Magician, mentalist, prestidigitateur, dramatist/librettist, songwriter, poet, recitationist,
Starting out as an amateur illusionist/mentalist in the early 1890s, Alfred Lumsden made his name in regional Victoria for his act Mysteria. He briefly used the name Czerny in the early 1900s, and between late 1905 and 1907 toured New Zealand and Australia for William Anderson. Lumsden turned to management in 1908, initially as representative at the Bijou (Melbourne) and as tour manager for Beaumont Smith and Allan Hamilton among others.
Among Lumsden's works for the stage included the libretti (and songs) for Babes in the Wood (1909) and Sinbad the Sailor (1914), and the four-act comedy Bill Adams (1915). He also wrote the words for the patriotic song 'Australia's Got a Navy of Her Own' (ca. 1911) with music by W.F. Naunton.
[Source: Australian Variety Theatre Archive]^
