Report on Don & Sue Brian's Folk History Tour of Norfolk Island, 2016

Click on pictures for full-screen image

(all photos © Sandra Nixon)

Pine sighted by Captain Cook in 1774 who saw Norfolk Island pines as masts for Naval ships.

Quality Row & Kingston from above
10 BMC members & 4 folkie friends of BMC were among the 30+ people on Don & Sue Brian's recent 7-day Norfolk Island Folk History tour. Don & Sue spent 5 years on the Island & researched the convict, whaling & Bounty history. Don's fellow Roaring Forties members Chris Maltby & Margaret Walters joined him in presenting the songs he located. A great time was had by all.

Don & Sue have since discovered more fascinating information, and will have even more by late August 2017 when they present their second tour. Preliminary details are on the Norfolk Island Travel Centre site for those who are interested in joining them.
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Why the tall Norfolk Pines were no use for ship's masts -

 
 the branches grew out of/into the trunk. But the wood has many other uses. (Sandra Nixon photo)

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Unearthing Norfolk Island's untold stories


Earliest existing gravestone, 1794

Thomas Wright, Australia's oldest convict - sentenced to Botany Bay in 1799 aged 60 & to Norfolk Island in 1839 aged 102!

American whalers spent a lot of time on the Island & in the area.


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Tales from the artifacts (museums)

Sirius anchor

Convict built settee, 1830s

Whalebone arch 1975

Whalebones inside museum, 2016

Whalebone milking stool
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Convicts of the Second Settlement - The New Gaol, a pentagonal prison




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Norfolk Island on the Middle Ground. The Middle Ground was the whaling grounds in the Pacific - between the Arctic & Antarctic grounds.

Sydney, Norfolk Island, later renamed Kingston

Whaling station

Heave away to the south, me lads
Where sperm whales do dwell
Distribution of whale kills by American ships, 19th century
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Pitcairn Settlers Village tour including a talk by builders of replica of local NI whale boat 'Rhonda' & a plaiting class by Sue!






Blacksmith's shop

Modern replica whaleboat Rhonda and tools from the whaling days
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Musical tales of the land & sea








back - Sue Brian, Gavin Holmes, Chris Maltby, Don Brian, Sharyn Mattern, Louise Murray, Prue Cancian.
front - Moir Holmes, Sandra Nixon, Chris Woodland, Margaret Walters, Dale Dengate.
(photos - Sandra Nixon)

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Duke's Place - Australian Songs in Concert & Session with Christina Mimmocchi, Friday 9th December, 2016, 7.30 for 8pm.

Christina's interest in bush music was awakened when she met Rob Willis at a folk festival who said to her I have a recording you might be interested in and she has never looked back. You can expect an evening of Australian music and poems, collected, found or imagined. There will be songs from the fringes, working songs, migrants' songs, the odd sea shanty as sung by her lovely assistant young Tomas, and all this will be tastefully interrupted by some spoken work comedy of the bearded kind provided by PP Cranney with whom Christina collaborated on the musical play Lola’s Keg Night and more recently 1917:STRIKE! a show developed as a tribute to the late Brian Dunnet.   

1917:STRIKE! will be premiered in full at the Illawarra Folk Festival and performed by Christina, Pat, Catherine Golden and Chloe and Jason Roweth.



Christina has been a community choir leader for close to 20 years and is a composer, sound artist and performer. As a community choir leader she has worked with grass-roots choirs all over the state and has organised special place-specific weekends (Sing Cockatoo, Sing Canowindra, Sing Dubbo, Forbes Festival) which combine community harmony singing and exploring place and culture through song. 

She performs as a soloist and has sung with various vocal ensembles including Blindman’s Holiday. She recently completed a soundscape project with seniors’ groups for Hurstville and Rockdale Councils and has produced numerous of her own and other people’s recordings including John Warner’s Yarri song-cycle. Her debut solo cd is Rumours of Summer (2011)

In 2009 she was granted the annual Folk Fellowship from the National Library of Australia to unearth songs from the Oral History archives and arrange them for a massed choir.

In 2014 she produced and was musical director for a full-length play Lola's Keg Night with music, (Merrigong Theatre) created in conjunction with playwright PP Cranney. 

In 2015 she created Amulet, a project for Hurstville Council combining singing, storytelling and photography

Bush Music Club
Tritton Hall, Hut 44
Addison Road Centre
142 Addison Rd, Marrickville

Map of Addison Road Centre     http://www.arcco.org.au/contact/

Door opens 7.30 for 8pm start. Session 10.00-11.30pm
BYO songs
Cost - $10

Bring something to drink & a plate for supper

Enquiries - Sandra 9358 4886




Duke's place, named after our honoured early member Harold 'Duke' Tritton (1886-1965), is the place to go once a month for a great night of Australian songs in concert and session. Duke was a powerful singer who supplied BMC with many songs he had learnt in his younger days while working as a shearer and at other bush jobs. He was also a songwriter and poet giving us songs that have entered the tradition such as Sandy Hollow Line and Shearing in the Bar.

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Concert Party, February 2016

I needed a photo of our "band" for a festival application, so I took my camera along & started snapping -


Mrs Mopps


Rick Hull


Cliff Grant, retired opera singer with Rick Hull


Cliff singing opera to Rick's banjo


Pete Cahill


John Burch (ex-Reedy River Bushmen), who recently returned to BMC after an absence of several decades talking to fellow Reedy River Bushman Ralph Pride.


Sharyn & Rick pondering on the ramp


John Poleson's piano accordion case, repository of some very interesting posters & set lists - c.1990!



Moira Cowie & her flute



An excellent picture, but they wanted a square one!

back - Mark Poleson, John Burch, Terry Pybus, Rick Hull, Pete Cahill, Sharyn Mattern, Eric Eisler, Kerry Doherty, Dave Moir, Ralph Pride.
front - John Poleson, Ann Maher with 50+ year old family lagerphone, Karen Fong, Gail Copley, Moira Cowie, Mariamma Mitchell, Frank Maher.


another good one ...


... this one lacked the gravity of an official portrait!



The picture sent with our application.

back - Terry Pybus, Rick Hull, Pete Cahill, Sharyn Mattern, Eric Eisler, Kerry Doherty, Dave Moir, Ralph Pride.
front - Ann Maher with 50+ year old family lagerphone, Karen Fong, Gail Copley, Moira Cowie, Mariamma Mitchell, Frank Maher.

(photos Sandra Nixon)


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Don Richmond - musician

For those who have only seen Don as a dancer & dance caller -



2013 Heritage Ball



2012 Heritage Ball
 
Session at Penrose & Family Bush Dance, July 2013, Bundanoon. 






























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Post ball picnic, Australian Pioneer Village, 2014



photos - Sandra Nixon

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Mike Young's photos  - we are awaiting photos of Don playing his other instruments ...



Parramatta, post-ball picnic - 2015


Maitland - post-ball picnic, 2009


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