Cirrus@Austlit

Dr Clay Djubal talks about his fascination with the mysterious world of Freemasons courtesy of a Freemason grandfather, and explains the problems he later had in attempting to explore the possibility of connections between the vaudeville industry and Masonic movement as an outsider. Dr Djubal also reflects on how meeting Stig R. Hokason finally opened the doors to this area of research which has now begun to shed light on the important role that Masonic fellowship played in the lives of travelling showmen (and their families) and in supporting the industry itself (through the wide-spead building of Masonic Halls).

'The colourful career of Frederick King appears to have begun in the late-1870s. Having changed his name to Hermann Florack (likely in an effort to evade a Victorian arrest warrant from1876), he toured the country with companies led by Baker and Farron and Tom Buckley, and on a number of occasions produced and/or toured his own shows (including Florack's Federal Minstrels)....'