Stella Southern Explained

Stella Southern was an Australian actress best known for her performances in the silent films A Girl of the Bush (1921) and The Bushwhackers (1925).

Originally from Sydney, she was working for a milliner when discovered by Beaumont Smith who cast her in The Man from Snowy River (1920). He let her select her own stage name (her real name was Lucy Emma "Billie" Winks)^[1] and she chose "Stella Southern" which means "star of the south".^{[2] [3]}

On 4 October 1921 she married New Zealand film director Harrington Reynolds in Auckland; she had starred for him in The Birth of New Zealand (1921). She also appeared in a number of productions on stage in Brisbane.^[4]

Select credits

• The Man from Snowy River (1920) – film
• The Betrayer (1921) – film
• A Girl of the Bush (1921) – film
• The Birth of New Zealand (1921) – film
• A Rough Passage (1922) – film
• Potash and Perlnutter (1922) – play, Theatre Royal, Brisbane^[5]
• The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1923) – play, Theatre Royal, Brisbane^[6]
• The Bachelor's Honeymoon (1923) – play, Theatre Royal, Brisbane^[7]
• Penelope by Somerset Maugham (1924) – play, His Majesty's, Brisbane^[8]
• Mrs Dot (1924) – play, His Majesty's Brisbane^[9]
• Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (1924) – play, Brisbane^[10]
• The Bushwhackers (1925) – film
• Odds On (1928) – film

External links

• Stella Southern at National Film and Sound Archive

Notes and References

1. New Zealand Film 1912-1996 by Helen Martin & Sam Edwards p29 (1997, Oxford University Press, Auckland)
2. News: THE WORLD OF PICTURES. . . 28 August 1920 . 5 January 2012 . 12 . National Library of Australia.
3. News: THEATRE CRUMBS. . . Adelaide . 13 November 1920 . 5 January 2012 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
4. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 100.
5. News: ENTERTAINMENTS. . . 16 October 1922 . 5 January 2012 . 8 . National Library of Australia.
6. News: "The Classics of 1923.". . . 5 May 1923 . 5 January 2012 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
7. News: The Theatre Royal. . . 16 July 1923 . 5 January 2012 . 15 . National Library of Australia.
8. News: "Penelope.". . . 7 January 1924 . 5 January 2012 . 12 . National Library of Australia.
9. News: "If Winter Comes.". . . 19 January 1924 . 5 January 2012 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
10. News: "Twelfth Night.". . . 18 February 1924 . 5 January 2012 . 8 . National Library of Australia.