In the mid 19th century, a young English couple left their native homeland in search of a better life on the other side of the world, in the fledgling colony of
Victoria in Australia.
There, they founded a music enterprise which their descendants continued to oversee for three more generations.
As a direct descendant of the founders of the Sutton music business,
the author’s early life was closely influenced by the success – or otherwise –
of this company.
Over its lifetime, the Sutton music business always aimed to
“provide the Australian people with musical instruments and to assist constantly with the development of music in their country”.
One of its most enduring slogans was :
“Where there is harmony in every transaction”
The purpose of this website is to tell the story of the Sutton family
and their music house, and highlight and commemorate the name of
their music business for posterity.
The information contained in the following pages is presented as a chronological discussion of the evolution of the Sutton music business.
Most of it has been sourced from the few surviving Sutton family archives,
and the digitised newspapers found on the TROVE website of the National Library Of Australia.