Stage magicians have baffled and amazed people for millennia, creating tricks and illusions which continue to confound onlookers today. During Magic’s Golden Age, from 1880 to 1920, many of the world’s greatest conjurers and illusionists made their way to Australia. Soon, Sydney was producing its own magical celebrities, several of whom would achieve great fame and stellar international careers. 

Spectacular illusions, bamboozling tricks, and death-defying escapes — step behind the velvet curtain and be amazed as Australia’s stage magic history is revealed.