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The
History of the Woronora Bush Band by Kate Hannah
The
Woronora Bush Band was formed during the year of 1979. The original
band members were Malcolm Clapp, Pat Guest, Barry Guest (his brother)
and Brian Crawford. Brian Crawford played the guitar, the spoons &
was the lead vocalist. Pat Guest played the banjo, the tin whistle
and sang. Barry Guest played the lagerphone, the tea-chest bass, the
bones and sang. Malcolm Clapp played the accordion and also sang. The
band played at a number of venues around the Sutherland Shire and
sometimes in the city. They enjoyed playing the music tremendously
and during the dances loved watching others get a great deal of
enjoyment from their music.
During
1980 Barry Guest decided to move to the “bush.” The band needed
another band member, so when asking around, they came across a friend
of a friend. Max Mapleson had taught himself the mouthorgan, could
play the tea-chest bass and sang beautifully. He had grown up on a
farm in his youth so he already knew many bush songs and was eager to
learn more. Max could recite many of Banjo Patterson’s poems, had
played on stage before and played a wide variety of music. He was a
great fit for the band as Barry’s replacement. Max loved playing
the double bass and the mouth organ and singing in this great bush
band. He also made a very intricate lagerphone which he loved to
play in the band. He was very proud of this instrument and many
people commented on the incredible sound it made and how Max almost
“danced” while he was playing it.
Malcolm
Clapp usually arranged the gigs for the band and he arranged them to
play at a variety of venues both in the Sutherland Shire and in the
city. They played at Taronga Zoo, many times at the Balmain Town Hall
and the Argyle Tavern and were regulars at the Wilton Winery. The
band was asked if they wanted to take it on “professionally” but
they all decided to decline that offer.
Yvonne
O’Grady who played the accordion, replaced Malcolm in 1982 and the
band continued to play together as a four piece band until 1985. Max
was replaced by Gary Howes who played guitar but also adapted easily
to lagerphone and mandolin. Pam Gainsford (the caller) left the group
around early 1985 and joined the Ryebuck band. Gary then became the
main caller and both Pat & Yvonne filled in with some of their
own selections at times.
In
1986 Malcolm returned from the UK and persuaded Brian to go as a duo
doing daytime gigs. Pat left soon after, as did Gary. Yvonne moved on
to be the dance caller for The Reivers, a Scottish band that
played regularly at the Wilton Winery. Again the band had a
resurgence of enthusiasm and enjoyed playing at many venues. After
another year it disbanded and all band members remained friends for
many years.
Yvonne
and her daughter went to the Brisbane Expo in 1988 and had a huge
coach accident that put Kath in hospital for almost 3 years and
confined them to Queensland until the end of 1996. Not long after
that Brian Crawford succumbed to asbestos disease and he passed away
in 1999. Pat and Barry Guest live in Wingham and enjoy a quieter
lifestyle in the country. Max Mapleson passed away in 2002 from
cancer. Pam Gaimsford (the caller) now lives in Melbourne.
Yvonne
and Kath can be seen often playing for the Bush Music Club's various
functions. It is a delight to see them still enjoying the bush music
scene after all these years.
Max Mapleson’s
lagerphone story
Between
1980 and 1981 Max decided to build a lagerphone that he would play in
the Woronora Bush Band. The other musicians played a variety of
instrument in the band and Max was proud that he could also add his
musical talent to the band. He was teaching himself the double bass,
could play the tea-chest bass, the mouthorgan and sing but he wanted
another instrument to make the band even more interesting. Max
possibly felt it was a required item for a bush band. Whatever the
reason, he set to work and built his lagerphone in a large shed at
his Cronulla home using many gold studs. He completed it using
decorative and quite elaborate leatherwork. (His wife Pat assisted
him by offering beer to all those who visited the home and the bottle
tops were collected to then be attached on the two big boards of the
lagerphone.)
Max
was able to build almost anything with wood and leather. He loved
making things and had built tables, bookshelves, magazine racks,
bellows and many other household objects which were intricate and
extremely sturdy and practical so building a lagerphone was not too
challenging. Max branded his name using his blacksmithing skills, in
the back of the top board - which was quite unusual as he was a
humble man and didn’t advertise his skills to many. He was very
proud of the lagerphone and he was known to “dance” with it when
playing in the band.
Max
loved the finished product and many musicians commented on how
striking it was to look at and what a great sound it made. He was
glad to offer the band another instrument to play and this added to
their repertoire. The band liked to look the part for their gigs and
Max was well-known for his particular costume of blue jeans, shirt,
vest and a blue denim cap. Max usually played the lagerphone, and
sang or played the mouthorgan. He was teaching himself the double
bass at that time but perhaps felt it wasn’t in-keeping with the
essence of a bush band so he often played the tea-chest bass instead.
Playing
the lagerphone in the band was his favourite thing to do.
Max
also loved reciting poems when the band enjoyed a few minutes rest
between songs. His favourites were The Bush Christening, The Man from
Snowy River, Clancy of the Overflow and Mulga Bill’s Bicycle. He
was able to capture the audience with his renditions and they were
swept away with his humour and enthusiasm for the poetry.
Max
regularly played the lagerphone at social and family events. Whenever
music was played in the home Max would pick up the lagerphone and
suddenly there was a “party” atmosphere and smiles all round.
Max’s son Peter, a professional piano player, lyricist and musical
arranger would often visit and many times the family enjoyed the
wonderful impromptu hours of music and singing.
Since
Max’s death in April 2002, the lagerphone has hardly been played.
It has been sad to look at it sitting idly in the corner for years.
However, now that it has a new home and a new owner, (Eric Eisler)
one wonders if new life will be breathed into it. Perhaps the Bush
Music Club and its audience will enjoy hearing the lagerphone again
and rekindle the wonderful spirit of this talented man.
Max’s
family is thrilled to share this story of Max and his lagerphone. As
it was built so well all those years ago and has never broken or
needed to be repaired it will be wonderful to see it once more bring
incredible enjoyment and pleasure to others.
photos supplied by Kate Hannah
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photos
supplied by Yvonne O'Grady - Instamatic photos stored in sticky
plastic photo album & included to round out the history of the band
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