“For his outstanding contribution to music, his achievements as a musician, composer, conductor and teacher, for inspiring young musicians and for contributing to the professional standard of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.”

Vaughan Hanly was born in 1916 in Sydney. After initial violin tuition with Sister Mary Acquin at the Golden Grove Convent of Mercy, he won a scholarship enabling him to study with Florent Hoogstoel at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music. In 1936 he graduated with both the Performer's and Teacher's Diplomas, winning the A.E. Smith Violin Prize. Two years later he made his debut performing the Wieniawski Concerto in D minor with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. His out- standing performance led to other engagements, including a tour of Australia as solo violinist with Richard Tauber.

In 1939 he was appointed leader of the ABC's Perth Orchestra, making his debut as soloist with the orchestra in Mozart's Concerto in D K218, conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. As Madame Alice Carrard recalls, "The ABC was having only 25 people in the orchestra and they were all half amateurs. When Vaughan Hanly arrived then it was something out of the world."

Between 1942 and 1945 Vaughan served in the Army Education Service in the area of music and drama. After the war he became very active as a teacher and as an examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board. In 1947 he became Deputy Conductor of the ABC's Perth Orchestra. He also appeared as soloist in the Tchaikovsky Concerto for Violin conducted by the visiting conductor Walter Suskind.

Vaughan Hanly spent 1948 in England studying conducting with Sir John Barbirolli and violin with the renowned teacher, Max Rostal. During his year abroad Vaughan was invited to join the first violin section of the London Symphony Orchestra affording him the opportunity of playing under many internationally famous conductors. He recalls with great joy playing in a performance of A London Symphony conducted by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Returning to the Perth Orchestra in 1949 Vaughan was very active as a soloist. He visited Adelaide to play the Sibelius Concerto for Violin and followed this with the first performance in Perth of the Delius Violin Concerto. On the same program was Rinsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade which made it a very busy occasion for Vaughan. This varied and demanding schedule became typical and was maintained through to his retirement in 1976. Throughout the formative years of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) as Concertmaster and Deputy Conductor, Vaughan Hanly, through his dedication and persistence, did much to raise the professional standard of the Orchestra, contributing to the fine reputation it has today. 

In addition to his work as Concertmaster and frequent solo appearances Vaughan also conducted studio broadcasts and concerts. For the 1956 Festival of Perth he was invited to conduct an all Mozart program to mark the bi-centenary of Mozart's birth. His capacity to interpret works of a larger and more complex nature was demonstrated in 1961 when the resident conductor became too ill to continue after the first rehearsal for a subscription concert. The program consisted of Le Corsair Overture by Berlioz, The Pines of Rome by Respighi and Elgar's Symphony No 1 in Ab major. The soloist, Larry Adler, was playing the first Australian performance of a concerto written for him by French composer Serge Lancen. Stepping in at such short notice and successfully conducting such a formidable program greatly enhanced Vaughan Hanly's reputation as a conductor. Other engagements followed, including concerts with European visitors such as Daniel Barenboim and Gyorgy Pauk. For the 1966 Festival of Perth he was invited to conduct four concerts by the WASO devoted to British and Australian composers. These programs included many works new to Perth including the first Western Australian performance of Symphony No 8 by Vaughan Williams and the first Australian performance of Little Symphony by Alexander Goehr.

Vaughan was especially fond of conducting the ABC schools concerts where he was able to make use of educational ideas he had developed during his Army years. These included short pieces based on well known tunes including pop songs to illustrate various musical forms, stylistic differences and individual characteristics of particular composers; presented with a touch of humour, the emphasis was on entertainment with learning as a by-product.

In spite of his heavy commitments to orchestral music Vaughan found time for chamber music. With Stephen Dornan, one of Perth's leading pianists, he formed a long standing sonata combination giving recitals for almost forty years. Vaughan and Stephen also helped foster music in Perth through their involvement in the Kylie Music Club which began in the thirties and provided a unique platform for local musicians to regularly meet and perform.

Teaching practice is yet another string to Vaughan Hanly's long musical bow. His exemplary teaching skills are recognised in Australia and overseas through his pupils who have achieved national and international success. Since retiring from the WASO, Vaughan has devoted more time to teaching. He has also published music for beginners which aims at providing teaching material oriented towards contemporary violin technique.

Vaughan Hanly's extensive career in music has brought pleasure to students and audiences all over Australia. For almost fifty years, he has generously given of his time and been an unfailing activist for music. In particular, Vaughan's committee work resulted in a recommendation that a college of the performing arts be established in Perth. More recently he helped raise funds to purchase a grand piano for Notre Dame University. In 1973 Vaughan Hanly was awarded the MBE for service to music and is a past recipient of the Western Australian Citizen of the Year Award.

Reference; Madam Alice Carrard, Oral History, JS Battye Library of Western Australia, Interviewer, Christina Brockman, 1996, p5. 
The ABC's Perth Orchestra became the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra in 1951.