TRANSMISSIONS March 2003

ISSUE 7 - MARCH 2003

Australian Folklore Network
Australian Folklore Research Unit
Curtin University of Technology

FROM THE CONVENOR

This is a fairly brief edition of Transmissions, mainly to let readers know of the upcoming AFN Forum in Canberra on April 22. We also include news of a number of projects involving the AFN, including Verandah Music and the National Folk Festival Survey, as well as a new publication by AFN Affiliates. As usual we also have other items of interest and a request for information.

Graham Seal

AFN FORUM 2003

The Australian Folklore Network held its first Forum at the National Folk Festival last year. This year, still in conjunction with the NFF, we will be holding the Forum as a discrete event, kindly hosted by the National Library of Australia on Tuesday April 22, 10am-12pm, in the Ferguson Room. I am currently compiling an agenda for the meeting and would be happy to consider requests for items to be placed upon it. An important agenda item will be discussion of the possibility for a National Folklore Centre, as outlined and discussed in previous editions of Transmissions.

- g.seal@exchange.curtin.edu.au

BURNS' SONGS

Jeff Brownrigg writes:
I have been writing a long piece about the history of the songs and poems of Robert Burns in Australia from about 1811 to now.) Does anyone come across many Burns' songs? (I am thinking of the popular Victorian ones that crop up in the parlour repertoire "O My Love's Like a Red, Red Rose", "A Man's a Man for a' That", "Ae Fond Kiss", "Duncan Gray", " The Deil Came Fiddlin' Through the Town", "Scots Wha Hae Wi Wallace Bled", "The Lovely Mary Morrison" and so on.

There are a few early Australian recordings and lots of references to ballad concerts in the 19th century and even "The Star O' Robbie Burns" which Peter Dawson did. (Dawson's people were Scots and so were Melba's.) Remember also the Billy Williams filtering into the folk tradition (from 78 rpm discs)?

brownrigg@effect.net.au

A GUIDE TO AUSTRALIAN FOLKLORE

AFN Affiliates Gwenda Beed Davey and Graham Seal have just published A Guide to Australian Folklore: From Ned Kelly to Aeroplane Jelly (Simon & Schuster, 2003). The book aims to present information about Australian folklore to a general audience and will hopefully be used by schools, libraries, etc. to raise awareness of traditional Australian culture. The book will be officially launched at the National Library of Australia following the AFN Forum on April 22.

VERANDAH MUSIC

This AFN project is proceeding well. All the entries are in, preliminary editing has been done and the publisher (Fremantle Arts Centre Press/Curtin University Books) has accepted the book for publication. Final editing, design, etc and completion of the accompanying CD masters is now in progress and we hope to see Verandah Music: Roots of Australian Tradition in the bookshops by the second half of the year. ABC Radio National has also indicated an interest in producing a series based on the book and co-editor Rob Willis has assembled a concert version featuring some of the performers from the book/CDs. You can catch the Verandah Music session at the National Folk Festival.

FOLK FESTIVAL SURVEY

Another AFN project involving the Folk Alliance, University of Central Queensland and the Australian Folklore Research Unit (AFRU) at Curtin University has recently obtained some funding. The National Folk Festival Survey began with a pilot project at the 2002 Fairbridge Festival in Western Australia. Funds were required to crunch the results and these have now been made available through the Peel Regional Research Strategy at Curtin. We hope to have a full report available, soon which might also encourage other festivals to take part in the national project.

THE AUSTRALIAN RAILWAY STORY

We have reported on this project, headed by AFN Affiliate Brian Dunnet, at various stages of its development. Brian has received a great deal of information – primarily, songs, poems and stories - from people all around the country and has assembled a preliminary manuscript. He is still open for contributions at “ The Australian Railway Story” C/O the Rail Tram and Bus Union 83-89 Renwick St Redfern NSW 2016 or rtbu@magna.com.au or phone Brian Dunnett 0296689051. Brian is also actively searching for a publisher as the book is to commemorate the opening of the historic Adelaide-Darwin railway link in 2004.

FOLK MUSIC RETURNS TO ROOTS

Mark Gregory has winkled out an article on folk music house concerts in New York lurking in the ABC's SciTech vaults for reasons best known to that institution: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/SciTech/reuters20030203_77.html

SOME USEFUL WEBSITES

Folklore Australia - resource base
Australian Folklore Research Unit - Australia Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology
Simply Australia Online magazine of folklore and social history
National Library of Australia Oral History/Folklore Archive
Trad&Now - Australian Folk Music magazine
Play and Folklore- Australia's journal of children's folklore
Australian Folklore - journal of folklore studies

AFN AFFILIATES

Australian Children's Folklore Collection, Museum Victoria
Bill Scott
Bill Wannan (dec.)
Bob Bolton
Brian Dunnett
Brian Shepherd
Bruce Cameron
Bob Rummery
Bush Music Club
Campbell Irving
Chloe Roweth
Chris Kempster
Chris Woodland
Chris Wright
Colin McJannett
Dani Rocca
Danny Spooner
Dave Hults
David De Santi
David Mulhallen
Dawn Anderson Dieter Bajzek
Folk Alliance Australia
Graham Seal
Gregan O'Leary
Gwenda Davey
Hugh Anderson
Ian Russell
Jason Roweth
J D A Widdowson
Jeff Corfield
Jim Low
John Harpley
John Low
J S Ryan
June Factor

Karl Neuenfeldt
Keith McKenry
Kel Watkins
Luisa Del Giudice
Mark Cranfield
Mark Gregory
Mark Moravec
Martin Goreing
Mike Martin
Moya McFadzean
Museum of Childhood, Edith Cowan University
Noris Ioannou
Olya Willis
Patrick Watt
Peter Ellis
Phyl Lobl
Rob Willis
Roger Hargraves
Ron Brown
Ron Edwards
Ruth Hazleton
Social Science Department, Aranmore Catholic College
Steve Gadd
Susan Faine
Top End Folk Club
Valda Low
Victorian Folklife Association
Warren Fahey
Wendy Corrick
Brian Wilkins
Western Australian Folklore Archive

Graham Seal
Australian Folklore Research Unit
Australia Research Institute
Curtin University of Technology
October 2002