Obit - John Broomhall, 1948-2026. Memorial Sunday 30 August at Albion Park Bowling Club 3 PM - 7 PM

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Sunday 30 August at Albion Park Bowling Club 3 PM - 7 PM Entry is by donation, but we need to know if you might be coming so we can set up the room and the club can manage its catering.

A DEAR JOHN LETTER   The Music World and his many friends and family lost John Broomhall when he passed away in March this year (2026).   But we didn’t lose his songs, music and poetry, which will live on forever.   Sunday August 30 at 3 pm at the Albion Park Bowling Club will give the Illawarra Folk Club and many music lovers and admirers a chance to say farewell to John and to relive many of his songs and hear many of his musical friends perform.   For many years, John was an integral member of the Illawarra Folk Club and was a regular at our folk festival from Day One at Jamberoo. He was also involved as a presenter for the Folk Club and other programs on Illawarra’s Community Station, 2VoxFM.   Sue Jarvis once observed in a feature article in Sydney's Sun Herald, "Listening to the songs of John Broomhall is like taking a long draught of fresh air."   John was and is a celebrated singer & writer of the Australian Folk scene. He will be remembered for his anthemic song “Time is a Tempest” that has closed the Illawarra Folk Festival many times.   Many of John’s songs have been recorded by Alan Scott, Wongawilli, Penny Davies and Roger Ilott, Vince Brophy, The Loaded Dog, Gordon Bok and many others    Not only was John a brilliant songwriter and singer, but he was also an inspiration to many aspiring folkies in the Illawarra, and many of them will be turning up at his memorial. People like Johnny Spillane, Dave Oliphant, Mark Balesi, John Tubrudi, Bob McInnes, Helen and Tony Romeo, Russ Churcher and many others, about whom we will send out information before the event.                  Book tickets The big news is that Penny and Roger who recorded many of John’s songs will be travelling down from Stanthorpe in Queensland to play at the concert.  Penny Davies and Roger Ilott are longtime friends of John, will lead the tribute concert, performing some of his iconic songs, and together with a large cast of musicians and friends of John, they will also help celebrate the wonderful life of this much loved musician and storyteller. PENNY DAVIES AND ROGER ILOTT Fond recollections by Penny and Roger (from Penny & Roger's Facebook page - 20 March, 2026)   John Broomhall 1948 - 2026  was a songwriter and a true poet. He made a significant contribution to Australian folk music, turning the works of many bush poets into songs. He also wrote many songs of his own, some documenting the turbulent history of our country since colonisation, some about love, family and the beauty of our natural environment.   Penny Davies and I first met John at a gig at Bankstown Folk in early 1984. He’d just released his first album, Broken Hill Miner, and we’d just released our first album, Restless, late the previous year. That night he held the audience in thrall with his own songs, and had them joining enthusiastically on the choruses of songs such as Ring Of Iron – it was folk music magic.   From then until our move to Storm King, Queensland in August, 1987, John recorded three albums – Free as the Breeze, In the Days When the Anzacs Were New, and Drifting Down the Darling - plus dozens of other songs at our Restless Music studio in Balmain. Sometimes he would come to the studio with his classical guitar and record 15 or 20 songs in a three-hour session. It was a prolific time in his life. We also collaborated on several other recording projects during those incredibly creative years.   Over the last few decades, whenever we’ve caught up with him, John would be bubbling with enthusiasm about songs, books or poems. We’ve recorded our own versions of many of his songs, and archived his unreleased recordings on the 2 x CD set Balmain Recordings 1984-1987.   We were so glad we were able to spend time with him in August last year in Springbrook, Gold Coast Hinterland, just prior to his admission into a retirement/care home. We have lost a wonderful friend and valued colleague. Australian folk music has lost one of its best.   When I was looking for thoughts on John's contribution and how he affected people, I found this in the Wollongong Library. It was an interview with Leo Coleman (from Parramatta) who was a regular at our festival from the Jamberoo days to recently. It illustrates how John's songs affected people.   (SIC) “Oh, yes, my favourite singer was John Broomhall, John Broomhall from Broken Hill. From the first time I saw him, I thought he had one of the best voices I’ve ever heard in my life – anybody in the world. Nobody sang better than John Broomhall. He was, he had a brilliant, wonderful-sounding voice. Also, I came from Central Western NSW, from a town called Manildra in the middle of New South Wales and, and the trains always used to go through our place to Broken Hill. And, ah, so when I heard that – I heard a lot about growing up, I heard a lot about the mines of Broken Hill and all that sort of thing. And then I discovered John Broomhall and John had all those songs about, ah, about the Broken Hill and the country around it. And I, and, ah, I’ve, ah, I’ve bought every CD that, that he has got and, ah one of his songs, and one of his songs, called the Silver City Comet was a song about leaving Sydney on the train and travelling all the way through my hometown, Manildra, and to Broken Hill. And the Silver City Comet was a diesel-powered rail car that ran from Parkes to Broken Hill for about 30 or 40 years, even longer maybe. And so I knew it, I knew it intimately, I knew everything about it. And actually, one of my brothers in Parkes worked on that Silver City Comet. And so I, I was taken by this, by this song of John’s and I, and I spoke to him about it. And I said, “I love that song, you know, it’s really part of my life. And he really enjoyed me telling him about that. It was a, yes, I love John Broomhall, he was great.”     Entry is by donation, but we need to know if you might be coming so we can set the room up and the club can manage its catering Tickets will be limited. To be assured of entry, purchase a General Admission ticket online. Suggested min donation per person $10. Thank you Artists are generously performing for free, and your donation will assist in transportation costs for Penny and Roger, who are travelling from Queensland. Show starts 3 pm. ~~~~~~~~~

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