Louise Hanson-Dyer and L’Oiseau Lyre

March is Women’s History Month, and the RHSV is taking a look at the women who helped shape the cities, stories and culture of Victoria.

Louise Hanson-Dyer stands as a pillar of Melbourne’s history, a woman who was creative, charismatic and above all, good.

Born in Melbourne on 19 July 1884, she was named for her father, Louis Lawrence Smith, a well-known doctor, Parliamentarian and art collector. Louise, growing up amongst her father’s practice and the family home in the Paris End of Collins Street, inherited many of her father’s best qualities: Generosity, philanthropy and a love of the arts.

The good doctor was born in London, the son of a theatre proprietor. In 1852, like so many men of the time, Louis migrated to Victoria, lured by the call of the gold rush. He soon abandoned the hopes of striking it rich and established his medical practice in Melbourne. He was described as a respectable gentleman who was “Charming and ‘a thorough Bohemian at home among all classes’”. He was well known in his time as both an unconventional surgeon and as a member of the Victorian Parliament.

Louise was educated at Presbyterian Ladies College East Melbourne, where her musical abilities emerged and were fostered. A talented pianist, she travelled overseas to pursue her studies both in Edinburgh and London. Here she won the gold medal at the Royal College of Music. Music would remain the cornerstone of her life.

Returning to Melbourne, she married James Dyer on the 27th of December 1911. Louise was 27; James was 27 years her senior. But a shared love of music between these two lively characters seems to have made for a happy marriage.

James was the Australasian manager of Messrs Michael Nairn & Co. of Kirkcaldy, Scotland: contemporary gossip columnists referred to him as ‘Jimmy Dyer, the linoleum king.” Louise, known for presenting divertissements at her Toorak home, was described as “rising to the occasion with gorgeous dressing; flamboyance united the imperious and Bohemian aspects of her personality”. Together, the couple were active socially, attending society functions, hosting art openings and using their affluence in support of a range of philanthropic causes.

Louise had significant influence on the musical and cultural life of Melbourne. She helped to establish the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and in 1921 took part in founding the British Music Society of Victoria, a local chapter of the society in the United Kingdom, which had branches throughout the British Empire. Today, the Society – celebrated for the diversity of music presented at its concerts – is an autonomous group known as the Lyrebird Music Society Inc., a nod to Louise’s later passion project. The Society supports composers, awarding the Lyrebird Commission for Composition and presenting a public performance of the commissioned work. The Society continues to be supported by an annual endowment from Louise Hanson-Dyer’s trust.

Louise’s interests and activities were diverse. In addition to her musical undertakings, she was active in the Alliance Francaise, arranged publication of local poet John Shaw Neilson’s work and pressured the Prime Minister to increase the funding of literary pensions. She was not only defined by the bustling busy-ness of a socialite, but by her kindness.

John Shaw Neilson recalls meeting the Dyers on New Year’s Day 1924:

“… I went to Toorak. I had on a grey coat and vest, the remains of a rather decent suit; but my trousers were unspeakable. They were slops of the worst kind. They were dark and at least a size too big for me. I turned them up to accommodate my rather short legs. I would have got out of that trip if I possibly could have done, but there didn’t seem to be any option. When I beheld such great mansions and spacious grounds I could scarcely get pluck enough in me to enter the gates. I need not have been so timorous about it, as Mrs Dyer and her worthy husband made me very welcome. Had I been the Prince of Wales I could not have been better treated. ..”

(liveperformance.com 02/10/2023)

In 1927, the Dyers relocated to Europe, finally settling in Paris. It was during this time Louise established a salon in her apartment, with its sweeping view of the Eiffel Tower. Here, she hosted writers, composers and musicians. As always, there was a tangible element to Louise’s cultural enterprises and in 1933 she published a compendium of the music of French Baroque composer Couperin le Grand. The quality and editing of this collection far exceeded any previous efforts and established Louise as a publisher of fine music manuscripts. It was the first production of her publishing house, L’Oiseau-Lyre, the Lyrebird Press. The publishing house boasted an emblem of a lyrebird’s tail as its enduring symbol.

Louisa’s rich and productive life danced its way through much of the 1930s, during which time she informally bridged cordial relations between France and the British Empire. She continued hosting events at her salons, publishing and organising recordings of L’Oiseau-Lyre music.

She also travelled extensively, penning columns for Australian newspapers: From A Paris Notebook appeared in the Melbourne Herald and Paris Letter was a feature of Table Talk; She wrote engagingly of Paris fashion (August 1933); stirred interest in the Nabob of Palenpur at Cannes (October 1938); and, always keen in the latest artistic advancements, reported on new techniques in cinematography (August 1933) and modern pottery (July 1938). In 1936 she interviewed Madame Suzanne Lacore, one of the first women appointed to the French Cabinet. Her range was as eclectic as her life, earning her an appointment as Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneurin in 1934.

But she wasn’t immune from sorrow and the harsh realities of life. In January 1938, her beloved husband and partner in artistic advancements, Jimmy, took his final curtain call.

A year later, in April 1939, Louise married Joseph Hanson, an English literary scholar. This time, she said “I do” to a man 25 years her junior.

The onset of war forced Louise and Joseph to flee to England, where Louise continued her music publishing and Joe studied at Balliol. After the war, they returned to the ravaged city of Paris. Miraculously, Louise was delighted to find the masters of her recordings had survived, hidden from the Nazis in a garden shed.

The Hansons left Paris for the idyllic hills of Monaco, continuing L’Oiseau-Lyre Publishing. The focus of the endeavour shifted to a more academic audience rather than collectors.

In her final years, Louise maintained her links with Melbourne, passing away in November 1962, her ashes interred in Melbourne General Cemetery. Her legacy lived on: Her Australian estate was bequeathed to the University of Melbourne, including both L’Oiseau-Lyre material as well as a substantial amount of money to assist future musical scholars. In 2019, the recital hall at the new Conservatorium was named Hanson-Dyer Hall in her honour.

Joe, who inherited her European estate, continued the work of L’Oiseau-Lyre until his death in 1971.  L’Oiseau-Lyre continued under the stewardship of his second wife, Margarita.

There is a breadth of mind and a generosity of spirit that flows through Louise’s story: Her commitment to promoting and supporting music, her countless acts – large and small – of decency and kindness, and her determination and dynamism that created the legacy of L’Oiseau-Lyre. Her contribution to Victoria’s cultural heritage can still be felt today.

Written by Julie Bevan