‘The Absent Minded Beggar’ is a patriotic poem written by Rudyard Kipling in 1899 in order to raise money for soldiers fighting in the Second Boer War.
Light baritone Hamilton Hill (1869–1910) was a prominent early Australian music hall, vaudeville and recording artist born in Gordons (near Ballarat, Victoria).
The Edison Standard D model phonograph dates from around 1908 and has a clockwork spring-powered motor. It has been fitted with a recorder head that can play back two-minute cylinders.
Edison wax cylinder recording of Australian light baritone vocalist, Hamilton Hill, singing 'Skylark Skylark' (1903) after being digitised by NFSA experts.