Alexander Galloway

Alexander Galloway was born on 6 February 1876 in Glasgow, Scotland,  the second of seven children of James and Janet Galloway, née Robertson. 

In 1883, his family departed Scotland, arriving in Bundaberg, Queensland on 9 July 1883. In 1884, they moved to Wallsend, and Minmi.

Galloway worked in a drapery store in Greta before going to Outtrim, Victoria, a coal mining town, where he worked as a miner.

He moved back to the Hunter Valley and again worked as a draper, and then with a dentist before moving to Weston in 1905 where he launched his photography business. In 1906 he opened a branch at Kurri Kurri where he lived for 20 years.

He married Amy Lavinia Butler in Newcastle on 1905, and they had two sons, William (1906-1980) and Graham (1922-).

Galloway built the Royal Theatre at Kurri, and then set up more branches at the Cessnock and at the Rutherford military camp between 1914 and 1918. He also had a branch at Newcastle.

From the late 1930s until his death, he took up music and composed songs, three of which he sang over Australia's Amateur Hour on the radio.  Two songs were Song of Newcastle and Sailing on to Dreamland (The Song of Beautiful Lake Macquarie). These two songs on 78 rpm records are held in Special Collections. They were sung by Edward Walcott (baritone).

Alexander Galloway passed away in his home in Newcastle on 31 July 1945. 

Sources

• Obituary (1945, August 10). The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder (NSW : 1913 - 1954), p. 5.
• Alexander Galloway (1876 – 1945) – Newcastle Composer - UONCC blog by Gionni Di Gravio, 2007