# Robert Heir

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{{Short description|Actor in Australia (1832–1868)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Robert James Heir''' (10 February 1832 – 27 February 1868) was an actor in Australia, best known as the first husband of the great actress [Fanny Cathcart](/source/Fanny_Cathcart).

== History ==
Heir arrived in Melbourne by the George Marshall, and made his first appearance on 11 April 1855 at the [Queen's Theatre, Melbourne](/source/Queen's_Theatre%2C_Melbourne) as "Icilius" in [Knowles](/source/James_Sheridan_Knowles)' drama ''[Virginius](/source/Virginius_(play))'' with [G. V. Brooke](/source/G._V._Brooke) and [Fanny Cathcart](/source/Fanny_Cathcart).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154891207 |title=Domestic Intelligence |newspaper=[The Age](/source/The_Age) |volume=I |issue=150 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=12 April 1855 |accessdate=22 July 2021 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

Heir and Cathcart were playing [Morris Barnett](/source/Morris_Barnett)'s comedy, ''[The Serious Family](/source/The_Serious_Family)'', for [George Coppin](/source/George_Coppin) at his newly-opened [Olympic Theatre](/source/Olympic_Theatre%2C_Melbourne), with [G. V. Brooke](/source/G._V._Brooke) and [R. Younge](/source/Fred_Younge), when they married and after the last performance defected to the rival company of [John Black](/source/John_Black_(theatre)) at the [Theatre Royal](/source/Theatre_Royal%2C_Melbourne) to play [Thomas Morton](/source/Thomas_Morton_(playwright))'s comedy ''A Roland for an Oliver'',<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4815907 |title=Theatrical and Musical |newspaper=[The Argus (Melbourne)](/source/The_Argus_(Melbourne)) |issue=2571 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=21 August 1855 |accessdate=22 July 2021 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> which they had performed for Coppin a few months earlier.<ref name=advertising>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154897492 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[The Age](/source/The_Age) |volume=I |issue=166 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=1 May 1855 |accessdate=22 July 2021 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

===Death===
Mr and Mrs Heir were booked to appear at the [Invercargill Theatre](/source/Invercargill_Theatre), New Zealand, in 1868, but he died on the passage across,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article176996816 |title=Theatrical |newspaper=[The Age](/source/The_Age) |issue=4184 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=30 March 1868 |accessdate=22 July 2021 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and was buried at [The Bluff](/source/Bluff%2C_New_Zealand), one of the most southerly towns in that country. A later pilgrim to the cemetery was surprised at the condition of his grave, unmarked and unkempt.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87899000 |title=South Australia |newspaper=[Bendigo Advertiser](/source/Bendigo_Advertiser) |volume=XV |issue=4165 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=5 October 1868 |accessdate=22 July 2021 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
It was in a similar condition thirty years later, when the Mayor of Invercargill wrote to [Nellie Stewart](/source/Nellie_Stewart), who brought the matter to the attention of the [Australasian Dramatic and Musical Association](/source/Australasian_Dramatic_and_Musical_Association), and a headstone was procured.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242205555 |title=Robert Heir's Grave. |newspaper=[The Herald (Melbourne)](/source/The_Herald_(Melbourne)) |issue=9352 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=3 October 1905 |accessdate=22 July 2021 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

===Personal===
Heir married [Mary Fanny Cathcart](/source/Mary_Fanny_Cathcart)  (3 August 1833 – 3 January 1880)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104859640 |title=Death of Mrs Robert Heir |newspaper=[The Burrowa News](/source/The_Burrowa_News) |issue=289 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=9 January 1880 |accessdate=22 July 2021 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> around early 1855.<ref name=advertising/> A daughter was born on 23 March 1856,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4833886 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[The Argus (Melbourne)](/source/The_Argus_(Melbourne)) |issue=2997 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=25 March 1856 |accessdate=22 July 2021 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> the first of five children, who all died young.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5969443 |title=Death of Mrs George Darrell |newspaper=[The Argus (Melbourne)](/source/The_Argus_(Melbourne)) |issue=10,467 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=5 January 1880 |accessdate=22 July 2021 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She married [George Darrell](/source/George_Darrell) (1851–1921) on 20 January 1870.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244904593 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[The Herald (Melbourne)](/source/The_Herald_(Melbourne)) |issue=7523 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=7 February 1870 |accessdate=22 July 2021 |page=2 |via=Trove}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heir, Robert}}
Category:1832 births
Category:1868 deaths
Category:19th-century Australian male actors
Category:People from the Colony of Victoria

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robert Heir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Heir) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Heir?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.