Robert Murdoch Pearce was born in Tallangatta, on May 2, 1891 the fifth child of Henry Heath Pearce and Arabella Grace Murdoch, who had married in Tasmania in 1880. Three children were born in Tasmania - Heath, Madeline (known as Madge) and Henry (known as Tom). In 1885 the family moved to Wagra Park Estate on the Mitta River at Tallangatta, and Robert (known as Bobbie (1)) and his older sister Grace were born there. Arabella died in 1894 and the next year Henry married Kate West, who was the governess of the Pearce children. They had four children together - William, Athol, Mary Eleanor and Mitta. (2)
When the War began, Bobbie enlisted on August 25, 1914 in the 4th Battalion, and he embarked on the Euripidies on October 20. He served in Gallipoli, landing there on April 25, 1915 and on May 8 was wounded, shrapnel wound to the left foot. His overall health was impacted by on-going pain from an operation to have his appendix removed two years previously, and this plus a hernia meant he couldn't lift heavy items. Bobbie returned to Australia in August 1915 and was discharged on medical grounds on November 10, 1915 - his disability listed as - Adhesions following general peritonitis. (3)
On his return Bobbie gave up the farming life and became an entertainer. He had already had a taste of this whilst in camp in Egypt - It was at Mena Camp that he got his first professional engagement, when he sang at a leading Cairo music hall for 60 piastres an evening. Frequently he would come back to camp with his piastres changed into good things for his comrades' supper. (4)
The first reference I can find of this new career in Australia was in January 1916 when he was performing at the Tivoli Theatre - R.M. Pearce and the Anzac Heroes appeared in a stirring military act was listed in a report of the theatre's activities. (5) In February, under the director Faulkner Smith, Bobbie teamed up with another returned soldier, Tom Skeyhill, for performances at the Athenaeum Theatre - With the Australians at ANZAC. (6)
Thomas John Skeyhill, was born in Terang on January 10, 1895, and enlisted on September 14, 1914. He was blinded by an exploding shell at Gallipoli, on May 8, 1915 - the same day that Robert sustained his injury. (7) The Camperdown Chronicle reported that Tom was a very successful elocutionist a few years ago at the Hamilton and Ballarat competitions and while on active service Signaller Skeyhill wrote a number of verses and issued them in book form. According to the "Bulletin," it had a tremendous sale in Egypt, and that paper attributes it not to the serious work, but to a savage summing-up, in the manner of Dennis' "Sentimental Bloke" (rather flattering comment), of the stay-at-home brigade. (8)
In February 1917, they were in Zeehan, Tasmania and this is one report of the show - No public performer in Australia could wish for better Press opinion than those hold by Signaller Tom Skeyhill, the blind Anzac soldier, who is to lecture on the Gallipoli campaign in the Gaiety Theatre tonight. Although bereft of his sight, this young soldier is an orator in a million, and possesses that infinite something in his voice that enables him to grip and thrill his audiences. Other war lecturers speak from without. They viewed operations from a distance; but it is entirely different with Skeyhill - he was in the thick of things, and therefore knows what he is talking about, and, what is more, knows how to talk..... During the evening Private Bobby Pearce, another returned wounded soldier, will sing several popular songs. He is a brilliant songster, and no doubt will be in great demand before the entertainment is over. (11)
They were still touring in January 1918 when they performed at Leongatha, where the local newspaper reported -When they came here last they were only new to the stage but two years' touring throughout the Commonwealth, including long and phenomenally successful seasons in all the capitals, has knocked the rough edges (if there were any) off their work. Both have improved out of all knowledge. Skeyhill, as a war lecturer, is easily the finest in the Southern Hemisphere, whilst Pte. Bobby Pearce is right in the front rank of baritones. The Signaller on this occasion is not going to again tell us the story of Gallipoli, but is going to review and analyse the war, and advance his opinion as to where, when and how the end will come. He has a thorough, practical and theoretical knowledge of his subject. Fighting on three battle fronts has given him the practical side of the war, and long association with some of the world's greatest war experts should not leave him wanting for theories. Vivid word pictures, bursts of impassioned oratory and humorous stories of the fighting will hold the interest right throughout, whilst Private Bobby Pearce, the singer from the trenches, will intersperse the war oratory with songs. His voice is wonderfully improved, and he is acknowledged to be one of the finest baritones in the land. (12)
In May 1918, they had their last Australian performance at Corryong as the partnership split up and Tom headed to the United States. It appears that by then their show had expanded considerably to also showing films as it was reported that -
Bobbie had married Florence Agnes Sutherland on September 4, 1917 at the Presbyterian Church in Alma Road in St Kilda. Florence was also a performer; she was with the Williamson Royal Comic Opera Company. She was born in St Kilda in 1888, the daughter of Alexander Buchanan Sutherland and Agnes Wilkie Kennedy, who had married in Scotland in 1870. Bobbie and Florence lived at various addresses in St Kilda until 1925 when they moved to Wagra, 3 Newstead Street in Caulfield. (17) In 1921, Bobbie was performing with the Famous Diggers troupe which presented songs and skits, but in common with many returned soldiers he suffered from ill health, in his case it was heart disease, and some newspaper reports note that he was in the Caulfield Military Hospital from 1922 until 1926. (18)
Widespread sorrow was expressed when it became known that "Bobbie" Pearce had suddenly passed away at his home in Newstead street, Caulfield, on Saturday last. "Bobbie," the name by which he was familiarly known, had been ailing for some considerable time, as the result of the injuries received by him whilst on active service, in the Great War of 1914-1918. He left Australia with the first troops who went to Egypt, being attached to the 4th Battalion of infantry, A.I.F. This battalion was amongst those which landed in Gallipoli, and it was on May 8th, 1915, that "Bobbie" was wounded in an engagement with the Turks. For many months he was an inmate of the Military Hospital after being invalided home. After his discharge from the hospital, his injury was of such a nature that it necessitated his admission again at frequent intervals for further medical attention. Although his friends were aware of the nature of his case, it was not expected that his end would be so sudden, as he was always of a cheerful disposition and bore his trouble with remarkable fortitude.
The funeral cortege left the Caulfield Military Hospital on Monday, and the hearse, which bore the coffin draped with the Union Jack, was followed by over one hundred motor cars and vehicles to the Cheltenham Cemetery, where the remains of the late Mr. Pearce were interred. The funeral service was conducted at the graveside by the Rev. Mr. Ingram, of Geelong, who was a close personal friend of the late Digger and his family. The closing remarks of the clergyman had a marked effect on those 200 comrades and friends who had attended to pay their last respects. Some were visibly affected and moved as the coffin was lowered into the last resting place in the Presbyterian portion of the cemetery. A Masonic service was conducted afterwards by the officers and members of the Henty Lodge, of which Mr. Pearce was a member. In a quiet spot on the hill, overshadowed by towering pine trees, the remains of a noble citizen, a brave soldier, and the beloved friend of all who knew him, rests peacefully sleeping, awaiting the Great Reveille. The heartfelt sympathy of many people is extended to the widow who is left to mourn his loss. Floral tributes were forwarded from the Caulfield Hospital staff, Nurses' Association, Limbless Diggers' Association, Blind and Partially Disabled Soldiers' Association, Branches of the R.S. & S. Association, the Broadcasting Companies, Red Cross Organisations, Sth. Caulfield Progress Association, and many other similar bodies, also from many leading public citizens and business people, showing the high esteem in which "Bobbie" Pearce was held. (22)
