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Katherine Annabel Lily Dampier (1867 or 1868 – 6 February 1915),[a] known as Lily Dampier, was an Australian actress of stage and screen. She was the daughter of Alfred Dampier and married to Alfred Rolfe.[2][3][4]
Her best known stage parts were Sylvia in For the Term of His Natural Life and Kate in Robbery Under Arms.[5] She also performed many roles from Shakespeare and worked in England.
A contemporary described her as a better actress than her sister Rose:
Certainly she was the more forceful, physically, and vocally, but she was disqualified for high tragic roles by the fact that she had ridiculously small feet for a well developed woman, and used to walk in mincing and tottering steps in moments when rhythmic striding was needed.[6]
She married actor/architect William Watkins, stage name Watkin Wynne, on 19 September 1889, divorced 1892.[7] He was a member of her father's company of actors. She married Rolfe in 1893.[8]
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Lily was staying in William Street, West Melbourne when she took ill. Her husband was filming in Sydney and was going to take her to a private hospital when she died. According to contemporary reports, "her death occurred rather suddenly".[9] Her mother (stage name Katherine Russell) died shortly after,[10] and her sister Rose also died young.[11]
- One reference gives her date of birth as January 1859[1] problematical given her father's year of birth 1843~47 and her (presumed) mother born c. 1848. January 1869 is quite plausible.
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