Hairyman from Tasmania being interviewed by Rob Willis and Graham Seal in the Fitzroy. Hairyman talked about his life, philosophy, folk festivals and all manner of things - and sang a few of his powerful ballads. (Photo Ollie Willis).
An Australian tradition ...
Hairyman from Tasmania being interviewed by Rob Willis and Graham Seal in the Fitzroy. Hairyman talked about his life, philosophy, folk festivals and all manner of things - and sang a few of his powerful ballads. (Photo Ollie Willis).
Here's an intriguingly rare snap of a British custom in Hobart during World War 1. It's Empire Day (24 May) and the Fire Brigade has adopted the English ‘hobby horse’ custom to collect donations, perhaps to a war fund or charity. Or, as was sometimes the case with the original traditions, to fund a trip to the pub.
The blackened face of the man in the horse is a feature of some ‘guising’ customs, nowadays considered deeply offensive by many.
Sailors are helping out with collection boxes. Can't quite make out the name of the ship on the right-hand sailor's cap, could be HMAS Parramatta (1) which was in these waters at this period.
Anyone know any more? Evidence of traditional British customs in Australia is sparse, given the numbers who migrated here, willingly or otherwise.
Unknown band at Elisha William Gale Mine, Hill End?, NSW, c. 1860
We've had a selection of ghost music on this blog for a while. It has grown over the years and so we've decided to feature the Australian items as a separate blog at
https://archivesghostmusic.blogspot.com/
The existing articles - which include some non-Australian items and links - will stay on Verandah Music at
Cigarette cards were used by manufacturers to promote their products. They were attractive mini-art works that came with a pack of 'ciggies' or 'fags' and could be kept, left lying around or collected by adults and kids. This one is from Wills's cigarette company and shows an Australian soldier - later known colloquially as a 'digger', playing and singing the sentimental favourite, 'Home, Sweet Home'.
Light, easy to pack and usually cheap, concertinas were ideal for soldiers on active duty and are mentioned often in World War 1 sources, along with the even cheaper and more portable mouth organ. This card is part of a much larger set produced by the cigarette company to commemorate the heroics of the Anzacs at Gallipoli.
Soldiers, of course, were major targets for cigarette company advertising.
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Further to our last post on the 'tingaling', etc., here's an item from National Folk of 1967. The late folklorist and everything else, Ron Edwards, ran this magazine and related publications for many years. They contain a wealth of information about folksong, lore, legend and anything else Ron thought worth including, which was quite a lot!
In this article, a reader describes how he/she built a tin can banjo, based on one Ron had collected.
For more on Ron Edwards, see Keith McKenry's Ron Edwards and the Fight for Australian Tradition.
Or paste this into your browser if the link above doesn't work: https://scholarly.info/book/ron-edwards-and-the-fight-for-australian-tradition/
Also, Rob Willis has uploaded a video on the cardboard fiddle to the VM Youtube channel, here :
And he has another video of his interview with Fred Chapman and his amazing kerosene tin 'banjo' at:
We had some people going to our church called Foot. Mr Foot was a shopwalker in Bon Marche, which was burnt down later, that was a terrific evening, you could see the fire, even from here. Anyway, his wife was very musical, and she had a band. For a long time, the eldest daughter Esme was our church organist, and she also played the violin. Mr Foot played the violin. Arthur played the violin. Maud didn't play anything; I suppose she got the supper or something. And Norman was the one, he was my age group. He played cello. But he also played a violin, and he also made up a few instruments. One he made, played, was a single [string?] violin on a cigar box. It made quite a different tone from a violin, and he also made one using a kerosene tin for the sound box. He called that his ‘kerosene tingaling’, and he also sang and you know, they were a very great asset to a party, or to a church ...(indistinct – possibly ‘party’ or similar function)
1985.1241 MUSICAL INSTRUMENT: 'THE AUSTRAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC' MANDOLIN-GUITAR
Wooden Zither painted black. Strings fixed to flat horizontal base. One side straight, other side curved, curves back to narrower top along the edge of which project at right angles sixty-two square-faced string adjustment keys. Strings are a mixture of narrow gauge wire and spring type. They are strung parallel to each other across the front surface of the zither over a circular hole cut into this surface. The zither is decorated with multi-coloured floral design transfers around the front surface border, around the circular hole and bordering the note scale director which runs across the zither at right angles to the zither strings.
Inside the zither and visible through the hole is the manufacturer's label. ' The Austral Academy/ MANDOLIN GUITAR/of/Music'.Label on reverse: 'Made in Germany'. Also known as a Zither and Autoharp
‘there was sure to be a goodly sprinkling of singers or alleged singers. There were singers of "comic" songs, singers of songs relating doughty deeds performed by an intrepid party known to all and sundry as " the wild colonial boy," singers of songs composed in the days of the convict system by men who suffered under it, singers of the pleasures of a sailors life, singers of songs that touched upon cattle-hunting and shearing, singers of songs about Ireland's wrongs, and singers of pathetic ballads, such as the "Sailor's Grave" or "The Anchor's Weighed." Hard as the comic song is to bear, it is joy itself when compared with "The Sailor's Grave," sung by a strong, rough-throated person, who first looks at the roof and then shuts his eyes, places his light hand on his stomach, his left thumb in his left pocket, and sings, finishing every line with an unctuous sort of grunt, which is considered the best form in every shearing shed from Wentworth to Welltown.
The full article is here https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/163688205/16785244#
RW and GS
An important contribution to music history scholarship, this volume not only establishes Morton’s significance in the history of Australian country music, but it also draws deep connections between Morton’s Australasian influence and country music in the United States, exploring Morton’s legacy in the wider context of the genre worldwide. Complete with a comprehensive discography of Tex Morton’s works, Smith’s in-depth biography claims for Morton his rightful place as a major founding figure in the history of Australian country music.
https://utpress.org/title/tex-morton/ Also available on Amazon.