Early Days and Marriage to John Foley

Apart from what has been published on her theatrical career in early New Zealand, little is known about William Foley's first wife, including her own name. On his son John's birth certificate, William recorded in 1860 that he and his first wife had one living daughter, Willelmina Foley, and two non-surviving children. To date, no record has been found for the birth of these children, or of the first marriage.

Peter Downes has written quite extensively about Mrs W.H. Foley in Shadows on the Stage and Top of the Bill. The information in these two books is summarised in the following extract from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.

Mrs W. H. Foley - actress, singer, entertainer

As an actor, singer, director and manager, Mrs W. H. Foley made a major contribution to early theatrical entertainment in New Zealand. Yet of her life and work outside the years between 1855 and 1867, when she lived in New Zealand, very little is known. The places and dates of her birth and death, her nationality, even her given and birth names remain a mystery. Advertisements claimed that she had performed in 'the Principal Theatres in England and America', but her name does not appear in any theatrical history of either country. She came to New Zealand directly from Australia, but nothing is known of her life there.

For most of the 12 years she spent in New Zealand Mrs Foley was a 'star'. She introduced many people to dramatic productions for the first time, and whenever she appeared, settlers crowded into the little halls which passed for theatres to experience the much publicised magic of her performances. Afterwards the newspaper reporters used their most extravagant adjectives to describe her. While there is no questioning the adulation which Mrs Foley enjoyed in New Zealand, the fact that she apparently went unrecognised in other countries suggests that local reviews may have exaggerated her talent. But for the mostly unsophisticated men and women who flocked to see her on stage, she provided a rare opportunity to forget for an hour or two the harsh realities of colonial life. To these people international standards were of no importance. Mrs Foley was the acme of theatrical artifice as far as they were concerned.

Mrs Foley arrived in New Zealand at Nelson on the Alexander on 13 September 1855 with her husband and his Victoria Circus. William Foley had been a prominent circus proprietor and performer in San Francisco, before settling in Australia in about 1854. This was his first visit to New Zealand but he continued to bring circuses across the Tasman for many years.

Mrs Foley's New Zealand début in Nelson on 29 September 1855 was made with the circus - she appeared in some 'comic duets in character' with her husband - but it was not long before she established herself in Auckland as an actor of considerable accomplishments. With a fine instinct for publicity and a large repertoire of comedies, farces, historical plays and melodramas, she soon had audiences crowding the tiny Military Theatre to the point of discomfort. She was supported first by some local amateurs led by one of the pioneers of theatre in Auckland, George Buckingham. Later she joined a group of itinerant professionals, which her husband had imported from Sydney to play at the Theatre Royal in Auckland. This new theatre had been built at the instigation of William Foley and was opened on 3 March 1856, with what was almost certainly the first production of a Shakespearian play in New Zealand, Othello. Mrs Foley's name headed the cast list on this occasion.

By the end of 1856 the Foley ménage had moved to Wellington, where Mrs Foley was to enjoy her greatest triumphs. Long seasons during the next 10 years were interspersed with successful tours to Lyttelton, Christchurch, Wanganui, Dunedin and Napier. During this period Mrs Foley was associated with the actor Vernon Webster, having parted company from her husband, it seems, in September 1857. Usually she and her company presented popular plays and revues, but on occasion they would perform a more substantial work, such as a Shakespearian play.

Mrs Foley's repertoire was extremely large, even at a time when the average actor was expected to have a wide selection of characters ready for instant portrayal. That she had so many roles at her command testifies to enormous industry and versatility. She must also have had considerable stamina. In one evening she presented 14 characters in excerpts from as many plays, then performed a group of popular songs and ended by playing the lead part in a farce.

During the final years of Mrs Foley's stay in New Zealand public taste was beginning to change. More touring companies were adding a new dimension to colonial entertainment and there was a growing demand for something different. After 10 years as acknowledged favourite of New Zealand theatre, Mrs Foley's popularity was beginning to wane. On 10 December 1866 she gave the last of three farewell performances in Wellington. Six months later, on 3 July 1867, she left New Zealand on the Lieutenant , bound for Guam. She made a brief return visit in 1884, but by then her former reputation was a distant memory.

• Downes, P. Shadows on the stage. Dunedin, 1975
• Downes, P. Top of the bill. Wellington, 1979