Singabout 6(1) 1966 & Singabout 6(2) 1967 - The Art of John Dengate - Part 4

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The Art of John Dengate - Part 1 

The Art of John Dengate - Part 2

The Art of John Dengate - Part 3

Although John Dengate had been drawing, reciting and writing verse since he was a small lad, he started writing in a traditional style after his future wife, R. Dale Morgan took him to the Bush Music Club in 1961. Here John was influenced by John Meredith and Alan Scott, both Australian folklorists and collectors. John became an enthusiastic researcher of Australian folklore as a basis to his writing, storytelling and performances. But he was also a writer and sketcher of political satire and parodies. For over sixty years, John wrote about life in Australia and was well known for his performance at folk venues and sketches he freely gave people at festivals. (Dale Dengate)

Thanks to Dale for identifying John's sketches in the final 2 issues of Singabout. In 6(1) he produced everything except Wild Driver, and all the illustrations in 6(2).

Vol 6, Number 1, 1966

Vol 6, Number 1, 1966, Sandy Hollow Line, page 4

Vol 6, Number 1, 1966,  Fine Girl You Are, page 8

Vol 6, Number 1, 1966, Johnson - Jinxen,  page 12

Vol 6, Number 1, 1966, The Answer's Ireland, page 14

Vol 6, Number 1, 1966, The Battle of Castle Hill, page 15

Vol 6, Number 1, 1966, page 19

Vol 6, Number 2, 1967

Vol 6, Number 2, 1967, Contents, page 2 

Vol 6, Number 2, 1967, page 13 

Vol 6, Number 2, 1967, My Beautiful Muff, page 15

Vol 6, Number 2, 1967, Reciter's Corner, Stooking Hay
by Duke Tritton, page 16

Vol 6, Number 2, 1967, Reciter's Corner, Stooking Hay
by Duke Tritton, page 17

Vol 6, Number 2, 1967, The Truth of 
The Story, page 18

Vol 6, Number 2, 1967

Vol 6, Number 2, 1967, Another Fall of Rain, (lyrics p.8) page 20

.

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From the Archives - A Swag of Memories - our 50th Anniversary Community Radio Program

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In March 2004 Rob Willis & Bruce Cameron submitted a proposal for a BMC radio program to celebrate the club's forthcoming 50th Anniversary. 

Concept  - Two 27-minute radio program’s outlining the history of the Bush Music Club and reinforcing its ongoing commitment to the preservation and dissemination of Australia’s rich traditions of song, music, dance poetry and folklife. The title is a quote from the BMC’s founder John Meredith.

The programs would be targeted for community presentation on community radio, not only preaching to the converted ‘folk’ communities but those with an interest in Australiana. Looking outside the square!

Format - The programs would present in an entertaining and listenable fashion the story of the formation of the BMC and its contributions to Folklife in Australia. The content would be drawn from the collections of the National Library of Australia (NLA) Screensound Australia (SSA) and Rob Willis’ private collection of field recordings of John Meredith. Proposed "voices" include: John Meredith, Alan Scott, Duke Tritton, Maureen Grunseit, Jamie Carlin, John Dengate and Chris Kempster, among others. We want to include a representative sample from across the 50 years.
We would also hope to draw on BMC archival material.
NLA will give ‘in kind’ support with the provision of archival material at no cost.

 ...  Both Rob Willis and Bruce Cameron have had extensive experience in the collection and dissemination of Australian folklore, Rob having over twenty years including ten years being ‘apprenticed’ to John Meredith. Rob has made extensive recordings of the BMC ‘founders’ including Meredith and Scott as well as those who came later – Chris Woodland etc. His collection is a major part of The National Library of Australia’s Oral History and Folklore collection.

Rob Wills has extensive experience in sound recording on professional equipment and is currently producing radio programs for ABC Radio National ‘Music Deli” and ‘Bush Telegraph”. He is a published author and has produced and presented theme concerts at major festivals for over twenty years. Rob has facilitated and produced CDs for the National Library and other projects.

Bruce Cameron has many years experience in community radio and in the area of folk performance and administration.
... 
​Outcome  
The production of a recorded program that outlines the importance of the BMC to Australia’s Folklife.
Reinforces BMC’s commitment to the preservation and dissemination of our culture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On 23rd August Bruce was pleased to announce the birth of a bouncing baby CD!

Rob Willis and I have completed the production of "A Swag Of Memories" We think it scrubbed up quite well and we hope it will be an appropriate addition to the BMC's celebrations of its 50th. It became obvious very early on that a comprehensive "history" of the BMC couldn't be achieved in this format on one CD, so the voices and music we've included are an interesting combination of archival and more recent material aiming to combine some historical elements, some personal vignettes and (of course) some music.

From Rob Willis 25th August 
Greetings All

This has been a great exercise, revisiting many old recordings and spending hours listening to the concepts and ideals of 'the old folk' - those who contributed to the establishment of Australia's folk culture and who were founding members of BMC. As you are aware we could not record or feature everyone involved with BMC and I have made this point on the program - It is unfortunate that some have missed out. As Bruce pointed out this is a snapshot of the club and we have not locked that image into the 50 year project so the programs are not time defined. We have however attempted to cover the majority of the interests of the club song, dance, concert parties. Have also featured the women's role in the organisation (from early days!) and other important aspects.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘A Swag of Memories’ – Reminiscences of the Sydney Bush Music Club.

Produced for the 50th Anniversary of the BMC by Bruce Cameron and Rob Willis.

Programme 1

Intro

1.  “Gypsy Tap” set Bush Dance Tune Sets BMC012, Heritage Ensemble and Southern Cross Bush Band.

2.  John Meredith talking about the formation of the Bushwhackers Band,  Rob Willis personal collection

3.  “The hut that’s upside down”  The Bushwhackers - ‘Australian Bush songs’ – Wattle recordings 1957 B1

4.  Early days in BMC  Alan Scott i/v by Rob Willis NLA Oral history/folklore collection TRC 3080

5.  “Rambling Sailor” Sally Sloane. ‘Sharing the Harvest’ NLA CD

6.  Memories of women’s role, Jenny Loughlin i/v by Rob Willis/Bruce Cameron NLA Oral history/folklore collection TRC 4778/113

7.  Early Dancing in BMC  Alan Scott i/v by Rob Willis NLA Oral history/folklore collection TRC 3080

8.  Polka Set Bush Dance Tune Sets BMC012, Heritage Ensemble and Southern Cross Bush Band.

9.  Establishment of early dances in BMC, Noreen Grunseit Rob Willis personal collection

10.  Dancing in BMC c 1978, Jenny Loughlin i/v by Rob Willis/Bruce Cameron, NLA Oral history/folklore collection TRC 4778/113

11.  Collected Tunes for the Forbes Lancers, Emu Creek Bush Band. Quadrille Mania

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‘A Swag of Memories’ – Reminiscences of the Sydney Bush Music Club.

Produced for the 50th Anniversary of the BMC by Bruce Cameron and Rob Willis.

Programme 2

Intro

1.  “Gypsy Tap” set Bush Dance Tune Sets BMC012, Heritage Ensemble and Southern Cross Bush Band.

2.  Establishment of concert parties.  Alan Scott i/v by Rob Willis NLA Oral history/folklore collection TRC 3080

3.  ‘Manchester Hornpipe’  Alan Scott and friends ‘Travelling through the storm’ Fanged Wambat FWD002


4.  Joining the BMC and John Dengate’s influence.  Dave Johnson i/v by Rob Willis NLA Oral history/folklore collection not catalogued

5.  ‘Train trip to Guilford’ John Dengate, Jamberoo the first ten years IFC001CD

6.  Dance competitions and other memories, Dave Johnson i/v by Rob Willis NLA Oral history/folklore collection not catalogued

7.  Varsovienna Set, Bush Dance Tune Sets BMC012 Heritage Ensemble and Southern Cross Bush Band.

8.  People involved in Dave Johnson’s early days with BMC, Dave Johnson i/v by Rob Willis NLA Oral history/folklore collection not catalogued

9.  Jamie Carlin - memories,  Jamie Carlin i/v by Rob Willis Rob Willis personal collection

10.  ‘Little Fish’  Jamie Carlin ‘Sharing the Harvest’ NLA CD

11.  Early Publication – Bob Bolton, Bob Bolton i/v by Bruce Cameron Bruce Cameron personal collection.

12.  Mazurka Sally Sloane. ‘Sharing the Harvest’ NLA CD

13.  The Lancers 5th figure set Bush Dance Tune Sets BMC012, Heritage Ensemble and Southern Cross Bush Band.

14.  Bob Bolton – photography and Duke Tritton, Bob Bolton i/v by Bruce Cameron Bruce Cameron personal collection.

15.  Goorianawa Duke Tritton, ‘Sharing the Harvest’ NLA CD

16.  Future performances, lan Scott i/v by Rob Willis NLA Oral history/folklore collection TRC 3080

17.  ‘Manchester Galop set’  Bush Dance Tune Sets BMC012 Heritage Ensemble and Southern Cross Bush Band.

18.  Final comments - Bob Bolton, Bob Bolton i/v by Bruce Cameron Bruce Cameron personal collection.

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Bush Music Club's 50th Anniversary radio program. ComRadSat - Community Radio Satellite

By Bruce Cameron 
Posted Friday, January 14, 2005

Ask your community radio station to play this program

Sydney's Bush Music Club has just clocked up 50 years of collecting, publishing and promoting Australian folk music and dance. As part of the celebrations to mark this impressive milestone the Club arranged for Rob Willis and Bruce Cameron to produce a CD featuring a selection of music and interviews, including rare archival material from the National Library of Australia.

In A Swag of Memories, Club members from the earliest days recall the growing interest in Australian music in the 1950s, collecting the old songs and tunes, performing and spreading the word about what came to be known as 'bush music', while current members talk about how the Club continues to enthusiastically carry on the tradition. Musical tracks are drawn from right across the 50 years.

The CD has been produced as two halves of 25 minutes each, suitable for radio broadcast, and will be available to a community radio station near you very soon.

The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) operates the Community Radio Satellite (ComRadSat) and A Swag of Memories will be available for CBAA member stations to download at 11.04am on Wednesday 2 February. Once it's downloaded, it sits in the station's computer to be used when it best suits the station's schedule.

Would you be interested in helping get this special program broadcast on your local community radio station? If you present a folk program you might even like to incorporate it into your own timeslot.

Ask at your station if they can either put the program directly to air or record the program for later use. It's not rocket science - they probably record a number of programs this way already.

If it all seems too complicated send me an email and I'll try to help.

Remember, this is a radio program available to member stations of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia. The Bush Music Club hasn't commercially released the CD.

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Screenshots from the 8th John Dengate Memorial Zoom Get together, August 2021

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2020 Zoom concert -  
Screenshots from the 7th John Dengate Memorial Zoom Get together, August 2020
ZOOM video - 7th Annual John Dengate Memorial Get together

~~~~~~~~~

You can now watch the full video of the 2021 ZOOM on YouTube via this link: https://youtu.be/mgmTptk2Rt8

Dale, Lachlan, Sean and Family were amazed and delighted that so many gave generously of their time and talents to share time recalling John’s songs, verse and sentiments. In spite of the technology which gave us a virtual link but was not as clear as when we could all get together, it was still a special afternoon thanks to Leyne and Max Elbourne. It is so good to hear so many who continue the traditions of Australia and political satire. Stay safe and hope we can meet, one way or the other, in a year’s time.
Dale

81 of John's friends & fans gathered to sing, listen, chat & reminisce.

Thanks to Leyne for all her work & for the Videos  & Lyrics - including 2 contributions omitted on the day - video of Peter Hicks’ and Geoff Francis’ Tribute to Peter Dutton & audio of No Such Thing’s Sir Terence Lewis’s Triumphal March To The Gates Of Boggo Road Jail-Queensland My Home - “It was composed by one of our group who was a serving police officer in Queensland at the time of the infamous Bjelke-Petersen government and the subsequent Fitzgerald inquiry to uncover the rampant corruption. Our police associate had the pleasure of locking up his boss who was then the police commissioner at the time. Knowing John’s talent and political views for some great parody songs, I think that could be something suitable.” (Yvonne O'Grady, NST)

1.  MC Leyne Elbourne

2.  Viargo, Di Griffiths & Kath Morgan from Dubbo,
sang John's Bare Legged Kate

3. Peter Russell sang John's Take Your Bulldozers Away

4. Chloe & Jason Roweth sang John's Bill from Erskineville 

5. MC Rex Havoc recited Henry Lawson's One Hundred
 and Three, & also a poem of John's about Great Leaders!

6. ComradeSirBigRuss with a parody Mug. He also
contributed some of his incomparable limericks

7. Illawarra Folk Festival Parody award

8. Dale Dengate, in a dark room, recited 2 of her poems
A Parody Mug Mystery & Scomo Scares me, this I know

9. Sean Dengate sang his The Things I shouldn't have
said to China & Mandy recited
Easter 1916 by William Butler Yates

10. Cal Dengate played California Dreaming

11. Colleen Burke recited her poems 
The Missing Link & What's For dinner?

12. Evan Mathieson sang John's Queensland Policeman

13. Robin Connaughton recited his poem
The Brick & the Old Trout

14. John Warner singing Ecclesiastical Bastards, about
Bishop & Abbott leaving politics, to the tune of Dinki Di.
  Ten Quid Poms also sung John's Bill from Erskineville

15. Chris Maltby sang his latest parody, Pork Barrel
Song (tune Travelling down the Castlereagh) lyrics

16. Margaret Bradford sang John's 
Train Trip to Guilford

17.  John Tubridy sang his 2019 Illawrra Dengate
Parody winner, Banking Royal Commission

18.  Margaret Walters sang Down in Abercrombie
 Street, a song she & John Warner
wrote for Len Neary's 50th Birthday  lyrics

19. Megan Roweth recited John's No Political Songs.

20.  Seamus Gill sang Bill Scott's  Hey, Rain

21. Kate Scott played several strathspeys

22. Gene Smith sang Morton Bay & Tony also played
Moreton Bay/ Boulavogue, a good rebel tune 

23. Doug Jenner sang John's  True Dinkum Aussie

24. Kerith Power sang her 1980's composition
Dungarubba Prawn Night

25. Allan Wright sang John's Anti-Metrics

26. Margaret Fagan sang John's Song of Childhood

27. Joanna Roweth recited Twinkle, Twinkle Little Cow 

28. Daniel Kelly sang his latest composition, inspired
by a recent space flight - When you Ride the Giant Penis in
the Sky lyrics (to the tune of She'll be comin' round the mountain)

29. Songwriters Chris Maltby & Cathy Rytmeister
enjoying the songs

30. Jane Scott sang her winner, Slaving on a Sunday
Afternoon (tune Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon)  lyrics

31. Lachlan Dengate sang Song for Tilly, a parody
of 500 miles, a song about a dog, watched by a dog

.

32. Bruce Watson sang Barnaby Joyce, to the tune of
Chattaanooga Choo Choo  lyrics 

33. Chris Clarke, disliking rap as
much as he dislikes Trump, rapped
Take the Rap, a poem about Trump lyrics

34. Neil Rowsell sang The Covid Cruise
(to the tune of Ocean Liner)  lyrics

.

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