanganui in 1912. The story also follows the fascinating lives of his daughters—Amy, May, Daisy and the mysterious Annie. For those who have not read the memoir Neville Thornton wrote about his earlier years in an earlier chapter on this website (Neville Hale Thornton), let me briefly recap.

Neville was born in France on Christmas Eve 1834. His English father had earlier been shipwrecked on his way home to England to recover from wounds received while serving as a captain with the East India Company. He was rescued by a French ship and taken to the French port of Le Havre. The ship’s captain took him to his home to recover from his ordeal where he met and subsequently married the captain’s sister.

Neville was born to this marriage on the same night his father, who was back in England seeing to his affairs there, died in a horse riding accident. 

As a result of his birth, Neville spent his childhood and teenage years alternating between his French and British families, attending schools in both England and France and thus becoming fluent in both languages.

When he was 16, and while he was attending a college in Paris, he and several other young boys were recruited to act as interpreters between the French and English allies who were at war with the Russian Empire in Crimea.

Through his own connivance he found himself attached to a French colonel at the frontline of the hostilities and in a youthful act of bravery and, after being severely wounded, he was awarded the cross of the French Legion of Honour. 

Eventually back in England, he was advised to seek recovery in a warmer climate. On his passage to India he lost all of his money playing cards and was forced to leave the ship in Adelaide, Australia, from where he began several adventurous years on the swag through the goldfields of Victoria and New South Wales.

Along the way he became a cook, a gold miner, a conman, a policeman—he shot and killed several men—and ultimately learned the skills of a theatrical scenic artist.

This is where part one of his own story ends and part two, my story about him, begins. 

Left: The schooner ‘Colonist’ on which Neville Thornton and his daughter Amy sailed from Sydney to Hokitika in 1866. Right: Hokitika in the 1860s after the discovery of gold on the West Coast. This was where Neville Thornton first landed in New Zealand to begin his long and colourful career as a scenic artist and theatrical entrepreneur.

Neville Thornton begins his life in New Zealand

Quite quickly after his arrival in Hokitika, from his recent experiences as a scenic artist in the theatres of Sydney, he became something of a celebrity in the bustling vaudevillian entertainment industry in New Zealand. His renown enables us to trace chronologically his endeavours, milestones and whereabouts through literally hundreds of newspaper news items, reviews and advertisements (1626 search results to be precise) archived by the New Zealand National Library on its website Papers Past.

To set the scene: In the last decades of the 19th century, before the invention of film and the advent of the moving picture industry, scenic artists played a crucial role in creating the visual environments for live stage performances for drama, opera, ballet, burlesque and other theatrical spectacles.

The job of a scenic artist, even to this day, is to paint or otherwise create large-scale backdrops and props for theatre performances; to bring the location, atmosphere or environment of the story taking place to life.

In New Zealand during the gold rush of the 1860s, which started in Otago and spread to the West Coast, new towns were springing up wherever gold was found. By late 1866, Hokitika was one of New Zealand’s most populous centres and money was to be made in all forms of business, particularly in keeping the restless gold prospecting population entertained. 

Wikipedia says: “Following the gold rush of 1864, Hokitika had become one of New Zealand’s most populous centres with 25,000 people living there by 1866. It was widely seen as a hotbed of sin and iniquity with few women and almost 200 pubs. Its population was an eclectic mix of Australian, Irish, Scottish, Chinese and other nationalities. By 1867, Hokitika was New Zealand’s sixth largest town with its Tasman Sea port ranking as the country’s busiest harbour.”

Neville Thornton, with his experiences and connections in Australia in creating the backdrops and props for the theatre scene in Sydney, quite rapidly became sought after and celebrated in New Zealand as a leading scenic artist of his time. 

(Note: Scenic art could be likened to today’s movie special effects. At a stretch it could be said that Neville was the “Peter Jackson” of his era.)

Blessed with sharp intelligence and an abundance of self-confidence, he was not content to merely bask in the praise of his talents as an artist. He astutely observed that the real money in the business of entertainment was being made by the entrepreneurs who produced the stage shows that filled seats in theatres, town halls and opera houses the length and breadth of New Zealand. 

Neville featured in hundreds of newspaper clippings promoting his theatrical enterprises through the last three decades of the 19th century and beyond. The Thornton family toured New Zealand performing under various names and combinations, sometimes referred to as the Thornton Dramatic Company or The Thornton Dot Troupe—often billed as, “the well-known artist and actor Neville Thornton and his talented daughters”. 

The roadmap to Neville’s life story can be signposted by his three marriages. 

The first marriage was central to his experiences in the goldfields of Australia and in blessing him with an extremely talented daughter. According to Neville’s memoir, while living in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, he became “acquainted with a young woman staying at Mrs Price’s boarding house”. 

Neville unceremoniously states that this woman became his wife, although he never recorded her name in any part of his memoir. However, a search of New South Wales government archives records the marriage of a Mary Ann Ward to Neville Hale Thornton in the district of Wagga Wagga in 1860.

Neville wrote that their daughter, Amy Neville Thornton, was born on 13 May, 1861, in New South Wales, a date confirmed by New South Wales birth records. Mary Ann died a year later, reportedly of cholera, on 13 May, 1862, leaving Neville on his own with the baby girl.

In his memoir Neville describes his loss this way: “About this time there was a deal of sickness on the rush, a kind of swamp fever caused by the exhalations from the stagnant swamp situated at the back of the main street and into which all the sewerage of the township was drained. My poor little wife sickened with the fever and in spite of every care and attention she died, leaving me with our little one just twelve months old, on the anniversary of her own birth, marriage and now death.”

(Note: There is some conjecture over the spelling of the first-born daughter’s Christian or given name. The birth record from Australia lists her as Amy Neville Thornton. Almost always in advertising and newspaper stories the name ‘Amy’ is used during her life in New Zealand. However she is referred to sometimes as ‘Aimee’. Given that Neville was half French, with French his first language, and having gone through school in France, it might be that he spelled his daughter’s name the French way, ‘Aimee’, and sometimes with an e-acute French inflection, ‘Aimée’. For the purpose of this story I have used the spelling of ‘Amy,’ which was how it appeared in the newspapers and on posters 95 per cent of the time. It is of note, however, that one of his grand-daughters, Aimée Clapham (later Richardson), chose to use the e-acute accent. My own daughter Jaimée was given that spelling as a nod to her heritage and often chooses to spell her name J’aimée.)

Some five years after his first wife’s death Neville, aged 32, wrote that he sailed with Amy on the schooner ‘Colonist’ in the company of a professional theatrical troupe from Sydney, arriving at Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. 

In the final paragraphs of his own story of his time in Australia, he wrote that while working in Sydney in 1866 he was contracted through an agent to work as a scenic artist and to join a troupe preparing to perform for a season at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Hokitika, a newly-built establishment owned by a Mr J. J. Bartlett.

He wrote: “At length we left Sydney in the fine schooner ‘Colonist’. The leading lady was Mrs Charles Poole, Mrs Crosby, Chas Eigenschenk, Clifford, Andrews and others well-known in the profession.”

In an advertisement in the 19 April, 1866, edition of the West Coast Times, the Prince of Wales Theatre announced its grand opening would be on 21 April and welcomed a group of recently arrived theatre professionals from Sydney, which included “the distinguished and talented comedienne” Mrs Chas Poole plus “renowned stage actors Mrs Crosby, Mr Charles Burford, Mr William Andrews, orchestra leader Chas Eigenschenck and the scenic artist Neville Thornton”. This was the first time Neville Thornton’s name appeared in a New Zealand newspaper.

Hokitika’s correspondent for the Lyttelton Times wrote: “Bartlett’s Prince of ‘Wales Opera House is completed, barring some of the internal decorations. This theatre is capable of holding 1600 persons; it is well planned, and the stage is as large as any in New Zealand. There are bars, and a cafe, billiard-room, etc. In fact, the place is, I fear, too good for Hokitika. Mr Bartlett, who is a very deserving, energetic man, tells me that, as soon as he can get together a suitable company, he is going in for legitimate drama.”

It must have been a successful opening season for in December of 1866, at the end of their engagement at the Prince of Wales, Neville’s name was included in a letter to the local newspapers signed by a long list of actors, performers and stage workers offering to work for free in a “complimentary benefit tendered in acknowledgment of the honourable manner in which you (Mr Bartlett) have, during our engagement, carried out your arrangements with us.”

After the departure from Hokitika of his Australian colleagues, Neville decided to stay on in New Zealand and travelled around the country with his five-year-old daughter and often in the company of another accomplished scenic artist and man of the theatre, Australian Frank Varley, who had been working in New Zealand before Neville’s arrival and knew his way around.

Neville’s name next appeared in the newspapers in April of 1868 when the Wellington Independent reported that he had been contracted to work on scenic art for the Wellington Odd Fellows Hall. Odd Fellows Halls in New Zealand, established from the 1840s by friendly societies, served as community hubs for social security; providing sickness and funeral benefits before the advent of the welfare state. These buildings were used for lodge meetings, social events, concerts and as public infrastructure.

In May, Neville was noted as the scenic artist for the opening show at the Odd Fellows Hall and, for the first time, Amy Thornton featured on the bill as a performer.

The scenic artist must have fancied himself also as an actor for in August he and Amy were both billed as actors in another show, this time as ‘Mr Neville Thornton and Miss A. Thornton’. There were also a couple of shows staged in “benefit of Mr Neville Thornton”. Amy, for the first time being billed as ‘La Petite Amy’, was now seven years old. This set a pattern for the rest of Neville’s theatre career in New Zealand—working on the scenery, acting himself when needed and promoting Amy as a stage performer. 

By January of 1869 Neville had moved to Auckland and was working at the Prince of Wales Theatre where he was employed as its scenic artist for several months. The Prince of Wales in Hobson Street, built in 1862 as the Brunswick Music Hall, was a prominent 19th-century venue for hosting dramas, magic performances, and popular entertainment in the 1860s and 1870s. It was a cultural hub in early Auckland, featuring performing artists and touring companies and was leased and managed by a colourful theatrical impresario, R. J. De Lias. More of him was to come.

Not long after arriving in the city there was a court case where Neville alleged he was the victim of an assault in Queen Street, reportedly by a man named Samuel Raines who took exception to Neville getting into a conversation with a certain woman and Neville took exception to being interrupted. A policeman who arrived on the scene said he saw the two men “lock in antagonistic embraces” but didn’t know which was the aggressor.

The judge asked why the woman involved was not in court as a witness. Neville said he did not wish to “expose” the woman. The judge said that was a pity as the woman could have stated who actually committed an assault on whom first—and he therefore dismissed the case for want of sufficient evidence.

Advertisements throughout 1869 had Neville working at the Prince of Wales Theatre and also the nearby Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, playing minor acting parts in some of the performances, teaming up with Frank Varley on scenery jobs on more than one occasion.

In August of 1870 there was a performance at the Prince of Wales “for the benefit of Mr Neville Thornton and Miss Amy Thornton” prior to their departure for the South Island.

The term “benefit performance” often appears in this story, so it should be explained. In the late 19th century, theatres would hold benefit performances as part of a theatre worker’s remuneration package, to defray the expenses of the work they had undertaken or to support actors and their families in times of need.

Left: The Odd Fellows Hall in Wellington. Neville created the new hall’s scenery in 1868. Right: The Theatre Royal in Wellington where Neville Thornton painted the scenery in 1877 and where the Thornton family staged a number of shows throughout the 1870s and 80s.

On the road with 'La Petite Amy'

In November of 1870, Neville turned up at the Theatre Royal in Christchurch and received congratulatory reports for his work in updating the scenery there. He remained in Christchurch for several months and it appeared he may have been unwell at the time as he was given a complimentary benefit performance in June of 1871. The Christchurch Star reported: “Mr Thornton has just recovered from a long illness and there is no doubt he will have a bumper house.”

There was another benefit performance in September in which “Little Amy” was referred to as the “principal dish” by one reviewer. It was also noted—and reminds us that Neville could pass himself adequately as a native of France—that “Mr Thornton essayed the part of a Frenchman superficially acquainted with the English language to great effect”.

In January of 1872 the Timaru Herald reported Neville Thornton and his daughter, ‘La Petite Amy’, providing entertainment at the Hall of the Mechanics Institute, where “Mr Thornton had painted some new and handsome scenery especially for the occasion”, noting that, “Mr Thornton is well-known in Christchurch and Dunedin as an actor, especially of French character”.

In July of 1872 Thornton reappeared back on the West Coast, putting on a show at Hokitika’s Sheehan’s Bijou Theatre which was billed as a benefit for ‘La Petite Amy’.

The Westport Times reported: “Since the departure of the (Australian) comedy and burlesque company (referring to Neville’s first stay in Hokitika), Mr Neville Thornton, whose repute as a scenic artist has few equals in the colonies, has been busily engaged in painting some elaborate scenery which will be introduced for the first time.”

The Times effused that: “Little Miss Thornton—who, as a member of the late troupe, became exceedingly popular, and added not a little by her comic powers and clever dancing to the success of the entertainments—tonight will essay a varied cast of characters. In addition to her usual comicalities, she will appear in two Shakespearean scenes, wherein, if report speaks truly, she proves a perfect prodigy of cleverness, sustaining the pathetic characters with graceful action and a truthful conception, marvelous in a child of such tender years.”

During 1872 and 1873 Neville and 12-year-old Amy were on the move and there were reports of performances and benefits in places like Westport, Greymouth, Nelson and Lyttelton. This would have had to be around the time he met his second wife Sarah, given that their first child, May, was born in 1873.

By December of 1873 ‘La Petite Amy’, had captured the attention of the New Zealand media. While in Nelson to paint new scenery for the local Masonic Hall, Neville appeared to be making the most of Amy’s youthful talents.

The Nelson Examiner reported: “An entertainment will take place tonight at the Masonic Hall, which should be well encouraged. Miss Amy Thornton (‘La Petite Amy’) will make her farewell appearance. The stage has been beautifully decorated by Mr Neville Thornton We are almost afraid to say in how many characters ‘La Petite’ will appear. The wonder is how so young a child can have so true a conception of such a varied round of characters, embracing as these do Shakespeare, comedy, burlesque, dance and song, feats of legerdemain, and tricks of science. We hope that Mr Thornton and his little girl will see a crowded house on this their last appearance in Nelson.”

The above report was published in December of 1873, the year May Sarah Thornton (this author’s grandmother) was born in Nelson.

It was on 28 January, 1874, that there was the first-ever mention of a “Mrs Thornton” in the picture, when the Marlborough Express promoted a performance of the “gorgeous, spectacular, burlesque ‘Aladdin: The Wonderful Scamp’” at the Wairau Race Club in Blenheim.

Who was this second Mrs Thornton? No evidence of a marriage has been located; definitely not in the official New Zealand registry of births, deaths and marriages. No hint can be found of Sarah’s maiden name, where she came from, of her family or her life before she met Neville Thornton.

Sarah Thornton, who the website findagrave.com says was born 1854, died by accidental drowning in 1887, aged 33. The dramatic details surrounding her death follow later in this story. Sarah would have been about 18 or even younger when she became involved with Neville Thornton, and aged 19 when May was born in 1873. Neville was then aged about 39 or 40.

(Note: This is purely conjecture, but could it be that this Sarah was a teenage waif—possibly involved with the theatre in some way—who became pregnant after a relationship with Neville, most likely in Hokitika?)

Over a four-year period the registry of New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages lists the following children born to Neville and Sarah Thornton: May Sarah Thornton, born 1873; Daisy Marguerite Thornton, born 1875; and a son, George Neville Thornton—who died in 1876 as a newborn baby aged just 14 days.

In May of 1874, Neville, his wife Sarah, his own daughter Amy, and the recently-born baby May, arrived in Wanganui where they stayed for several weeks while he worked on the scenery at a local hall. The Wanganui Chronicle reported that an upcoming performance to raise funds for the Wanganui Library Fund was to feature “the little favourite La Petite Amy and Mrs Thornton, both taking prominent parts in drama and comedy”. So it must be fair to assume that Sarah had some prior experience on the stage.

In November the family was reportedly resident in Taranaki where Neville had provided new scenery for the local Odd Fellows Hall and where he put on his own production there featuring ‘La Petite Amy’ (now 13 years old). Once again she received glowing reviews as her climb to stardom gained momentum.

The Taranaki Herald wrote: “The chief performer was ‘La Petite Amy’; and well and ably did she sustain the various parts set down for her in the programme. It was really too much to expect that a child of her years would be able to keep the interest of the audience from flagging for the space of nearly three hours; yet Miss Amy succeeded in doing this—acting throughout in an easy, graceful, and attractive manner which is seldom witnessed in one so youthful.”

In New Plymouth in January of 1875, Neville’s third daughter, and second child to Sarah, Daisy Marguerite Thornton was born.

The family remained in New Plymouth until March of 1875 where a “grand farewell benefit and performance” was held at the Odd Fellows Hall. This time, for the first time, Sarah (named as Mrs Thornton) was given equal billing with Neville in the newspaper advertising, with “Mrs Thornton” playing the lead role in a dramatic performance of ‘Black Eyed Susan’ alongside Neville.

From March of 1875 it appeared the Thorntons had moved back to Auckland where Neville was once again working on scenery at the Prince of Wales Theatre, this time it would seem in a full-time capacity. In April, a complimentary benefit for Neville was held and featured the “first appearance of ‘La Petite Amy’” in Auckland.

In August, there was a three-night performance staged by Neville at the Theatre Royal in the gold mining town of Thames featuring Sarah (billed as Mrs N. Thornton) and “‘La Petite Amy’ in their comic duets, songs and dances”.

It could be that Neville had taken a week off from the Prince of Wales to test ‘La Petite Amy’s’ pulling power. The Thames Advertiser previewed the arrival of the Thorntons and it was all about Amy: “The Theatre Royal (in Thames) is to be reopened on Saturday evening by Mr N. Thornton and his company, the chief attraction of which is the talented ‘La Petite Amy’. This young lady (daughter of Mr Thornton) has been spoken of as a prodigy and from what we can gather the encomiums were not ill-deserved. This little lady may, in fact, pride herself upon having achieved quite a triumph.”

Neville continued his full-time work in Auckland at the Prince of Wales and it was not only Amy who was getting the acclamations. On 6 October, 1875, a new scene Neville had created was “greeted by a burst of applause which has never been equalled for enthusiasm in Auckland, a just compliment for the artist”.The New Zealand Herald reported that he was “obliged to bow his acknowledgments to a general call”.

In October Neville received praise for his acting skills when playing the Duke of Venice in a Prince of Wales performance of ‘Othello’ and other roles including Horatio in ‘Hamlet’. On 29 November the theatre provided a grand complimentary benefit for “Miss Amy Thornton”.

Neville continued working at the Prince of Wales through December creating “no less than 15 new scenes” for the theatre’s “great Christmas pantomime” staged on 24 December, 1875, where “Mr Thornton was obliged to appear on stage to bow his acknowledgments”. 

Neville remained credited for his scenic work at the Prince of Wales into February of 1876. However, it appeared Neville had his own plans when the Daily Southern Cross reported in November of 1875: “Mr N. H. Thornton has formed, what he terms, a ‘Bijou Theatre’ company with which he proposes visiting the townships in the neighbourhood of Auckland prior to extending his travels further afield. The artists he has brought together have a very high reputation in the several departments of tragedy, comedy, dance, song and music. The company consists of Mrs Thornton, ‘La Petite Amy’ Thornton, Mr Thornton himself, with Messrs. Alexander O’Brien, C. Herbert and H. Milburn. They open tonight at Onehunga.”

(Note: A Bijou Theatre —French for “jewel”—was historically a small or intimate theatre, commonly used in the late 19th century for vaudeville acts.)

On 25 February, 1876, the Prince of Wales Theatre announced it would re-open for the new season with, “Miss Lydia Howarde, one of the greatest burlesque actresses in the Australian colonies, who makes her first appearance here”, with Neville Thornton billed as the scenic artist.

In February of 1876 Neville was reportedly invalided due to an infection involving the forefinger of his right hand “having been poisoned by some of the ingredients he makes use of in forming his brilliant colours”.

In March, Neville found the time to take part as a celebrity guest in a “Spelling Bee” as part of the first anniversary of the Pioneer Juvenile Lodge of Good Templars where he emerged the winner, apparently with some embarrassment, at once returning the prize, with the Daily Southern Cross commenting, “Mr Thornton, the well-known artist employed at the Prince of Wales Theatre, showed tact in resting satisfied with the mere exhibition of his orthographical prowess and returning the trophies of his easily earned victory to be competed for by more youthful aspirants”.

In April of 1876, Neville was off again with his Bijou Troupe putting on several nightly shows at the Temperance Hall in Tauranga, assisted by members of the local Amateur Dramatic Club.

A review of the entertainment offered gave us a view to the openly racist attitudes that pervaded colonial society in New Zealand at the time. The Bay of Plenty Times wrote: “The programme commenced with the burlesque, ‘Black versus White, or The Unsanguinary War of the Races’, a skit on the late Waikato war, written by Mr Powell, a local celebrity. The male parts in the play being admirably sustained by the amateurs, and the female characters by the professional (Thornton women) players. This piece, from the variety of its humorous situations, the wit of the dialogue, and the not-to-be-forgotten Maori chief and tribe who appear, fairly brought down the house.”

In June there was a performance by Thornton’s Bijou Theatre at the Newmarket Hall under the distinguished patronage of Sir George Grey. In 1876, Sir George Grey was a prominent political figure in New Zealand, acting as the Superintendent of the Province of Auckland and a Member of Parliament for Auckland City West. It would appear Neville had made the acquaintance of Sir George as this was just the first of several performances the former Governor and future Premier of New Zealand lent his patronage to.

Also in June, there was a report from the Auckland Police Court of Neville Thornton taking his landlord, a Mr Henry Schumaker, to court for abusing him by calling him a “swindler and other epithets”. Schumaker had prevented him from removing his furniture as he vacated his rooms unless 10 shillings beyond the rent that was due was paid to him. Thornton said he left the rented premises because Schumaker had failed in carrying out his promises and because the adjoining house was used as a brothel. He said he objected to paying the unjust demand of 10 shillings in lieu of notice.

A witness told the court he heard the word “swindler” used by Schumaker towards Mr Thornton. Mrs Thornton (Sarah) said she too heard the word “swindler” used to Thornton. The Court ordered “Schumaker to be bound over for £20, to keep the peace for three months, and to pay the costs of £2 4s”.

Also in June of 1876, Neville took a case to the Resident Magistrate’s Court against R. J. De Lias seeking damages of £27 over a breach of agreement. It is of note that R. J. De Lias was the lessee and manager of the Prince of Wales Theatre. Neville was now working on scenery for the new and soon to be opened 1500-seat Theatre Royal, which went on to be a prominent Auckland theatrical venue after its opening in August of 1876.

However, the dispute must not have been all that serious, as in mid-June Amy appeared at the Prince of Wales for a complimentary benefit and in July both Amy and Neville acted in a play there. It was also reported that Neville was engaged on new scenery at the Theatre.

Neville’s case against De Lias was adjourned for some weeks as Sarah Thornton, who was supposed to be an important witness in the case, was unable to appear in court as she was about to give birth. This was the birth of the boy, Neville George Thornton, who died as an infant after surviving just two weeks.

The New Zealand Herald noted the death: “Thornton: On Sunday, 13th August, George N. Thornton, aged 14 days, infant son of Mr and Mrs N. H. Thornton, scenic artist.” It is pertinent to note that Neville appeared at the opening of the new Theatre Royal, responding to a curtain call from the audience, the night after the boy’s death.

On 24 August, Neville’s case against De Lias was apparently settled out of court. De Lias’s lawyer said it would have “turned out but a little comedy at most but he was happy to say that it had pleasantly ended in a farce”. The judge said he was pleased to hear that it had so ended. A few months later, in October, R. J. De Lias had taken over the lease of the recently opened Theatre Royal.

In the middle of 1876, despite having lost his newborn son, Neville was definitely a busy man-about-town. In September he was co-credited with a Mr H. Holmes for the scenery for a new play at the Theatre Royal, created scenery for a fundraiser concert put on by the Newmarket Literary Institute at the Public Hall in Newmarket, and was credited along with Holmes, Adams, Solon and assistants for the scenery for ‘Rip Van Winkle’ at the Theatre Royal, as well as acting parts in other productions including ‘The Yankee Teamster’, after which Neville had to answer repeated curtain calls for the calibre of his scenery.

In October of 1876 Neville was in court again, this time as the defendant after apparently falling foul of the council’s diligent Inspector of Public Nuisances, a Mr George Goldie, who was alleging that Neville had been in breach of Bylaw No. 6, section 72, clause 540, in that he had “neglected to keep clean his private yard”.

Such was Neville’s fame at that time that the Auckland press were all over it, with the Auckland Star headlining a lengthy account of the proceedings as ‘The Inspector and the Artist’.

Inspector Goldie gave evidence that when he visited the property in Coburg Street he found “a number of kerosene tins filled with filthy matter”. He introduced a witness, a neighbour, Mr O’Connor, whose wife it was who had alerted the authorities.

Neville argued that the mess was already there when he rented the house. Mrs Thornton (Sarah) gave evidence that the rubbish had been tossed over the fence by Mrs O’Connor, who was in the habit of throwing “stinking fish and rags” onto the premises. However, Neville was found guilty when the judge ruled that he should have cleaned the mess up anyway and charged the landlord for any expenses. He was fined 10 shillings with costs of £3 13s 6d.

Neville continued at the Theatre Royal, where R. J. De Lias was again his boss, often being “called to the curtain” in recognition of his scenery. Amy, who was now 15 years old, was sometimes performing on her own, and receiving enthusiastic reviews, in Saturday night concerts at the Temperance Hall.

In December of 1876 Neville was before the court again as Inspector Goldie continued his vendetta and Neville was fined for allowing his closets (toilets) to overflow.

Two of very few images to be found of a young  of Amy Thornton. The image on left is from a glass plate negative held by the Nelson Provincial Museum, simply titled 'Portrait of a Girl'. The image on the right is also from the same source and is captioned Miss Amy Thornton as Louise in Fritz". It was taken by Robert Henry (R.H.) Bartlett—one of the most prominent early commercial photographers in New Zealand.

But Neville was too busy to worry about emptying his closets as he had been burning the midnight oil on yet another project. He had taken a lease on the Odd Fellows building in Lorne Street, known as the Lorne Street Hall, and had created his own theatre. The Auckland Star had the news: “The work is now complete with a new stage and proscenium and is a very handsome and useful addition to this popular place of entertainment. Mr Thornton has designed the whole of the work and of course done all the painting. The hall, in its improved state will open on Wednesday evening with a select company and some interesting pieces.”

The new hall opened on Saturday, 9 December, 1876, as the Bijou Theatre featuring his big drawcard, Miss Amy Thornton, “assisted by a host of professional and amateur talent”. However, there was bigger news in the entertainment scene in Auckland when the “celebrated artistes”, the Lingards came to town. 

William Horace Lingard was a well-established comic singer, actor and dramatic author, originally from the British music hall scene of the 1860s. He and his wife, Alice Dunning Lingard, a former music hall dancer, had visited the United States in 1868 where they made names for themselves. In 1876, the Lingard company was touring Australia and New Zealand for the first time and after arriving in Christchurch in September they were now playing at the Theatre Royal, run by R. J. De Lias and where Neville was credited with painting the scenery.

Neville’s Bijou Theatre in Lorne Street opened on the same night the Lingards’ season opened at the Theatre Royal. The Auckland Star reviewed both shows the day after, commenting that the Theatre Royal attracted a “large and respectable audience”. The Star reported the Thornton family and their supporters opened the Lorne Street Hall as the Bijou Theatre in the presence of a “good audience”. It noted that Miss Amy Thornton appeared successfully in every scene and “displayed a versatility of talent”.

The Lingards played nightly at the Theatre Royal, with a well-filled house greeting the first production in Auckland of a play which the New Zealand Herald said “has elsewhere established itself in the popular favour”. That play, ‘The Two Orphans’, was a classic 19th-century French melodrama featuring two sisters—Henriette and the blind Louise—separated and navigating perilous adventures in Paris.

The New Zealand Herald saw fit to comment: “The scenic artist, Mr Thornton, deserves a tribute of praise for the really capital manner in which he has painted the scenes and generally arranged the properties. Mrs Thornton overdid her part; less display of cruelty would make the character appear more natural.”

Neville had created the scenery for this production and Sarah, despite the initial bad review, was playing a minor part as the season continued.

The Lingards stuck around Auckland until the New Year of 1877 and by then both Sarah and Amy Thornton were embedded in the cast.

The Lingard entourage left Auckland on 9 January with shipping records listing a Mrs and Miss Thornton accompanying the Lingard troupe as passengers on board the ‘SS Southern Cross’ bound for Napier, where Sarah and Amy appeared with the Lingards (without mention of Neville) for a couple of performances.

The Lingards presented a comedy, ‘Our Boys’ to a “capital house” at Napier’s Theatre Royal on 15 January, with Sarah and Amy both getting reviews in the newspapers; the Hawke’s Bay Herald commenting on “Mrs Thornton’s remarkable perception of the character she played with considerable comic talent”.

The ladies returned to Auckland in late January where Neville had been busy at the Theatre Royal working on scenery for an engagement by touring Irish comedian J. K. Emmet. 

Joseph Kline “Fritz” Emmet (1841–1891) was a highly successful 19th-century American vaudeville actor and singer. Famous for his comedic “German cousin” character on stage, his signature yodeling and playing his own musical instruments. Then followed a season of melodrama performed by American actor Charles Wheatleigh. Neville appeared to be gainfully employed at the Theatre Royal through the winter of 1877.

Horace and Alice Dunning Lingard., an American husband and wife acting pair who  toured New Zealand  in 1876.

It was interesting to note that in the advertising for the various productions at the Theatre Royal, and at other venues during this period, that the manager of the event (De Lias) and the scenic artist (Thornton) were “topping the bill” together—such was the importance of having a well-known artist like Neville Thornton credited for the scenery. Or was it that the canny De Lias used such flattery to keep the mercurial Neville Thornton on board?

It might not have been enough, for Neville decided it was time to take charge of his own destiny when in June of 1877 it was announced, in his own paid advertisement in the Auckland Star, that operating as the Comedy Company he had taken over Dornwell’s Albert Hall in Darby Street, off Queen Street in downtown Auckland, fitting it out with “new and beautiful scenery” and “providing varied entertainment three evenings weekly” featuring “drama, farce, burlesque, scientific phenomena plus feats of legerdemain”.

He stated: “Prices will be within reach of almost everyone wishing to enjoy an evening of harmless and rational amusement”. The advertisement also announced the engagement of a Professor Heinke who would perform “the Arabian Box Mystery and other feats of legerdemain and tricks of science”. “Mr and Mrs Thornton” and “Miss Amy Thornton” were also to feature in the performances with other theatrical talents.

The Auckland Star reviewed the opening night: “The Albert Hall, Darby Street, was opened last evening by Mr Thornton and his company of artists and performers. There was a fair audience, considering the number of counter attractions. We learn that Mr Thornton intends dedicating the Hall to Thespis at least three evenings a week. The opening performances were of a very pleasing character, and calculated to win general approval.”

Professor Heinke’s Arabian Box trick was apparently so successful that a repeat performance was arranged for the next night.

On 18 June the Thorntons appeared to have switched venues to the Choral Hall in Symonds Street, probably in order to host a larger audience, and were going all out in their advertising of an entertainment extravaganza under the “distinguished patronage of Sir George Grey, the attorney general, Chief Judge of the Native Land Court, the mayor of Auckland and the captain and officers of the HMS Sappho”. The Choral Hall was one of the largest buildings in nineteenth-century Auckland, seating 1100 people.

It was pretty much an all Thornton affair providing “sparkling and laughable burlesque”, with Mr, Mrs and Miss Thornton all playing the major parts, but included the good professor Heinke and his Arabian box trick (which he had apparently once performed in front of the Prince of Wales). This time he would be carefully observed by the New Zealand Attorney General and the Chief Judge of the Native Land Court, Francis Fenton.

The “Arabian box trick” involved inviting a strong man from the audience to lift a small wooden box, which the man did easily. He would then declare that he had used his magic to make the man “weaker than a woman”. When the strongman tried again, he could not move the box. Then the professor would invite his wife, Madame Heinke, to lift the box, which she did without effort. This was in an age when electricity was not fully understood (unless you were a scientist like Professor Heinke) who would signal an assistant under the stage to turn on a current of electricity resulting in an electro-magnetic force locking the box to the floor, making it impossible to lift.

On 21 July, 1877, the New Zealand Herald noted that the Theatre Royal was to be “reopened by Mr Thornton”. Neville had negotiated a short sub-lease of the Theatre Royal from his old nemesis, R. J. De Lias—but this did not turn out so well.

On 30 July the New Zealand Herald reported: “An action for damages has been instituted against Mr R. J. De Lias, the lessee of the Theatre Royal, at the instance of Mr Thornton and other members of the dramatic company. The damages are laid at £100. It appears that the company rented the theatre at the rate of £25 per week, and commenced a series of performances there last Saturday night, and they played three nights. In consequence, it is understood, of the rent not being paid nightly, Mr De Lias’ agent locked up the theatre, preventing the company from performing. At this stage, of course, little is known of the merit of the case, but it will no doubt excite some interest in theatrical circles if it is brought into court.”

De Lias reasserted his tenure at the Theatre—and even more so when, just a few months later, he bought the Theatre Royal for the sum of £7050. That amount would be worth $1.4 million today.

On 6 August, Neville wrote a letter to the Auckland Star explaining the sudden closure of the Theatre Royal during his company’s short-term lease of the premises as “no fault of the professionals but through differences with Mr De Lias”.

At this time Neville was working on scenery and stage decorations at the Academy of Music in Shortland Street. However, running into obstacles in Auckland may have prompted Neville to get out of town for a while. 

The Taranaki Herald was excited to announce on 5 September, 1877, that: “Mr Thornton, the scenic artist, who was here some two or three years ago, may be expected shortly from Auckland.” The newspaper said it had received a letter from Mr Thornton, with an accompanying portrait of Miss Amy Thornton who “appears to have grown to be a fine young woman”.

A further report said: “Mr Thornton is arriving in New Plymouth by steamer to assist the Garrick Club in a number of dramatic performances”. The report also noted that “Mr Thornton’s family will follow in about a fortnight and in the meantime he is to be also engaged in repainting the scenery at the Odd Fellows Hall”.

Sarah and Amy arrived by steamer on 20 September, no doubt with five-year-old May and two-year-old Daisy in tow.

At the Odd Fellows Hall in New Plymouth in early November, Neville staged a “grand opening” of the “popular production ‘Don Caesar de Bazan’” with amateur actors from the Garrick Club, “supported by Mr and Mrs Thornton and Miss Amy Thornton”.

The Thorntons remained in Taranaki for several weeks, staging the first-ever dramatic performance in the town of Inglewood on 13 October and giving further performances with the Garrick amateurs at the Odd Fellows Hall including a fundraiser “in aid of the Indian famine” in which Amy topped the bill on most occasions.

On 26 November the Thorntons had headed south. Neville was back on the West Coast of the South Island working on scenery for a newly-built public hall in Greymouth.

The girls must have stayed behind while Neville started the job but on 14 December the Grey River Argus was pleased to inform the public: “Miss Amy Thornton, the talented young actress, who has always been a favourite on the Coast, arrived here by the ‘SS Wallace’ yesterday, after an absence of some years. She joins her father, Mr Neville Thornton, who has been engaged for some weeks in decorating the Public Hall, where he will shortly open with a small but clever and versatile company.”

On 21 December, 1877, the Greymouth Public Hall opened for business featuring “new and splendid scenery by Mr Neville Thornton” and starring “Miss Amy Thornton, the well-known and favourite juvenile actress supported by Mr and Mrs Thornton”.

By 1877 Amy, who had virtually grown up on the stage, was making a name for herself as an actress and singer of great promise in her own right. Over the ensuing 20-30 years she became a well-known theatrical star in New Zealand, touring regularly with her own companies under the name of “Miss Amy Vaughan”, always in the company of Daisy and May, and almost always supported by her father Neville with his celebrated skills as a scenic artist.

To give a reviewed perspective at this point—in 1877 Neville was 43, Sarah was 23 and Amy had just turned 16. As soon as his later children to Sarah could walk they too began appearing in his shows. After Sarah’s death he toured as a solo father with, no doubt, Amy acting as a mother figure to her much younger half-sisters.

Amy was once described by a newspaper reviewer: “Miss Aimee is a finished actress, her figure charming, a model of female beauty, piquant and graceful in every movement. She possesses a grand voice, reaching the upper register with ease.”

The much younger girls, May and Daisy, were also billed as Neville Thornton’s “pretty and talented little daughters” and later, as they matured, as gifted performers in their own right. The youngest daughter Daisy’s theatrical star may have shone the brighter of the two after May married our grandfather, herbal botanist George Henry Clapham in 1893, settling down in Auckland to provide him, eventually, with eight children.

Given that the youngest daughter Daisy was born in 1875, she would have been a child when her name began appearing regularly in the advertisements promoting the numerous Thornton family performances. She was billed alongside her big sister May as early as 1880 when May would have been aged seven and Daisy just five years old.

During this period the mother Sarah performed alongside Neville and the three young girls until her fall from grace and accidental death in the mid-1880s.