Fred Graber is an assumed name that was used by Feodor Shaliapin. He used that name when he was playing rugby league and competing in surf carnivals in the 1950’s. An extensive search by historian and researcher Max Turner unlocked what was one of rugby leagues great mysteries.
In 2025, Max made a breakthrough when he found a news item from the Women’s Weekly magazine dated 30 November 1960. Staff photographer Barry Cullen submitted a photo of a kitten for the Weekly’s cover spread. The kitten was owned by Barry’s sister Mrs F Graber of Clovelly , NSW.
It was known that Fred Graber was living in the Clovelly area in the mid 1950’s. Due to the unusual name and the location it was quite likely that this person was the wife of Fred Graber. It was also known that Mrs Graber’s maiden name was Cullen. A search of marriage records indicated that a Daphne Cullen married Feodor Shaliapin in 1960.
The marriage record enabled access to further records which confirmed that Feodor Shaliapin was in fact Fred Graber.
