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From: [e-mail] (Stephen Wales)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.australian,soc.answers,news.answers
Subject: soc.culture.australian FAQ (Part 6 of 6) (monthly posting)
Followup-To: soc.culture.australian
Date: 30 May 1996 01:14:42 GMT
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Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked
          Questions (and their answers) on soc.culture.australian,
          mainly information about Australia, including studying
          in Australia, immigration, songs, recipes, where to
          find Australian things overseas, and so on. It should be
          read by anyone who wishes to post to the soc.culture.australian
          newsgroup.
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu soc.culture.australian:57728 soc.answers:5343 news.answers:73078

Archive-name: australian-faq/part6
Last-modified: 2 April 1996
Version: 3.10



-----------------------------------------------------------------
PART I (separate posting)
1.About soc.culture.australian
2.How to find Australians, Australian Information
  2.1 on the net
      2.1.1 Public access sites
      2.1.2 Gopher and WWW
      2.1.3 Weather
      2.1.4 Finding people
      2.1.5 Other
  2.2 elsewhere
3.Citizenship/Visas/Immigration
  3.1 Australian citizenship
  3.2 Dual Citizenship of other countries
  3.3 Visas
      3.3.1 For Foreigners in Australia
      3.3.2 For Australians in other Countries
  3.4 Immigration
      3.4.1 Addresses
      3.4.2 Criteria and Points System
      3.4.3 Spouse/fiance(e) immigration
      3.4.4 Employers sponsoring foreign employees
  3.5 Emigrants
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PART II (separate posting)
4.Coming to Australia
  4.1 Quarantine
  4.2 Standards
  4.3 Cars
       4.3.1 Car Insurance
  4.4 Shipping Information
  4.5 Miscellaneous
  4.6 Australians Returning Home
5.Studying in Australia
  5.1 Overview of Australian Higher Education
  5.2 Postgraduate Study
  5.3 Miscellaneous Questions
  5.4 "Classification" of Australian Universities
  5.5 Academic Addresses
  5.6 Australian Medical Schools
6.For Australians Overseas
  6.1 Radio Australia
  6.2 Newspapers:
  6.3 Australiana in the USA
  6.4 Video Conversion
  6.5 Expatriate organisation
  6.6 Oz News
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PART III (separate posting)
7.History
  7.1 Pre-Europeans
  7.2 European Discovery
  7.3 European settlement
      7.3.1 Penal Colony
      7.3.2 Gold Rush
      7.3.3 Post WWI Immigration
      7.3.4 Miscellaneous
           (includes Tasmanian Aborigines)
  7.4 Political History
      7.4.1 Independence
      7.4.2 Aboriginal Voting
  7.5 Wars
      7.5.1 Boer War
      7.5.2 World War I
      7.5.3 World War II
      7.5.4 Korea, Vietnam and others
  7.6 National heroes/Notable Australians
  7.7 Miscellaneous
8.Politics
  8.1 Political System
  8.2 Voting System
  8.3 Current governments
  8.4 Taxation
  8.5 The Independence Debate
  8.6 Mabo
  8.7 Health Care
      8.7.1 Medicare
      8.7.2 Medicare Levy
      8.7.3 Doctors
      8.7.4 Fees
      8.7.5 Public Hospitals
      8.7.6 Private Hospitals
      8.7.7 Aged Care
      8.7.8 Skin Cancer
  8.8 Economic Information
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PART IV (separate posting)
9.Geography, Natural History
  9.1 Geographic information
  9.1 Cities and Population
  9.2 National Holidays
  9.3 Weather
  9.4 Flora
      9.4.1 Extinct Species
  9.5 Fauna
      9.5.1 Monotremes
      9.5.2 Marsupials
      9.5.3 Tasmanian devils and Tasmanian Tigers
      9.5.4 Venomous Fauna
      9.5.5 Extinct and Endangered Species
      9.5.6 Koalas
  9.6 National Symbols
      9.6.1 Flag
      9.6.2 Coat of arms
10.Australian Life
  10.1 Housing
  10.2 Schooling
  10.3 Public Transport
  10.4 Roads
  10.5 Prices
  10.6 Shopping Hours
  10.7 Crime
  10.8 Sport
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PART V (separate posting)
11.Travel
  11.1 Money
  11.2 Jet-lag
  11.3 Responses to 3 questions
  11.4 Travel Reports and Recommendations
       11.4.1 A Trip description
       11.4.2 Uluru (Ayers Rock)
       11.4.3 Places of interest in Tasmania
       11.4.4 Accommodation tips to the low budget motorhome traveller (BB)
       11.4.5 Adelaide and SA
       11.4.6 Touring Australia by Motorcycle [C]
       11.4.7 Cheap travel agent [RM]
       11.4.8 Places of Interest in Melbourne
       11.4.9 Australia from south to north [JO]
  11.5 Advice for Australians in ....
       11.5.1 United Kingdom
       11.5.2 United States
       11.5.3 Canada
12.Language
  12.1 Australian pronounciation
  12.2 Australian spelling
  12.3 Australian slang, word origins
  12.4 Australian word usage (misc)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PART VI (this posting)
13.Culture
  13.1 Recipes and food
       13.1.1 Vegemite
       13.1.2 Sweets recipes: anzac biscuits, pavlova, lamingtons,
                                chocolate crackles
       13.1.3 Meat Pies, Damper, Galah, pumpkin soup
       13.1.4 Misc
  13.2 Songs
       13.2.1 "Waltzing Matilda",  by Banjo Paterson (3 versions :-)
       13.2.2 "Advance Australia Fair", National Anthem
       13.2.3 "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", Eric Bogle
       13.2.4  "Tie me kangaroo down" (Rolf Harris)
  13.3 Literature
       13.3.1 Fiction
       13.3.2 Poetry
    - "My Country" by Dorothea McKellar
    - "The Man From Snowy River" by A.B. (Banjo) Paterson
       13.3.3 Children's Literature
       13.3.4 Non-Fiction
  13.4 Films
  13.5 Music
       13.5.1 Classical
       13.5.2 Pop
       13.5.3 Jazz
       13.5.4 Other
   13.6 Opera
   13.7 Ballet
   13.8 Theatre
14. Contributors
-----------------------------------------------------------------

A major reorganisation has been done (June 1994) and some sections are
incomplete. Contributions welcome - send to Stephen Wales,
[e-mail].


PART VI

13.CULTURE

13.1 Recipes and food

13.1.1 Vegemite

Vegemite is a spread, made from a yeast extract. Kraft make it in
Australia.  It looks kinda like black smooth peanut butter, and tastes
VERY salty.[Glenn]

When I returned to Australia for a visit in 1985 I telephoned the
folks at Kraft in Pt. Melbourne. Here is the basis of what the man
told me regarding its manufacture:

First the yeast cells are taken from the breweries. For those of you
into making home made beer you know what I mean. For the others, this
is a very thick tan colored "liquid" smelling like beer but loaded
with spent and still alive yeast cells. This "liquid" it then treated
so the yeast cells undergo "cell lysis" which means the cells burst
open.  The liquid is then "washed" (his term) to remove the cell
walls. The internal contents of the cell are then mixed with salt,
dried parsley and spices etc.(whatever that is -- I have not been able
to find etc. in Australia nor North America) I guess it is the etc that
gives Vegemite its characteristic flavour!

Anyways in closing, the man said that it was packaged is small tins (I
have seen 1 oz. cans of it in Australian Army ration packs) and in
various containers up to barrel (45 gal?) size.

[DT] Vegemite and Marmite are not the same thing they were different
product brands. Marmite was actually in production and on the shelves
well and truly before vegemite ever existed.  When Vegemite was first
released it had a very difficult time - very few people bought it. It
was apparently taken off the market for a short time and given a new
(temporary) name after a competition was held. The winner came up with
the name Parwill. Followed with the slogan "If marmite then parwill".
Fortunately this also had marketing problems. It wasn't really until
the "war to end all wars" that the renamed vegemite started to sell.
It was all the shortages of food stuffs and the "scientific" sell
using the vitamin B argument.

If you really want a good amount of information I suggest that you
write to:
     Kraft Australia Foods Limited
     Consumer Advisory Service
     Salmon Street
     Port Melbourne Victoria 3207
     AUSTRALIA

(See section 6.3 on Australiana in the U.S. for where to get vegemite)

13.1.2 Sweets recipes

* ANZAC biscuits

1 cup SR Flour                  4 tblsp butter,
"  "  sugar                     2 "     boiling H2O
"  "  oatmeal                   1   "   golden syrup
"  "  coconut                   1 tsp   bicarb soda

Put flour, sugar, oatmeal, coconut in bowl & mix.  Put butter, water,
golden syrup, bicarb soda in saucepan & melt together on stove. Mix
with dry ingredients.  Put in teaspoonfuls onto greased tray.
350F/180C for ~10 min.  Enjoy!

* Lamingtons

4 oz butter             1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup castor sugar    1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla          pinch salt
2 eggs                  1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour

Cream butter & sugar, add vanilla, beat in eggs.  Fold in dry
ingredients alternately with milk.  Spoon into greased and lined pan
(approx. 8"x11") bake at 350F for 40-45 min. Cool and store for a day.
Cut into squares, dip in chocolate icing, then roll in coconut.

Chocolate icing: Sift 1 lb. icing sugar and 4 T. cocoa into bowl.  Add
1 T.  melted butter to a cup of warmed milk.  Blend to make a smooth
coating consistency [John Doyle].

[AT] For those that are interested in where the name Lamington comes from:

From the Macquarie: Apparently named after Earl Lamington, Governor of
Queensland, 1895-1901.

* Pavlova

4 egg whites                    1 tablespoon corn starch
1 cup superfine sugar           half pint whipped cream
2 teaspoons vinegar             kiwi fruit or strawberries or passionfruit.

Place egg whites in a clean glass bowl. Beat slowly until frothy, then
increase the speed and beat until stiff. GRADUALLY add the sugar,
beating well after each addition. (When all the sugar has been added,
the mixture should be shiny, very stiff, and should stand in peaks.)
Gently fold in the vinegar and corn starch with a metal spoon.

Line a cookie sheet with brown paper (from a bag) and grease it
lightly. Pile the meringue mixture on it; it should form a cylinder
about 8 inches in diameter and 2 inches high.  Preheat the oven to
just under 300 degrees Farenheit. Bake the pav for between 90 and 105
minutes.  When cooked, leave the oven door ajar and allow the pav to
cool inside. When cold, peel off the paper and transfer to a serving
platter. Just before serving, top with the whipped cream and fruit.
About 8 smallish servings.  [Steve Wright [e-mail]]

* Chocolate Crackles

Here is the recipe as read from the Rice Bubbles packet (Apparently it
is also on the Copha wrapper):

4 cups Rice Bubbles (= Rice Crispies)           250 gram copha (8 oz)
1.5 cups sifted icing sugar                     1 cup desiccated coconut
3 Tbs cocoa (60 ml not 45ml, ie 4 American Tbs) 24 patty pans

Mix the first 4 ingredients together. Pour in melted Copha and mix.
Put into patty pans and chill.  Makes 24.

13.1.3 Meat Pies, Damper, Galah, pumpkin soup

* Damper

The basic recipe for damper is just self rising flour (4 C) and milk
(2 1/2 C) or water, mixed to a very stiff dough and then baked in one
of several ways: in a cast iron "dutch oven" buried in the ashes of a
fire, wrapped around the end of a stick (only a small handful or so)
and toasted over the fire, or formed into a round loaf and baked in a
conventional oven. You can spice it up by adding a handful of dried
fruits, by topping it with some mustard and grated cheese or, if
you've been bold enough to do it on a stick, by filling the hole where
the stick was with jam.  [CP]

* Australian Meat Pie [JN]:

Reference: Australian Women's Weekly Home Library: Cooking Class
Cookbook, p70. (reproduced without permission).

Filling:
750 g (1.5 lb) minced steak             1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 beef stock cubes                      salt, pepper
1.5 cups water                          pinch nutmeg (generous -JN)
2 tablespoons plain flour               1/4 cup water, extra

Pie Base:
2 cups plain flour                      2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt                       60 g (2 oz) beef dripping

Pie Top:
375 g (12 oz) packaged puff pastry      1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon water

Making the filling: Place meat into the pan, stir over low heat until
meat is well browned.  Drain off any surplus fat.  Add crumbled stock
cubes, water, salt, pepper and nutmeg, stir until boiling, reduce
heat, cover, simmer gently for 20 min, remove from heat.  Combine
extra water and flour, stir until flour mixture is smooth.  Add flour
mixture to meat, stir until combined.  Return to heat, stir until meat
boils and thickens.  Add soy sauce (to give brown colour), stir until
combined.  Simmer, uncovered, 5 to 10 min; remove from heat allow to
become cold.

Making the pie base: Sift flour and salt into basin.  Place water and
dripping into saucepan, stir until dripping melts; remove from heat.
Make a well in centre of dry ingredients, add liquid, stir until
combined.  (2a. If you're in a hurry, just use premade (bought)
pastry.  It works ok, too. -JN)

Turn out onto lightly floured surface, knead lightly.  Roll out pastry
to line eight greased pie tins.  [We use "real" aluminium 6 or 8 in
pie casings - JN] Cut excess pastry around sides of pie plates using a
sharp knife.  Fill centres with cold meat filing.

Pie crust: Roll out puff pastry on lightly floured surface, cut out
rounds for top of pies, use a saucer as a guide.  Wet edges of base
pastry, and gently press tops into place, trim around edges with a
sharp knife.  Brush tops with combined egg-yolk and water.

Cooking: Bake in hot oven 5 minutes or until golden brown, reduce heat
to moderate, cook further 10 min.

Galah [PB]

Having plucked and cleaned galahs, place in a large saucepan of water
over an open fire.  Add two or three large rocks from a creek nearby.
Boil for two to three days, adding water as required.  By this time
the rocks should have softened, throw away the galahs and eat the
rocks.

Galah variations [KP]

Variation 1 (from my landlady the late Mrs. Rose Roots of Punch
Street, Gundagai, N.S.W., 2722) After the rocks are done, reduce heat
but continue simmering over low heat for another week. Make sure the
water level is kept up.

Variation 2 (from my team mates at the Junee RSL Shooting Club, Junee,
N.S.W.)  After the rocks are done, remove and maintain a slow boil of
the Galahs while a side dish of lava is obtained.  Serve both
immediately, preferably with the lava on top of the meat.

Pumpkin Soup [JL]

In a large pot I put cut up pumpkin, 2 chopped up onions, 3 chopped
slices of celery and enough water to cover.  Then I simmer it until
the pumpkin is soft and then I mash it all or blend it.  You then need
to add some curry powder which gives it a wonderful flavour.  The
biggest problem in the US is that most of the pumpkins are much more
watery than the Queensland blue pumpkins in Australia so the soup is
not the same.  However, this year I grew some JackbeLittle pumpkins
and they were just fine for soup.

[MM] I have found that "Butternut Squash" == "Butternut Pumpkin", make
a pretty good soup.  However they are definitely not the same as a
Queensland Blue.

Steak, Mushroom and Onion Pie [PL]

Ingredients:

1 lb round steak
1 onion
1 lb mushrooms

flour
pastry
Worcestershire Sauce
Steak Sauce
Beef Gravy powder
beer
butter or margarine
water

Cut meat into small pieces, toss in flour
and brown in margarine or butter in saucepan.

Add 2 cups of water to saucepan.
Chop onion, add to mixture.

Add Worcestershire Sauce, Steak Sauce, gravy mix
and beer to mixture. (Go easy on these to start with.
You can always add more of these after the meat is
cooked, and then you can taste it.)

Simmer covered for 30 minutes. While simmering, dice the
mushrooms and prepare the pie shells. I usually just
buy ready made pie pastry sheets for the pie shells
and ready made puff pastry sheets for the lids.

Add the mushrooms and more seasonings if desired.
Simmer uncovered for 5-10 more minutes. This should
make enough for 2 shallow 9-inch pies. If the mixture
is too runny, add more gravy powder, or mix some flour
with a little water into a paste, and add that.

Ladle mixture into pie shell. Put puff pastry lid on top,
and press the lid and shell together. Poke a few small
holes in the lid and bake at 425 F for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes and peas.

13.1.4 Misc

Australian/US substitutions
    Oz            US
    Copha            Hard vegetable shortening (made from
                coconut).
It's purified coconut oil, sufficiently dehydrated that it
functions as a quite-edible shortening.[BD]
    Corn Flour        Corn starch
    Caster sugar        Regular sugar ( actually slightly finer
                than regular US sugar, but not much)
    Golden Syrup        Dark Corn Syrup
    Icing sugar        Confectioner's sugar
        Rice Bubbles            Rice Krispies

In Australia, margarine in stick form has animal fat. For no animal
fat, to buy "soft" margarine or butter.

When recipe calls for minced steak/beef, N. Americans should use lean
ground beef, not extra lean [JN].

Other recipes to be included if I get them: kangaroo tail stew... [AN]

13.2 Songs

13.2.1 "Waltzing Matilda",  by Banjo Paterson (3 versions :-)

* Waltzing Matilda - the song we had to have.  Copyright A.B.
"Banjo" Paterson (reproduced here w/o permission).  (thanks to
Ross Paterson for correcting the "tt" misspelling :-)

    Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
    Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
    And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
    "You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."

    Chorus:
      "Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda,
      You'll come a-waltzing Matilda  with me;
      And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
      You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."

      (Substitute third line of verse in each chorus.)

    Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong,
    Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee;
    And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tuckerbag,
    "You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me."

    Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
    Down came the troopers -- one, two, three;
    "Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tuckerbag?"
    You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me.

    Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong,
    "You'll never catch me alive", said he;
    And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
    You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me.

There is also a "Queensland version" of the song, generally
believed to be the Patterson original (or pre-original).  It has
very similar words but has a different metre and is set to a
waltz tune. The "standard" version of the song was subsequently
rewritten to fit a march time tune pinched from some other
source.  In a wonderful essay published at the time of the
referendum which chose AAF as the anthem, some (forgotten by me)
author made the point that Waltzing Matilda was much more
appropriate. It tells the story of the swagman, unemployed and
desperate, driven to petty theft by society's oppression. The
squatter symbolises the privileged property owners (probably
multi-national) with the sinister intrusion of the Police to
support privilege. Finally, the hero dies in an heroic gesture,
which unfortunately leads only to the pollution of an inland
waterway. [CM]

------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is what appears to be the original "Waltzing Matilda", from
"The Collected verse of A. B. Patterson", first published in
1921.  It seems to have been published in "Saltbush Bill, J.P."
(1917), although I have a feeling it may have been presented in
the Bulletin somewhat earlier.  Punctuation as printed in the
1982 edition -- don't blame me for the unmatched quotation mark
in the second verse :-). [IR]

                        WALTZING MATILDA
                       (Carrying a Swag.)

Oh! there once was a swagman camped in a Billabong,
   Under the shade of a Coolibah tree;
And he sang as he looked at his old billy boiling,
   "Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"

      Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda, my darling,
         Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
      Waltzing Matilda and leading a water-bag--
         Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

Down came a jumbuck to drink at the water-hole,
   Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him in glee;
And he sang as he stowed him away in his tucker-bag,
   You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."

Down came the Squatter a-riding his thoroughbred;
   Down came Policemen -- one, two and three.
      "Whose is the jumbuck you've got in the tucker-bag?
   You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."

But the swagman, he up and he jumped in the water-hole,
   Drowning himself by the Coolibah tree;
And his ghost may be heard as it sings in the Billabong
   "Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"

Both versions are in the Australian Scout Song Book, available by mail
order from the Sydney Scout Shop price $2.65, phone [phone].

--------------------------------------------------------

SWAGMAN: An itinerant labourer, a hobo, a bum.  So called because
his most important possession is his bedroll ("swag"), worn
behind his head as he walks along.[TM]

An excellent book, probably no longer in print, is "Diary of a
Welsh swagman" published in Australia some years ago. It is based
on the journeyings of a Welsh immigrant who was waltzing Matilda
in the late 19th century [AC]
(Jenkins, Joseph, 1818-1898. Diary of a Welsh swagman, 1869-1894
/ abridged and annotated by William Evans. -- South Melbourne,
Vic. : Macmillan, 1975.)

WALTZING MATILDA "Waltzing Matilda", "humping a bluey, "carrying
a swag" are all terms for the same thing, namely tramping about
looking (or not looking) for itinerant work like shearing. The
"Matilda" was the swag. [PA]

Matilda=swag=bluey = (american) bedroll (blankets, etc.)

The reason I know of is that one name for a swag was "Matilda" -
a feminine name for the swagman's sole companion. Walking from
place to place was called "Taking Matilda for a waltz". [jds]

BILLABONG: A billabong is what the geographers call a "truncated
meander", i.e. a lake formed by a loop in a river course being
cut off by the river subsequently cutting a new and shorter path.
In the US they are called "ox-bow lakes".[JB]

COOLIBAH: Type of eucalypt (gum) tree with hard strong wood, very
hardy, found in central Australia near inland water courses and
billabongs.

BILLY: A small tin, generally used to boil water for tea.  The
third- most important possession of a swagman.

JUMBUCK:  A (male?) sheep.

TUCKERBAG: A bag for carrying tucker (food).  The second-most
important possession of a swagman.

SQUATTER: Someone  who just  grabbed land  early on,  often later
given title to the  land by  the government.Basically the  landed
gentry.

TROOPER:  A soldier or policeman.

* Short Version

The "verse" below is from a competition to shrink works of OZ
literature conducted by the Australian (?) newspaper some time
ago. I found it in some papers I was looking through. I don't
have the attribution to hand. There was a shrunken "Sydney White
Pages" too.[CM]

[GG] This verse is attributed to Pauline Howie in the (little) book
Oz Shrinked Literature, edited by Michele Field, Penguin Books, 1983.
Page 10.

    Waltzing Matilda
    ================
    Swaggie dreams of roast lamb dinner
     Passing jumbuck looks a winner
    Bags it, but here come the cops
     Into billabong he flops
    Drowns himself, forgoes hot roast
     Leaves the last waltz to his ghost
    "Sod the law" says our aquarian,
     "Better dead than vegetarian!"


Nigel McFarlane <[e-mail]> adds:

    Firstly let me point out there was an excellent article
    on the ABC on "Landline" tracing the history of the song,
    and also identifying the "original version" - close to the
    QLD version, but not the same.

    Also, where it has "Matilda" defined as a swag or bedroll,
    it really referred to a campside whore, who might hang
    around the mines or goldfields.  Thus "Waltzing Matilda"
    meant something entirely different to carrying a bedroll.
    That 2nd meaning came later as an affectionate parallel with
    the earlier meaning - the bedroll being the only company
    to be had while travelling.


* Waltzing Matilda to Music! [JS]


     .
     |\        D                  A7              Bm                    G
-----|-)--#------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------
     |/                                        |                                                |
----/|-----------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
   / |     #                                   |                                                |
--/--|_--------|\---|\---|\---|\---------------|--------------|\--------------------------------|
 /  /| \   C   |    |    |    |     |      |   |    ----|     |                                 |
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  \__|_/      @    @    @    @      |      |   |   |    |    @     |            |\       |      |
-----|-----------------------------@------@---- ---|---@-----------|-------|\---|--------|------
     |                                            @ ---           @        |    |       @
   `-'                                                                   --|---@-
                                                                          @

        1.  Once   a   jol - ly   swag - man      camp'd     by    a     bil - la   -  bong

     .
     |\       D                            A7                            D            A7
-----|-)--#------------------------------ ----------------------------- ------------------------
     |/                                  |                             |                        |
----/|-----------------------|----|\--|\-|--|\--|\----|----|-----------|------------------------|
   / |     #                 |    |   |  |  |   |     |    |           |                        |
--/--|_-----------------|\---|----|---|--|--|---|-----|----|-----------|--|---|\--|\------------|
 /  /| \                |\  @    @   @   | @___@     @    @         |\ |  |   |   |    |     |  |
-\-(-|--)----------|\---|----------------|----------------------|\--|--|--|---|---|----|-----|--|
  \__|_/           |   @                 |                      |   |  | @   @   @     |     |  |
-----|-------------|--------------------- ----------------------|--@--- --------------@-----@---
   . |       |    @.                                           @
   `-'     --|--
             |
          --@--

            Un - der  the shade  of  a   cool - li - bah tree, And he   sang as  he watch'd and
     .
     |\      Bm               G              D                               A7           D
-----|-)--#------------------------------ ------------------------------- ----------------------
     |/                                  |                               |                      |
----/|-----------------------------------|-------------------|-----------|----------------------|
   / |     #                             |                   |    |\     |                      |
--/--|_---------------|\-----------------|--------------|\---|----|---|\-|----------------------|
 /  /| \          |\  |                  |              |\  @     |   |  |    |    |\   |\      |
-\-(-|--)-----|\--|---|---|\----------|--|----------|\--|--------@----|--|----|----|----|----|--|
  \__|_/      |   |  @    |       |\  |  |          |  @             @   |    |    |    |    |  |
-----|--------|--@--------|---|\--|---|-- ----------|-------------------- ---@----@----@-----|--
   . |       @           @    |   |  @       |     @.                                       @
   `-'                      --|--@--       --|-
                             @               |
                                          --@--

           wait-ed till his bil-ly boiled 'You'll come a- waltz-ing  Ma  -  til - da  with me.'

Chorus
     |\        D                                       G
-----|-)--#----------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------
     |/                                             |             .                             |
----/|-----------|---------|\----|\----|------------|----@-------@---------------------|--------|
   / |     #     |         |     |\    |            |   |       |      @               |        |
--/--|_----------|---------|-----|-----|-----|------|---|-------|-----|------@---------|--------|
 /  /| \        @         @.    @     @      |      |   |       |/    |/    |         @         |
-\-(-|--)------------------------------------|------|-----------------|/----|-------------------|
  \__|_/                                    @       |                       |                   |
-----|---------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------
   . |
   `-'
             'Waltz  -   ing    Ma - til - da,         Waltz  - ing    Ma - til   -    da,


     .
     |\       D                           A7                          D           A7
-----|-)--#----------------------------- -------------------------- ----------------------------
     |/                     |           |                          |                            |
----/|---------|---|\--|\---|---|\---|\-|--|-----------------------|----------------------------|
   / |     #   |   |   |\   |   |    |\ |  |   |\                  |                            |
--/--|_--------|---|---|---@----|----|--|--|---|---|\--------------|---|---|\--|\---------------|
 /  /| \      @   @.  @        @.   @   | @    |   |    |       |\ |   |   |   |   |     |\  |\ |
-\-(-|--)-------------------------------|-----@----|----|---|\--|--|---|---|---|---|-----|---|--|
  \__|_/                                |         @     |   |   |  |  @   @   @    |     |   |  |
-----|---------------------------------- --------------@----|--@--- --------------@-----@---@---
   . |                                                     @                             ----
   `-'
          You'll come a-waltz-ing   Ma - til- da with me.' And he    sang as he watch'd and --



     .
     |\      Bm                G              D                               A7            D
-----|-)--#------------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------
     |/                                   |                                |                    |
----/|------------------------------------|-------------------|------------|--------------------|
   / |     #                              |                   |     |\     |                    |
--/--|_---------------|\------------------|--------------|\---|-----|---|\-|--------------------|
 /  /| \         |\   |                   |              |   @      |   |  |   |   |\   |\      |
-\-(-|--)----|\--|----|---|\------------|-|----------|\--|---------@----|--|---|---|----|----|--|
  \__|_/     |   |   @    |        |\   | |          |  @              @   |   |   |    |    |  |
-----|-------|--@---------|----|\--|----|- ----------|--------------------- --@---@----@-----|--
   . |      @            @     |   |   @       |    @                                       O
   `-'                       --|--@--       ---|-
                              @                |
                                            --@--

           wait-ed till his  bil- ly boiled 'You'll come a-waltz - ing Ma  -  til-da  with  me.'

13.2.2 "Advance Australia Fair", National Anthem

Australians all, let us rejoice,
For we are young and free,
We've golden soil and wealth for toil
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In hist'ry's page, let every stage
Advance Australia Fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing
'Advance Australia Fair.'

[Original second verse deleted, cos its all about the British :-) AN]

Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
We'll toil with hearts and hands,
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands,
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share,
With courage let us all combine
to Advance Australia Fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing
'Advance Australia Fair.'

* A less respectful version [JD]

        Advance

Australians never had a choice,
Had they the eyes to see,
That any Royal could only spoil
Republic luxury;
With leaps and bounds opinion shifts,
Where most just couldn't care :
The silent rage, an equal wage,
And pinch-free underwear;
We'll raise a glass to anything,
You poms stay over there.

From: John Savage <[e-mail]>

[ Sorry folks, this is how I received it (> 80 columns).  If you wanna see
it, print it on wide paper - SW ]


                         A D V A N C E   A U S T R A L I A   F A I R
                         -------------------------------------------





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             |                     |                    @   |                    |
-------------|---------------------|-------------------|----|----@---------------|----0.---------
        |    |    @   |        |   |    @.    @    @   |    |   |    @       @   |   |       |
-C------|----|---|----|--------|---|---|-----|----|----|----|---|---|----@--|----|---|-------|---
        |    |   |    |   |    |   |   |     |    |         |   |   |   |   |    |   |       |
-------@-----|---|---@----|---@----|---|-----|/---|---------|-------|---|---|----|----------@----
             |            |        |                        |           |        |
-------------------------@-----------------------------------------------------------------------



 1.   Aus  -  tra - lians all let     us   re - joice, For     we are young and    free,   We've





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  |                    @  |            |       |             |        |\
------------------|-------------------|---|----@-------|---|---|-------------|---|----|-------|--
   @   |          |    |     |\   |   |   |   |    @   |   |   |   |     |   |   |    |   @   |
--|----|----------|----|-----|----|---|---|---|---|---@----|---|---|-----|---|---|---@---|----|--
  |    |   |      |    |     |    |       |   |   |       @    |   |     |   |  @.       |   @
--|---@----|------|---@.----@----@--------|-------|------------|--O.----@----|-----------|-------
           |   |  |                       |                    |             |
----------@----|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               |
            --@--

gold-en  soil and    wealth for toil, Our    home is  girt by    sea;    Our    land a-bounds in





--------------------------------@----------------------------------------------------------------
                   |           |    @  |             |        |\           |
-------------------|---|-------|---|---|---O.--------|---|----|---------|--|------------------@--
  |             |  |   |    @  |   |   |  |       |  |   |    |    @    |  |   |    @    @   |
--|-------------|--|---|---|-------|---|--|-------|--|---|---@----|-----|--|---|---|----|----|---
  |   |\   |    |  |  @    |           |  |       |  |  @.        |    @   |   |   |    |    |
-@.---|----|---@---|-------|-----------|---------@---|------------|--------|--@.---|/---|--------
      |    |       |                   |             |                     |
-----@----@--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



na-tures gifts,Of   beau- ty rich and   rare;   In    his- try's page,let     ev' ry  stage Ad-





----------------------------------@--------------------------------------------------------------
  @.            |         @  |   |    @          |    |               |    @.      @.     |
-|--------@.----|--------|---|---|---|----@------|----|---|-----------|---|-------|-------|------
 |    @  |      |    O.  |   |   |   |   |    @  |    |   |   |    @  |   |    @  |       |   O.
-|---|---|---@--|---|----|---|-------|---|---|---|---@----|---|---|---|---|---|---|---@---|--|---
     |   |  |   |   |        |           |   |   |       @    |   |   |       |      |    |  |
-----|/-----|---|---|--------|---------------|---|-----------@----|---|-------|/-----|----|--|---
            |/  |            |                   |                    |              |/   |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



vance Aus-tra-lia  fair, In   joy-ful strains then  let  us sing  Ad - vance Aus-tra-lia   fair.







                            2. Beneath our radiant Southern Cross,
                               We'll toil with hearts and hands,
                               To make this Commonwealth of ours,
                               Renowned of all the lands;
                               For those who've come across the seas,
                               We've boundless plains to share:
                               With courage let us all combine
                               To advance Australia fair,
                               In joyful strains then let us sing
                               Advance Australia fair.


                   [ music for verse 2 differs slightly from that for verse 1 ]


13.2.3 "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", Eric Bogle

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback,
   I waltzed my matilda all over.
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son,
It's time to stop ramblin 'cos there work to be done,
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun,
    and they sent me away to the war

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the Quay,
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli.

How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that town that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well,
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells,
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell,
Nearly blew us right back to Australia.

But the band played Waltzing Matilda,
As we stopped to bury our slain,
We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs,
Then we started all over again.

Now those that were left well we tried to survive,
In a mad world of blood death and fire,
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive,
But around me the corpses pile higher.
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head,
And when I woke up in my hospital bed,
I saw what it had done I wished I was dead,
Never knew there were worse things than dying.

For I'll go no more Waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tents and pegs, a man needs both legs
No more Waltzing Matilda for me.

So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia.
The armless, the legless, the blind and insane,
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla.
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay,
I looked at the place where my legs used to be,
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me,
To grieve and to mourn and to pity.

And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
As they carried us down the gangway,
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared,
Then turned all their faces away.

And now every April I sit on my porch,
And I watch the parade pass before me,
And I watch all my old comrades, how proudly they march
Renewing old dreams of past glory.
And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore,
The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, 'What are they marching for?'
And I ask myself the same question.

And the band played Waltzing Matilda,
And the old men answer the call,
But year after year their numbers get fewer,
Some day no one will march there at all.

13.2.4  "Tie me kangaroo down" (Rolf Harris) [TS]

(With wobbleboard background)
[Spoken] There is an old Australian stockman, lyin, dyin, And he gets
up onto one knee and he says...

Chorus:    Tie me Kangaroo down, Sport
    Tie me Kangaroo down,
    Tie me Kangaroo down, Sport
    Tie me Kangaroo down.

Keep me Cockatoo cool, Curl
Keep me Cockatoo cool,
Aw don't go let lettin him actin the fool, Curl
Just keep me Cockatoo cool.

All together now, Chorus:

Mind me platypus duck, Bill
Mind me platypus duck
Aw don't let him go runnin amuck, Bill
Mind me platypus duck.

All together now, Chorus:

Put me Koala back, Mac
Put me Koala back.
He lives somewhere out on the track, Mac
Just put me Koala back.

All together now, Chorus:

(I include this verse as it was in the original though I find it offensive)
Let me Abos go loose, Lou
Let me Abos go loose.
They are of no further use Lou
Let me Abos go loose.

All together now, Chorus:

Tan me hide when I'm dead, Fred
Tan me hide when I'm dead.
So we tanned his hide when he died, Clyde
And that's it hangin on the shed.

All together now, Chorus:


* Misc others

                           CAROL OF THE BIRDS    (Australian Christmas Carol)
                           ------------------


      D                                                  G
-#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            |    ________             |
----------------------------|---|   -|   |------------|---------------------|\-
6 #                     |\  |   |    |   |    |       |                |    |
------ _______ ----|----|---|---|---@----|----|---|\--|--- _______ ----|----|--
8     |   |   |    |    |   |  @.       @     |   |   |   |   |   |    |   @
------|---|---|----|---@----|----------------@----|---|---|---|---|---@--------
      |   |  @    @         |                    @    |   |   |  @
-----@---@-----------------------------------------------@---@-----------------

 1.  Out on the plains the   Brol-gas  are danc-ing,   Lift-ing their feet like





    G             A7          D                          Em
-#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            |                          |
--------------------|-------|------------------|-------|-----------------------
  #       @         |   |\  |    _________     |       |                |
-----@---|-----@----|---|---|---|    |    |----|---|\--|--- _______ ----|------
    |    |    |    @    |   |   |    |    |   @    |   |   |   |   |    |   |\
----|____|____|--------@----|---|----|---@---------|---|---|---|---|---@----|--
                            |  @    @             @    |   |   |  @         |
----------------------------------------------------------@---@------------@---

    war-hors-es  pranc-ing:    Up   to  the  sun  the   wood-larks go wing-ing,





   Bm                        G            A7                     D
-#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          |                 ____   ||        |     .
--------------------------|----------/|----|    |--||--------|----@----|-------
  #                       |        /  |    |    |  ||    @   |   |     |
---------------|\---------|------/|---|----|---@---||---|----|---|-----|---|\--
    _______    |  \       |    /  |   |   @        ||   |    |   |    @    |
---|   |   |---|---|\-----|---|---|--@-------------||---|/---|-------------|---
   |   |   |  @___ |  \   |   |  @                 ||        |            @
---|---|--@-------@----|-----@-------------------------------------------------
  @   @               @

Faint in the dawn___ light  ech-oes their sing-ing:     "O   -  ra -  na!  O -




      Bm                   Em                  A              D
-#----------------------------------------------------------------------------
        .              |                                  |                   |
-------@---------------|-----@----------------------------|-------------------|
  #   |                |    |            |\               |                   |
------|-----@-----|\---|----|------@-----|-----|----------|----------------o/-|
      |    |      |    |    |/    |      |     |     |\   |                /  |
-----------|------|----|----------|-----@------|-----|----|----|------|-------|
           |     @     |          |/          @      |    |    |      |       |
----------------------------------------------------@----------|------|-------
                                                              @._____@

     ra  - na!   O    -    ra  -  na!   To  Christ - mas     Day."____





             2.  Down where the tree-ferns grow by the river,
                 There where the waters sparkle and quiver,
                 Deep in the gullies bell-birds are chiming,
                 Softly and sweetly their lyric notes rhyming:
                 "Orana! Orana! Orana! To Christmas Day."

             3.  Friar-birds sip the nectar of flowers,
                 Currawongs chant in wattle-tree bowers;
                 In the blue ranges lorikeets calling --
                 Carols of bush birds rising and falling:
                 "Orana! Orana! Orana! To Christmas Day."

       [ "Orana" -- an Aboriginal word for "welcome".]
       [ the brolga is a species of stork, AKA the "native companion"]

13.3 Literature

* To find a book, in or out of print, "International bookfinders",
Sydney, [phone], [phone].

13.3.1 Fiction

(If authors also write poetry, non-fiction, I include that here with
the fiction entry)

* Thomas Keneally began writing in 1964. Born in northern New South
Wales in 1935, he now lives in Sydney with his wife and two daughters.

Novels:
- _Schindler's Ark_ (published in the US as Schindler's List, now a major
  film by Steven Spielberg. Based on the true story of German
  businessman Oscar Schindler who save over 1000 Jews from the Nazi
  extermination camps)
- _A Family Madness_
- _Victim of the Aurora_
- _The Playmaker_ (set in first convict settlement)
- _Thomas Keneally Flying Hero Class_ (interesting Koorie perspective)
- _The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith_(*), (made into a film)
- _Confederates_(*),
- _Gossip from the Forest_(*)
* shortlisted for the booker prize

Nonfiction: Outback, an account of life in Central Australia

* Patrick White (winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize for literature) was
born in England in 1912, when his parents were in Europe for 2 years;
at 6 months he was taken back to Australia where his father owned a
sheep station. When he was thirteen he was sent to school in England,
to Cheltenham, 'where, it was understood, the climate would be
temperate and a colonial acceptable'. Neither proved true, and after
four rather miserable years there he went to King's College,
Cambridge, where he specialised in languages.  After leaving the
university he settled in London, determined to become a writer.
During the war he was an R.A.F. Intelligence Officer in the Middle
East and Greece. After the war he returned to Australia. [Did he
die recently? AN]

Novels: _Happy Valley_ (1939), _The Living and the Dead_ (1941), _The
Aunt's Story_ (1946), _The Tree of Man_ (1956), _Voss_ (1957), _Riders
in the Chariot_ (1961), _The Solid Mandala_ (1966), _The Vivisector_
(1970), _The Eye of the Storm_ (1973), _A Fringe of Leaves_ (_1976),
_The Twyborn Affair_ (1979),

Collections of short stories: The Burnt Ones (1964), The Cockatoo
(1974) including several short novels (interesting collection of short
stories dealing with modern Australian life [MJ])

Autobiography: Flaws in the Glass (1981)

* Elizabeth Jolley

* Tim Winton is the author of several novels, short story collections
and children's books, for which he has received every major literary
award in Australia, including the Australian/Vogel Award and the
prestigious Miles Franklin Award. He currently lives on the Western
Australia coast with his wife and children.

_Cloudstreet_: When two large working-class families, the Lambs and the
Pickles, are forced to share a massive house and inevitably their
lives, their past misfortunes and conflicting personalities merge in a
breathtaking explosion of joy, tragedy, and the occasional miracle.
[I loved it! AN]

Other works: _An Open Swimmer_, _Shallows_, _Scission_, _That Eye_,
_The Sky_, _Minimum of Two_, _In the Winter Dark_, _Jesse_, _Lockie
Leonard_, _Human _Torpedo_, _The Bugalugs Bum Thief.

* Peter Carey grew up in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, and was educated at
Geelong Grammar School and Monash University, where he read science.

Novels:
- _Bliss_ (1981) (made into a film, I found the book a bit strange,
 and rather boring - must admit I didn't finish it. AN),
- _Illywhacker_ (1985) (short-listed for Booker prize)
- _Oscar and Lucinda_ (1988) (winner of the Booker prize, great, AN).

Short Stories: _The Fat Man in History_ (I enjoyed most of these,
though they tend to be a little bizarre, AN)

* David Malouf

Fiction: _Johnno_, _An Imaginary Life_, _Fly Away Peter_, _Child's
Play_, _Harland's Half acre_, _Antipodes_, _The Great World_ (winner
of the Commonwealth Prize and the Prix Femina Etranger), _Remembering
Babylon_.

Autobiography: _12 Edmonstone Street_

Poetry: _Bicycle and Other Poems_, _Neighbours in a Thicket_, _the
Year of the Foxes and Other Poems_, _First Things Last_, _Wild Lemons_

Libretto: Baa Baa Black Sheep

In _Remembering Babylon_ David Malouf gives us a rich and compelling
novel, in language of astonishing poise and resonance, about the
settling of the continent down under, Australia, and the vicissitudes
of first contact with the unknown. In the mid-1840s a 13-year-old
cabin boy, Gemmy Fairley, is cast ashore from a British shipwreck onto
the Queensland coast, and is taken in by aborigines. Sixteen years
later, three children from a white settlement come upon this
apparition: "...."... Possessed of lyrical intensity and always
respectful of human complexity , Remembering Babylon tells the story
of Gemmy, and of his relation to the whites. Given shelter by the
McIvors, the family of the three children, he seems at first to have a
secure role in the settlement, but currents of fear and distrust
intensify. At once white and black, a man with a voice but unable to
speak the language, he confounds all categories that might explain
him. To everyone he meets .... Gemmy is a force of nature that both
fascinates and repels. He finds his own whiteness as unsettling in his
new world as the knowledge he brings with him of the savage, the
aboriginal. In his most accomplished novel to date,David Malouf has
written a powerful fiction, informed by a vision of eternal human
differences. Remembering Babylon is a brilliant mythopoeia of our
unending encounter with the Other.

* Martin Boyd: _A Difficult Young Man_ (I studied this in High
School. AN], _Lucinda Brayford_, _The Cardboard Crown_, _Outbreak
of Love_, _When Blackbirds Sing_, _Day of My Delight_.

* Frank Hardy: _Power without Glory_. Frank Hardy's compelling story
of corruption and political manipulation created violent controversy
on its first release and has excited and intrigued Australians ever
since.  Power Without Glory traces the rise of the ruthless John West
from his impoverished working-class beginnings in a Melbourne slum to
a position of great wealth and political influence. His rising public
dominance contrasts with the growing emptiness of his personal life,
where even family turn from him, estranged by his implacable and
pitiless pursuit of power. A startling expose of bribery, fear and
corruption in high places, Hardy's tale revealed the sordid world of
gambling, political intrigue and underworld depravity. Upon the book's
first publication he was accused of overstepping the fine line between
fiction and the depiction of real Australian people and events, and
was sued for libel.  The sensational legal battle which followed
created debate and outrage across the nation and, despite Hardy's
acquittal, the questions it raised remain unanswered today. [Made into
a television series]

* David Williamson Collected Plays Vol 1 (including _The Coming of
stork_, _Don's Party_ and _The removalists_ [MJ])

* Justin D'Ath, _The Initiate_ (aboriginal protagonist; coming-of-age
sorta)

* Peter Corris writes light detectives set in and around Sydney and
there's another (female) author of similar stuff setting them all over
the place (Murder on the Ballarat Train was one). [MJ]

* Miles Franklin, _My Brilliant Career_. Made into a film by Gillian
Armstrong, starring Judy David.

* Henry Handel Richardson, _The Getting of Wisdom_: Country girl's
experiences of going to boarding school late last century.  Made into
a film.

Joan Lindsay, _Picnic at Hanging Rock_. Girls from a boarding school
in country Victoria, early this century, go on a picnic to Hanging Rock
on Valentine's day, and 3 of them and a school mistress disappear. Made
into a film by Peter Weir.

Neville Shute: _A Town Like Alice_ (film and also tv mini-series), _A
Far Country_, _On the Beach_.

* Early colonial life: _The Fatal Shore_, Robert Hughes, Eleanor
Dark's trilogy _'The Timeless Land_.

* Robert Drewe _The Savage Crows_ (a fictional dive into Australian
history) and _The Bodysurfers_ (celebrating the great Australian beach
culture). [MVN]

13.3.2 Poetry

* "My Country" by Dorothea McKellar [CP]

    The love of field and coppice,
    Of green and shaded lanes,
    Of ordered woods and gardens
    Is running in your veins.
    Strong love of grey-blue distance,
    Brown streams and soft, dim skies-
    I know but cannot share it,
    My love is otherwise.

    I love a sunburnt country,
    A land of sweeping plains,
    Of ragged mountain ranges,
    Of droughts and flooding rains.
    I love her far horizons,
    I love her jewel-sea,
    Her beauty and her terror-
    The wide brown land for me!

    The stark white ring-barked forests,
    All tragic to the moon,
    The sapphire-misted mountains,
    The hot gold hush of noon,
    Green tangle of the brushes
    Where lithe lianas coil,
    And orchids deck the tree-tops,
    And ferns the warm dark soil.

    Core of my heart, my country!
    Her pitiless blue sky,
    When, sick at heart, around us
    We see the cattle die -
    But then the grey clouds gather,
    And we can bless again
    The drumming of an army,
    The steady soaking rain.

    Core of my heart, my country!
    Land of the rainbow gold,
    For flood and fire and famine
    She pays us back threefold.
    Over the thirsty paddocks,
    Watch, after many days,
    The filmy veil of greenness
    That thickens as we gaze.

    An opal-hearted country,
    A wilful, lavish land -
    All you who have not loved her,
    You will not understand -
    Though earth holds many splendours,
    Wherever I may die,
    I know to what brown country
    My homing thoughts will fly.

* The Man From Snowy River, by A.B. (Banjo) Paterson [CP]

There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around
    that the colt from old Regret had got away,
And had joined the wild bush horses - he was worth a thousand pound,
    So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far
    Had mustered at the homestead overnight,
For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are,
    And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight.

There was Harrison, who made his pile when Pardon won the cup,
    The old man with his hair as white as snow;
But few could ride beside him when his blood was fairly up -
    He would go wherever horse and man could go.
And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand,
    No better horseman ever held the reins;
For never horse could throw him while the saddle-girths would stand -
    He learnt to ride while droving on the plains.

And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast;
    He was something like a racehorse undersized,
With a touch of Timor pony - three parts thoroughbred at least -
    And such as are by mountain horsemen prized.
He was hard and tough and wiry - just the sort that won't say die -
    There was courage in his quick impatient tread;
And he bore the badge of gameness in his quick and fiery eye,
    And the proud and lofty carriage of his head.

But still so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to stay,
    And the old man said, "That horse will never do
For a long and tiring gallop - lad, you'd better stop away,
    These hills are far too rough for such as you."
So he waited, sad and wistful - only Clancy stood his friend -
    "I think we ought to let him come," he said;
"I warrant he'll be with us when he's wanted at the end,
    For both his horse and he are mountain bred.

"He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko's side,
    Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough;
Where a horse's hooves strike firelight from the flintstones every stride,
    The man that holds his own is good enough.
And the Snowy river riders on the mountains make their home,
    Where the river runs those giant hills between;
I have seen full many horsemen since I first commenced to roam,
    But nowhere yet such horsemen have I seen."

So he went: they found the horses by the big mimosa clump,
    they raced away towards the mountain's brow,
And the old man gave his orders, "Boys, go at them from the jump,
    No use to try for fancy riding now.
And, Clancy, you must wheel them, try and wheel them to the right.
    Ride boldly lad, and never fear the spills,
For never yet was rider that could keep the mob in sight,
    If once they gain the shelter of those hills."

So Clancy rode to wheel them - he was racing on the wing
    Where the best and boldest riders take their place,
And he raced his stock-horse past them and he made the ranges ring
    With the stockwhip, as he met them face to face.
Then they halted for a moment, while he swung the dreaded lash,
    But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view,
And they charged beneath the stockwhip with a sharp and sudden dash,
    And off into the mountain scrub they flew.

Then fast the horsemen followed, where the gorges deep and black,
    Resounded to the thunder of their tread,
And the stockwhips woke the echoes, and they fiercely answered back
    From cliffs and crags that beetled overhead.
And upward, ever upward, the wild horses held their way,
    Where mountain ash and kurrajong grew wide;
And the old man muttered fiercely, "We may bid the mob good day,
    NO man can hold them down the other side."

When they reached the mountain's summit, even Clancy took a pull -
    It well might make the boldest hold their breath;
The wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full
    Of wombat holes, and any slip was death.
But the man from Snowy River let the pony have his head,
    And he swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer,
And he raced him down the mountain like a torrent down its bed,
    While the others stood and watched in very fear.

He sent the flint-stones flying, but the pony kept his feet,
    He cleared the fallen timber in his stride,
And the man from Snowy River never shifted in his seat -
    It was grand to see that mountain horseman ride.
Through the stringybarks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
    Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound
    At the bottom of that terrible descent.

He was right among the horses as they climbed the farther hill,
    And the watchers on the mountain, standing mute,
Saw him ply the stockwhip fiercely; he was right among them still,
    As he raced across the clearing in pursuit.
Then they lost him for a moment, where two mountain gullies met
    In the ranges - but a final glimpse reveals
On a dim and distant hillside the wild horses racing yet,
    With the man from Snowy River at their heels.

And he ran them single-handed till their sides were white with foam;
    He followed like a bloodhound on their track,
Till they halted, cowed and beaten; then he turned their heads for home,
    And alone and unassisted brought them back.
But his hardy mountain pony he could scarcely raise a trot,
    He was blood from hip to shoulder from the spur;
But his pluck was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot,
    For never yet was mountain horse a cur.

And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise
    Their torn and rugged battlements on high,
Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze
    At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,
And where around the Overflow the reed-beds sweep and sway
    To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide,
The Man from Snowy River is a household word today,
    And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.

                    - A.B. "Banjo" Paterson

13.3.3 Children's Literature

[This section is very incomplete cos I don't have any of my kid's
books here in the US with me. Contributions welcome! AN]

The Billabong series, by Mary Grant Bruce. Set on a station called
Billabong late last century, story of brother and sister Jim and
Norah, and Jim's friend Wally. Treatment of aboriginals rather
paternal and racist these days, but I really enjoyed these yarns as a
kid.  Also by Mary Grant Bruce, _Possum_. [AN]

Ivan Southall.

Colin Thiele: _Blue Fin_, many others.

May Gibbs:  _Snugglepot and Cuddlepie_ [MJ]

Norman Lindsay: _The_Magic_Pudding_

Blinky Bill.

The Muddle Headed Wombat by Ruth Parks.

_Seven Little Australians_, _The Family at Misrule_, Ethel Turner.

13.3.4 Non-Fiction

* Bruce Chatwin, _Songlines_: 'The Songlines emerge as invisible
pathways connecting up all over Australia: ancient tracks made of
songs which tell of the creation of the landi. The Aboriginals'
religious duty is ritually to travel the land, singing the Ancestors'
songs: singing the world into being afresh. _The Songlines_ is one
mans impassioned song' Sunday Telegraph.  [Highly recommended. AN]

* _My Place_, by Sally Morgan. Modern Australian women writing about
life as an aboriginal woman. Sally Morgan has also written an award
winning play, and painted some canvases that imo are the best in the
WA Gallery (which is quite well stocked). [RH]

* Two books about early colonial women:
(1) _The Women of Botany Bay: A Re Australian Society_, by Portia
Robin pp.  $16.95 paper.
(2) _Life Lines: Australian Women's Lives 1788 to 1840_, edited
by Patricia Clark and Dale Spender. Sydney, NSW: Allen and Unwin,
1992, 249 pp.  @22.95 paper (US distribution: Paul & Co., PO Box
442, Concord, MA 01742).

* I recommend Paul Kelly's _The end of certainty_ for a chronicling of
the relationship between economic and social policies in the Liberal
Party.  It seems to Kelly that Howard was the one to try and introduce
social conservatism into the Libs to match the economic shift.
Hewson, it appears, is so narrowly focused on the economy (laser-like
anyone?) that this is now irrelevant. [PR]

Jack Davis, _A Boy's Life_. An entertaining account of growing up
(Koorie)

Diane Bell, _Daughters of the Dreaming_. Feminist Aboriginal
anthropology.

Jill Conway, _The Road from Coorain_. Autobiography. In the tradition
of My Brilliant Career - a woman's exquisitely clear-sighted memoir of
growing up Australian. Jill Conway is a noted historian, specialising
in the experience of women in America and was the first woman
president of Smith College (a women's college in the USA).

*Hugh Lunn, _Over the top with Jim_ (and the sequels) -- popular
autobiographies dealing with growing up in the '50s.

* Alan Marshall, _I can jump Puddles_ (Story of writer Alan Marshall's
childhood, after he was crippled at a young age by polio. A classic.
He wrote several other autobiographical works, and a number of them,
including "I can ..." were made into a TV series by the ABC)

* Albert Facey, _A Fortunate Life_. This is the extraordinary life of
an ordinary man. It is the story of Albert Facey, who lived with
simple honesty, compassion and courage. A parentless boy who started
work at eight on the rough West Australian frontier, he struggled as
an itinerant rural worker, survived the gore of Gallipoli, the loss of
his farm in the Depression, the death of his son in WWII and that of
his beloved wife after sixty devoted years - yet felt that his life
was fortunate.  Facey's life story, published when he was
eighty-seven, has inspired many as a play , a television series and an
award-winning book that has sold over 1/2 a million copies.  [Moving
and unforgettable.AN]

* Stan Arneil. _One Man's War_. The diary of a young Australian army
sergeant, Stan Arneil, kept as a prisoner of war duing WWII.  It
covers the entire period of imprisonment from the fall of Singapore in
1941 through the infamous Burma railway camps, his return to Changi
and his repatriation to Australia in October 1945. Winner of the 1981
International Pen Award for Non-fiction.  After the war Stan Arneil
was active in welfare and church work.  In the 1950s he established
the credit union movement and he has been awarded the Order of
Australia for his efforts in that field.

* Susan Mitchell. (1) _Tall Poppies_. Nine Australian women talk about
women and success in Australia today.  _The Matriarchs_.  Twelve
Australian women, from their sixties to their nineties, talk about
their lives, and about being alive today.

* John Pilger, _A Secret Country_.  John Pilger was born and educated
in Sydney, Australia. He has been a war correspondent, film-maker and
playwright. Based in London, he has written from many countries and
has twice won British journalism's highest award, that of Journalist
of the Year, for his work in Vietnam and Cambodia. Among a number of
other awards, he has been International Reporter of the Year, and
winner of the United Nations Association Media Peace Prize.  John
Pilger writes about his homeland with life-long affection and a
passionately critical eye. In A Secret Country he pays tribute to a
little known Australia and tells a story of high political drama.

-"Tenaciously researched, fiercely argued, both unsparing and
patriotic, A Secret Country presents a harsh narrative of class,
race and power; of the oppression and resistance, the betrayal
and amnesia, that lie behind the sunny illusions of the
Australian self-image" Robert Hughes.
-"A moving account of the abuse of human rights in Australia' Graham
Greene
- "This is a patriotic book in the best sense, written in the belief
that Australia deserves not old bromides and stereotypes, but the
respect of critical appraisal.  With _The Fatal Shore_ by Robert
Hughes, it is an essential text for anyone wishing to understand the
real Australia obscured by the advertising industry's image of a
nation of 'white Anglo-Saxon Crocodile Dundees with the wit of the
cast of _Neighbours_'. It is also a necessary book for those of us who
believe in the redeeming power of truth. Daily Telegraph, London.
-"He reveals a hidden Australia at once more ugly and more heroic than
the official history... Combining investigative journalism with
whimsical anecdote, it's a powerful critique of Australian society and
a bloody good read."  Australian Tribune.

* Paul Kelly, _The Hawke Ascendancy_ is the story of how the Labor
Party returned to power in 1983 after its crushing defeat in1975.  It
is the inside story of three men- Bob Hawke, Malcolm Fraser and Bill
Hayden - and their unique power struggle. The account covers the full
eight years which began with Fraser's 1975 supremacy and closed with
Hawke's 1983 triumph and first year of office.

13.4 Films

From the Sunday "New York Times", Jan 2nd 1994 [AT]:

"Perhaps the closest parallel to the vitality of Ireland's movie
industry today is the Australian experience of the late 1970s. In a
period of just a few years, the Australians gave the world
"Gallipoli," "Breaker Morant," "My Brilliant Career," "Picnic at
Hanging Rock" and "The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith." Critics slavered
over the output of directors like Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford, Fred
Scepisi & Gillian Armstrong. "'Crocodile' Dundee," the ultimate in
outback machismo, established box-office records in both Australia and
the United States, where it was the 2nd-highest-grossing movie of
1986.

The success of these films changed the image of the country that
produced them. Suddenly, Australians loomed large as a force in the
movie world.  ...

...Soon after they made their mark, nearly all the best-known
Australian directors scampered off to Hollywood. The mighty Australian
film industry faltered -- partly because of recession & unemployment
but also because its proficient pool of talent opted for the bigger
budgets and wider distribution offered by the studios."

[Entries mostly taken from a Maltin's 1991 TV Movies and Video Guide.
I'll fill in more each month. Also I don't have much on more recent
releases. Also contributions from AR. Contributions welcome. AN]

ACTION/ADVENTURE
Escape 2000
Fortress
Forty Thousand Horsemen
The Lighthorsemen
    Period dramas of WW1 in the Middle East.  The Australian Light
    Horse, the charge at Beersheeba, etc.
Mad Dog Morgan
    Bushrangers.

Mad Max (1979) Dir. George Miller. Mel Gibson. In the desolate near
future, the police have their hands full keeping roads safe from
suicidally daring drivers and roving gangs. Top cop Gibson tires and
quits, but when his wife and child are murdered by vicious cyclists,
he embarks on high-speed revenge. Weird atmosphere and characters
combine with amazing stunt work in this remarkable action film.

Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior) (1981) Sequel finds Max, now a loner,
reluctantly helping a tiny oil-producing community defend itself against
band of depraved crazies thirsty for precious fuel. Far less original
script-wise, but trend-setting visual design and some of the most
unbelievable car stunts ever filmed make this equal to, if not better
than the original.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) Tina Turner. Mad Max comes upon
Turner's cutthroat city of Bartertown, survives a battle-to-the-death
in the Roman-style Thunderdome, and is exiled to the desert where he
is rescued by a tribe of wild children.  Lots of stunts and action,
and even some philosophical moments, but lacks kinetic energy.

The Man From Snowy River (1982) Dir George Miller. Kirk Douglas, Tom
Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton, Lorraine Bayley. Grand, old-fashioned
Western-style saga, based on epic poem, about strong-willed young man
who goes to work for an empire-building cattleman, and falls in love
with his daughter. Kokey, simplistic, but great fun, with eye-filling
scenery of the Snowy Mountains and incredible action scenes with some
wild horse.  Thompson cameo role as Clancy of the Overflow.

The Odd Angry Shot
    A Vietnam war film from the Australian viewpoint.  Stars Graham
    Kennedy, Graeme Blundell.
    "You could set your watch to this fucking rain." :-)
The Quest
Razorback
    The "Jaws" of feral pigs.
Return to Snowy River, Part II
Walk Into Hell

We of the Never Never (1983) Angela Punch McGregor.  True story based
on the memoirs of the first white woman to travel into Australian
inland wilderness (known as the Never Never). Visually stunning.

COMEDY

Bliss (1985) High-powered businessman has a major heart attack, sees
himself dying, the revives - which changes his entire outlook on life.
After a dynamic opening this stylized satire slows to a snail's pace
and loses its thrust.  Australian Academy award winner and international
film festival favourite.

The Cars That Ate Paris (1974) Peter Weir. The poor people of Paris
(Paris, Australia) keep the economy going by inducing traffic
accidents and selling the spare parts/scrap metal.  Iffy black comedy
has its moments. (in US released as The Cars That Eat People?)

"Crocodile" Dundee (1986) Paul Hogan. Amiable, laid-back comedy (that
became an enormous world-wide hit) about an adventurer who shows a
pretty American reporter around the bush country, then accompanies her
to the equally strange terrain of New York City.  Irresistibly simple
and old-fashioned, with a sweetness that's rare in modern comedies.
[Unfortunately this is all most Americans know about Australia. AN]

"Crocodile" Dundee II (1988) Sequel, not too bad.

Don's Party (1976) Bruce Beresford. Powerful black comedy about the
interaction - sexual and otherwise - about a group of young
suburbanites who get together to watch election returns. Stunning
direction, superb performances by all; biting script by David
Williamson, from his play.

Flirting: director John Duigan

Malcolm (1986) Charming, disarmingly off-beat comedy about a
slow-witted young man with a genius for mechanical devices and his
unusual entry into a life of crime. Australian film institute winner
for best Picture.

Norman Loves Rose (1982) Ok comedy of teenager Owen who becomes
enamoured with sister-in-law Kane. She becomes pregnant and who is the
father?

Rikky and Pete (1988) Pete is a misfit with a penchant for gimmicky
inventions, Rikki is his sister who is still trying to find herself;
together they flee to a remote mining town where their lives take some
unexpected turns. Followup to Malcolm by the same director and writer,
hasn't the same sweetness or consistency but it's admirably quirky.

Strictly Ballroom.  Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio), one of Australia's
best ballroom dancers, is on-target for a number of championships
until he starts to dance from the heart, abandoning the Dance
Federation's rigid steps in favour of his own moves.  His partner Liz
(Gia Carides) leaves him and Scott is forced to take up with an
amateur.  Fran (Tara Morice) matches Scott's zest for life, but one
question hangs over them as they teach each other about life, love,
and dancing: can they win by rejecting tradition?

Touch and Go (1980)

Young Einstein (1988) Nutty comedy based on the premise that Einstein
not only developed the theory of relativity, but invented rock 'n
roll. The silliness continues from there... but any movie that
contains 'cat pies' can't be all bad.

The Year my Voice Broke:director John Duigan

Muriel's Wedding (1994)

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

The Coca-Cola Kid


DRAMA

Breaker Morant
    Period drama of the Boer War in South Africa.  Rule 303 &
    all that.  Stars Edward Woodward.
Burke and Wills
    Intrepid explorers die of hunger, thirst & stupidity.
Cactus
Caddie
    Period drama of 1920's Australian underworld. Stars Helen Morse.
Careful, He Might Hear You
Chain Reaction
A Cry in the Dark: The Azaria Chamberlain story, with Meryl Streep as
        Lindy Chamberlain
Dawn
The Devil's Playground
The Fringe Dwellers
The Getting of Wisdom
Ground Zero
Heatwave
High Tide
Kangaroo
    Sons & Lovers goes to Thirroul in NSW, where it's not nearly
    grimy & cold enough.
The Killing of Angel Street
Kitty and the Bagman
    Period drama of 1920's Australian underworld.
Last Days at Chez Nous
The Last Wave
Lonely Hearts
Man of Flowers
The Mango Tree
Miracle Down Under
My Brilliant Career
My First Wife
Newsfront
    Period drama of newsreel reporters.  Re-creates the Maitland
    floods.
Now and Forever

-On the Beach. Based on a Neville Shute novel, set in Melbourne, the
last place on earth just about that people are still alive after a
nuclear war, waiting for the sickness to reach them.

Picnic at Hanging Rock
Proof: Blind man takes photographs as proof that he was there.
Puberty Blues
    Rites of passage for westie surfie chicks.
    The film of the book by The Salami Sisters (Kathy Lette & ???).
Rebel (1986)
Shame (1988)
Squizzy Taylor
    Period drama of 1920's Australian underworld.
Storm Boy
    Boy, pelican, boats, etc.
Summer City
Tim
A Town Like Alice
Traveling North
Warm Nights on a Slow-Moving Train
Weekend of Shadows
Who Killed Baby Azaria
The Wild Duck
Winter of Our Dreams

MUSICAL
Dogs in Space
    Life in inner-city Melbourne shared terraces.  Based on the
    band Whirlywild.  Amazingly, many people depicted in this movie
    aren't dead yet.  Stars Michael Hutchence of INXS.
Starstruck

MYSTERY/THRILLER
Dead Calm
Patrick

* Miscellaneous Aussies in the Motion Picture Industry

 - Performers
      Mel Gibson
      Nicole Kidman
      Bryan Brown
      Jack Thompson
      Paul Hogan
      Judy Davis
      Barry Humphries

 - Directors
      Peter Weir
      Gillian Armstrong
      Fred Schelpisi
      Bruce Beresford

13.5 Music

[Any volunteers for collecting material for this section? AN]

Michael Doering apparently has a web page decoted to Australian music.

http://www-users.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/~marcopes/michael/MUSIC.HTML

13.5.1 Classical

From: David Stybr ([e-mail])

Australia has some marvelous composers such as John Antill, Arthur Benjamin,
Clive Douglas, Alfred Hill, Percy Grainger, Carl Vine, etc., etc., etc.  Yes,
there is more to Australian composers than Percy Grainger, and in fact there
is much more to Percy Grainger than one would expect too.  If all you know of
Grainger is _Country Gardens_, hold onto your hats and listen to his large
orchestral works such as _Suite: In A Nutshell_, _Youthful Suite_ and _The
Warriors_.  One of my very favorites works is _Fisher's Boarding House_, an
unassuming little tone poem for chamber orchestra inspired by Rudyard Kiping
and composed when Grainger was all of 17 years old.  Already the individual
harmonic and melodic thinking of the later Grainger was starting to appear,
and despite its generally slow tempo the work has a constant forward
momentum.

=====

_Alfred Hill_

Few composers can be credited with helping to lay the foundations for the
musical life of 2 countries while living half a world away from the major
music centres of the globe.  Born 16 November 1870 in Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia, Alfred Hill grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, where his family
moved when he was 18 months old.  He began his musical career as a violinist
in the orchestra of travelling theatre groups.  In 1887 Hill began 4 years of
study at the Leipzig Konservatorium in Germany, and he also became a
violinist in the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.  Immersed in German musical
life as he was during these years, the influence of German Romanticism
remained strong throughout his life.

Hill returned to New Zealand in 1892, and became conductor of the Wellington
Orchestral Society, as well as teacher, violinist and composer.  A number of
his works were based on Maori materials, and he would later also draw from
Australian Aboriginal and New Guinea sources.  In 1896, Hill went to
Australia and settled in Sydney, New South Wales.  In 1902 he returned to New
Zealand as an opera conductor, and in 1906 he served as music director of the
International Exhibition Orchestra in Christchurch, the first fully
professional orchestra in that country.  In 1908 Hill returned permanently to
Australia.  In Sydney he helped to establish the New South Wales
Conservatorium in 1913, and he served as professor of harmony and composition
from 1916 to 1934.  No less active in retirement, he remained a great
influence on the music of Australia and New Zealand.

Hill was a prolific composer and produced more than 500 works.  Most of his
early works were dramatic and included operas based on conventional European
topics, Maori legends and Australian literature.  Chamber music dominated
most of his output in the 1930s, including most of his 17 string quartets.
 After 1940 he composed 12 of his 13 symphonies, all but the first of which
were essentially arrangements of chamber works.  He also composed short tone
poems and several concerti, for trumpet, violin, viola, piano and horn.  He
remained loyal to the conservative traditions he had accepted in Leipzig, and
the Maori and Aboriginal materials of New Zealand and Australia served only
as exotic embellishments of the essentially Romantic idiom of his music.
 Listeners who enjoy melodic and colourful music of the Late Romantic period
would find Hill very rewarding.  Alfred Hill died in Sydney on 30 October,
1960, less than 3 weeks before his 90th birthday.

=====

_Percy Grainger_

The history of classical music is closely bound to Europe, but since about
1850, notable composers have begun to appear in other continents.  One of the
most individual composers of the 20th Century came from Australia, and that
composer was Percy Grainger.

Born 8 July 1882 in Brighton, Victoria, Grainger grew up in nearby Melbourne,
where he studied piano with his mother and with Louis Pabst.  At the age of
10 he gave a series of concerts in Melbourne which enabled him to study in
Frankfurt, Germany.  In 1905, after his career had already been underway for
several years he also studied in Berlin, where he received instruction from
Ferruccio Busoni.  Grainger settled in London as a concert pianist in 1901,
and he performed throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

His first compositions had begun to appear at that time and already showed
some of the individuality in rhythm, form and instrumentation which was to be
a hallmark of his style.  In 1899 before he had left Australia, Grainger had
shown considerable originality in his orchestral tone poem _Fisher's Boarding
House_, based on the story by Rudyard Kipling.  Though modest in its form,
harmony and instrumentation, Grainger's personality is already apparent in
this work with its angular themes and strong momentum behind its lyricism and
slow tempo.

About 1905 Grainger began to collect British folksongs, which would have a
decisive influence on his composition, as were his meetings with Edvard Grieg
and Frederick Delius.  _English Dance_ of 1909 is an energetic and athletic
work for orchestra with a prominent part for organ.  In 1912 Sir Thomas
Beecham asked Grainger to compose a ballet for the Diaghilev Company, and the
result was _The Warriors_.  It was his most ambitious work, scored for large
orchestra with an expanded percussion section.

Grainger moved to the United States in 1914, served in the United States Army
Band as a saxophonist during World War I.  To raise money for the war effort,
Grainger composed his most popular piano work, _Country Gardens_, which is
based on British folk songs.  The 2 years Grainger spent with the Band gave
him the opportunity to experiment with a wide variety of combinations of wind
sonorities, and he developed tone colours which were previously unknown.  He
also delighted with "tuneful" percussion, and he raised these instruments
from their lowly roles as rhythm-keepers.  Under Grainger the concert band
began to sing.  His first work for full concert band was the march _Lads of
Wamphrey_, which was followed by other works such as _Children's March: Over
the Hills and Far Away_ and _Colonial Song_.  His most outstanding work for
concert band is _Lincolnshire Posy_ of 1940, based on 6 English folksongs.

In 1916 Grainger composed the orchestral suite _In a Nutshell_ for the
festival of Norwalk, Connecticut.  Grainger became a United States citizen in
1919 and settled permanently in White Plains, New York in 1921 but continued
to tour widely throughout the world.  Grainger married the Swedish poet and
artist Ella Viola Strm in a sensational ceremony at the Hollywood Bowl in
1928, for which he composed the orchestral work _To A Nordic Princess_.  That
same year he also composed _Danish Folk-Music Suite_, based on folksongs he
had collected in Denmark.  In 1935 Grainger founded the Grainger Museum at
the University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, initially conceived as a
centre for ethnomusicological studies.  Its repository of memorabilia
relating to his own career and those of certain other composers attempts to
develop in visitors a sense of the creative process.  His last large work was
the orchestral _Youthful Suite_ of 1945, based on music which he had
originally composed as early as 1899.

Grainger was perhaps best known for his short works for piano, many based on
folk music.  In addition to _Country Gardens_ these include _Handel in the
Strand_, _Mock Morris_, _Molly on the Shore_, _Shepherd's Hey_ and Spoon
River_.  These works also exist in several other versions for chamber
ensemble, concert band and full orchestra.

The vigour and rhythmic vitality of Grainger's music were typical of the man
himself.  Always concerned with keeping himself in good physical condition,
he ate only simple foods and believed in vigourous exercise.  He loved the
outdoors and would occasionally hike between cities while on concert tours.
 Once in South Africa he hiked 105 kilometres (65 miles) between
Pietermaritzburg and Durban, and another time he hiked 130 kilometres (80
miles) across the desert of South Australia in 3 days.  This athleticism
showed itself in his music, as did his independence of mind.  He insisted on
using English tempo and dynamic indications in his music instead of Italian.
 His use of form was very individual, and his experiments in sonority led him
to unusual instrumentations such as masses of winds or tuned percussion.  In
his later years he tried to produce "free music" whose melody, rhythm and
texture were independent of traditional scales, beats and harmony, but this
last project remained unfinished as his death in White Plains, New York on
February 20, 1961.

Personal Note:  During a business trip to White Plains, New York I had a
chance to visit the Percy Grainger Home and Museum and meet with archivist
and curator Stewart Manville.  The home is lovingly maintained in much the
same way as when Grainger was alive, and the music room is filled with
photographs and other mementoes, as well as 3 of Grainger's own pianos.  In
the cellars are tens if not hundreds of sets of performing materials, and in
the attic can be found parts of Grainger's "free music" machinery.  The
essence of the composer can be felt everywhere in the house.  I had a very
pleasant visit, thanks in large part to the courtesy shown to me by the
curator on very short notice.  It was fascinating.

=====

Sir William Francois Entenkopf - a musical satire by David Stybr

Editor's Note:  Any resemblance between this article and truth is purely
coincidental.

Many composers have spent their lives in obscurity and then gained
recognition only after their deaths.  Some composers have never received any
recognition at all, and few were more justifiably ignored than Sir William
Francois Entenkopf.

Entenkopf was born either 1 April or 31 October 1857 of British, French and
German parents (1 of each) in Erdnusscremestadt, Bavaria.  His father was an
itinerant accordion repairman.  Young Entenkopf showed no gifts for music
whatsoever, but his father sent him anyway to the Munich Konservatorium at
age 10.  The boy was a slothful wretch and was threatened with expulsion
several times for his refusal to attend classes.  However, his father managed
to dig up unsavoury facts about most of the faculty members, and through the
judicious use of blackmail young Entenkopf was graduated with top honours and
awarded several gold medals and certificates of merit.  He was also awarded
the Prix d'Ayers Rock, which enabled him to study further (in fact as far
away as possible) in central Australia.  Not bad for someone who had not
written a single note.

Entenkopf sailed for Australia in 1878.  The prize money wasn't much, so he
was obliged to take the 6-month journey in a packing crate in the cargo hold
of the ship.  After several weeks at sea, he decided one day to make use of
the time by composing 2 symphonies, 3 concerti (one each for piano, violin
and clarinet), a Mass and 12 pianos sonatas.  However, within minutes of this
decision, his laziness began to prevail and he didn't write anything after
all.  Besides, his packing crate had been loaded next to several barrels of
Jamaican rum, which Entenkopf proceeded to load into himself.  Oh well.

In October 1878 Entenkopf arrived in Melbourne, Victoria, on the southeast
coast of Australia.  At this time he spoke only German, but he mumbled so
badly that nobody could have understood him even if he spoke English.  The
next few years from 1878 to 1881 have been described by scholars as "The Lost
Years".  These years were in fact well documented; most of the time Entenkopf
simply had no idea where he was.  For example, one day he went for an
afternoon stroll and 3 months later found himself in Perth, Western
Australia.  Another time he went for a swim and eventually found himself in
Hobart, Tasmania.  Still another time he went for a hike in the mountains and
later turned up in Sydney, New South Wales.  Each time in his confusion
Entenkopf would curl up for a nap in a convenient packing crate, only to be
loaded aboard a ship and returned somehow to Melbourne, Victoria.

After 3 years of confused wanderings, Entenkopf liked Melbourne so much that
he decided not to continue on to Ayers Rock.  He still had some of his prize
money, so he decided to move out of his packing crate and into more
comfortable lodgings in the outskirts of Melbourne.  While searching for a
flat, he tripped over a pub owner named Mal de Mer.  Entenkopf decided to
enter into a business partnership with de Mer in exchange for room, board and
English lessons, a fruitful arrangement.  By 1890, their Gorge and Guzzle Pub
had become so successful that Entenkopf and de Mer had branched out into
other cities and had become wealthy men.  By then Entenkopf spoke English
fluently, but he still mumbled so badly that nobody could understand him.
 And, oh yes, Entenkopf still had not written any music at all.  Consarn it
all!

In January 1895, Entenkopf decided to take a much-needed vacation in Canberra
in the Australian Capital Territory, but was disappointed to find upon his
arrival that this city did not yet exist.  In March, Entenkopf sold his share
of the business and decided to travel again.  He boarded a ship and sailed
north to Anchorage, Alaska, but was disappointed to find upon his arrival
that this city did not yet exist either.  However, he felt that the Alaskan
wilderness would be a good place to begin work on a vast series of operas
based on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, with 1 opera devoted to each
of the 66 Roman Emperors.  Entenkopf was thus suddenly faced with the
frightening prospect of actually doing some creative work.  When the full
gravity of the situation became apparent to him, changed his mind once again
and didn't compose a note.

By now Entenkopf spoke English almost as well as he spoke his native German
(which sure isn't saying much), and certainly much better than he spoke
Swahili or ancient Phoenician.  With typical lack of reason he decided to
settle in Canada in the province of Ontario.  Along the way he stopped in
Dawson City in the Yukon Territory and accidentally started the great
Klondike Gold Rush of 1898 when a 16-ton solid gold boulder rolled off a hill
top and bounced off his head.  This reminded him of a passage in _The
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam_: "The rolling boulder bounces, and, having bounced,
moves on."  Entenkopf scratched his head and moved on.  Then another 16-ton
solid gold boulder rolled off a hill top and bounced off his head.  Entenkopf
suddenly realised he just might have something.  In addition to a splitting
headache, Entenkopf found that he had become even more wealthy than before.
 However, perhaps the most significant consequence of this tap on the noggin
was the sudden unleashing of the great creative energies that had not been
stopped up inside him all of his life.

Entenkopf became a man possessed.  Great volumes of music poured out of him
in torrents.  Symphonies, concerti, sonatas, quartet, operas, ballets and
myriads of short works gushed forth from his pen.  Scarcely stopping for food
or sleep, Entenkopf wrote on every surface he could find: paper, table tops,
walls, people's arms, sleeping polar bears etc.  After 3 months of unceasing
activity, he was placed, exhausted, onto a train bound for Ottawa, Ontario.
 Most of his newly-composed music was loaded into several of the baggage
cars.  When he arrived in Ottawa, Entenkopf had very little energy left and
he was hospitalised for exhaustion.  He recovered from his ordeal, but he
never again composed another note of music.  Thus his 3-month outpouring of
music represented his only crack in the dam of culture, not to be confused
with damming with faint praise.

Upon his release from the Royal Canadian Hospital for the Unbelievably Tired
in Ottawa in 1902, Entenkopf with typical lack of reason built a large
mansion for himself in Quebec, Quebec.  He couldn't speak a word of French,
but he still mumbled so badly in German and English that nobody could
understand him no matter which language he spoke.  In Quebec City he
established a cafe on la Grande-Allee called Le Gourmand qui a Soif (The
Thirsty Glutton), and it became a sensation.  Once again, Entenkopf earned
another fortune.  He lived the rest of his life in Quebec City, and
occasionally he could be seen lying face down outside his cafe on la
Grande-Allee, where he was affectionately known as "Monsieur l'Imbecile".
 Entenkopf died on 1 July 1937.

His obituary attracted the attention of an Austrian-born musicologist living
in Winnipeg.  His name was Manfred Tobias, or Manny Toba as his friends
called him, and he came to Quebec to examine Entenkopf's legacy.  Upon closer
examination of the music, however, Tobias found that it consisted of little
more than unison B-Flats repeated ad nauseam.  He had hoped to prepare a
definitive edition of Entenkopf's music, but all he could produce was _The
Young Person's Guide to the Unison B-Flat_, a 30-minute work for orchestra.
 Disheartened, Tobias returned to Winnipeg, after he had embezzled much of
Entenkopf's remaining fortune.  The composer's legacy remains justly
forgotten.


13.5.2 Pop

* Hunters and Collectors

They're a Melbourne band who've been around for well over ten years
now and they've changed their style a hell of a lot since they
started. In the early 80s they brought out this weird sounding album
called Hunters & Collectors which was characterized by a metallic
percussion from a huge metal cannister or something they used to drag
up on stage with them.

At some stage they moved to England and made an album called Judas
Sheep which they seem to be pretty embarrassed about now I think.
Mark Seymour, the singer, said it contains some of the most
pretentious lyrics he's ever written. I think the next album, made
after having moved back to Oz, was The Jaws of Life, which is close to
my favourite album. It's really, um, almost crude, and is full of
chant-like lyrics and sounds great, but probably takes some getting
used to. I like especially the songs 'The Jaws of Life' which touches
on an incident in the Northern Territory where a truck driver ploughed
into a pub (on purpose?) and killed some people, and 'Betty's Worry or
The Slab' which is about masturbation.

Another really good album is Human Frailty. The singing on this album
is really good - the harmonics. 'Throw Your Arms Around Me' became a
really well known song in Oz.  Then came What's A Few Men, which I
really like too: good lyrics, good singing. After that, I think, came
Ghost Nation, and then they released 'Collected Works' which has songs
from every album except Judas Sheep, and a remix of Throw Your Arms
Around Me.  They brought out an album a couple of years ago called,
um, shit, now I#ve forgotten, something monosyllabic. I didn't like
that album as much the earlier stuff but that's just a matter of
taste. There may be a new album after that, or on the way.

* John Farnham

* Jimmy Barnes

* Cold Chisel

* INXS

* Daddy Cool

* AC/DC

* Little River Band

* Midnight Oil


13.5.3 Jazz

13.5.4 Other

* Aboriginal music

[JO] The band Outback does a good job of the didgeridoo, and they're
now on Ryko.  They used to be on Hannibal Records.  Second is Trance
Mission, with their self-titled album on City of Tribes records.  They
use clarinet, too...  it's real strange, but it grows on you.  Lastly,
you've heard of Steve Roach, haven't you?  :) He's been on several
labels, and I'm not sure which he's with now.  But just about anything
he does -- except maybe Empetus -- there's probably a didgeridoo in it.

* Didgeridoo [PW]

Firstly, how to get a sound.  With brass instruments, you make a sound
by vibrating both lips into a mouthpiece.  With a didj though, you are
only supposed to vibrate your top lip, keeping the bottom one still.
Having played the trombone for about 7 years, I found it quite easy to
get a sound somewhat similar to a kid blowing down a vacuum cleaner
hose (or a plastic pipe for that matter).  It took me a bit of time to
get a proper type of sound but when I did, I found I used a lot less
air, and could manipulate the sound far more.  Then again, having
played the trombone, I was used to the principles of manipulating my
mouth (just ask the wife ;-].  Effects such as "dingo calls" are
achieved by making a noise with your vocal-chords at the same time as
the drone with your lips.  This also takes a bit of practice !

Secondly, circular breathing.  This I have not yet tried with much
conviction but I'll get around to it real soon now !  The basic
principle is that you puff your cheeks up, block off the back of your
mouth with your tongue, and then breath in your nose while pulling
your cheeks in to expel air through your mouth.  Blocking the back of
the mouth can be done by raising the back of the tongue to the top of
the mouth.  It helps a bit to push your tongue forward as you pull
your cheeks in to get a bit more pressure.  Also, don't try this with
your mouth wide open - you need a small gap in your lips to keep the
pressure up.  The book I have also suggests getting a straw with a
twist in it, putting the end in a glass of water and blowing through
it.  This way you can see if you are breathing properly (and you
really know it if you breath in your mouth instead of your nose :-).

Thirdly, if you can't hear the instrument very well because it's
pointing away from you, put the end into an open cardboard box - it
makes a huge difference.  Unfortunately, my wife doesn't appreciate
the empty box in the middle of the living room floor .....

13.6 Opera

13.7 Ballet

13.8 Theatre

PLAYBOX THEATRE COMPANY in Melbourne has an all-Australian season
of mostly new plays and a web site where you can find details.
The address is http://www.technoculture.mira.net.au/storm/playboxg.htm.

Currency Press is a performing arts publisher which publishes the
plays Playbox produces as well as many others. They have recently
published an alphabetical reference work that covers the history of
Australia theatre over the last 200 odd years, called A COMPANION TO
THEATRE IN AUSTRALIA. Their web site is http://www.currency.com.au.

Melbourne Theatre Company also has a web site at
http://www.technoculture.mira.net.au/storm/mtcnew.htm which gives
details of their current season. Also there is an on-line arts mag
called STORM at http://www.technoculture.mira.net.au/storm1.

Major Australian playwrights include Dorothy Hewett, Louis Nowra, Nick
Enright, Jack Davis, David Williamson, Alma DeGroen and many others.

  Finally, Patrick White died on 30 September 1990.There's a splendid
biography about him written by David Marr called PATRICK WHITE
A LIFE. Marr has also edited his letters into a book called
PATRICK WHITE LETTERS.


14. CONTRIBUTORS

The following people have made contributions to this FAQ.  If you have
any corrections, suggestions, additions, subtractions, etc., please
mail them to Stephen Wales, [e-mail].

NOTE: Unfortunately, I cannot post articles on behalf of others,
arrange aus.* feeds, look for lost relatives, etc.  I only have
time to deal with email that is related to this FAQ.

Andrea Janelle Dickens ([e-mail])
Andrew Clarke ([e-mail])
Andrew Davie ([e-mail])
Andrew Raphael ([e-mail])
Andrew Taylor ([e-mail])
Andrew Torda ([e-mail])
Andrew Williams ([e-mail])
Angela Taylor ([e-mail])
Ann Nicholson ([e-mail])
Anna Watkins ([e-mail])
Antonio Lam ([e-mail])
Aron Eisenpress ([e-mail])
Barth Richards ([e-mail])
Bede Seymour ([e-mail])
Bionic Tapeworm ([e-mail])
Bob Backway ([e-mail])
Bob Dick ([e-mail])
Bob Marks ([e-mail])
Brendan Jones ([e-mail])
Brian Ross ([e-mail])
Bruce Cockburn ([e-mail])
Carol Denehy ([e-mail])
Cath ([e-mail])
Charles Creegan ([e-mail])
Chris Beiting ([e-mail])
Chris Maltby ([e-mail])
Chris Penington ([e-mail])
Chris Tann ([e-mail])X
Christopher Manning ([e-mail])
Colin Smith ([e-mail])
Corran Webster ([e-mail])
Darryl Harvey ([e-mail])
Dave Horsfall ([e-mail])
David Everett ([e-mail])
David J Birnbaum ([e-mail])
David M. Smith ([e-mail])
David le Comte ([e-mail])
David Stybr ([e-mail])
Dean Tregenza ([e-mail])
Duncan Farrow ([e-mail])
Eric Grant ([e-mail])
Frank Norman ([e-mail])
Frank Warner([e-mail])
Franz C. Schlosser ([e-mail])
Fred Curtis ([e-mail])
Fred C. Wyse ([e-mail])
Gary Gillard ([e-mail])
George Michaelson ([e-mail])
Gopal Rajan ([e-mail])
Greg Vernon ([e-mail])
Helen Johnston
Hugh Garsden ([e-mail])
Ian Couroulis <[e-mail]>
Ian Doust ([e-mail])
Ian Staples ([e-mail])
Ivan Reid ([e-mail])
James Harland ([e-mail])
James Mullen ([e-mail])
James Perkins ([e-mail])
Jan Bradley ([e-mail])
Jane Anna LANGLEY ([e-mail])
Jaqui Lynch ([e-mail])
Jillian Teubner ([e-mail])
Jim Breen ([e-mail])
Joe Mack ([e-mail])
John Colville ([e-mail])
John Lamp ([e-mail])
John Marinopoulos ([e-mail])
John Nash ([e-mail])
John Newman ([e-mail])
John Oliver <[e-mail]>
John P Onorato ([e-mail])
John Savage <[e-mail]>
Josef Widjaja ([e-mail])
Justin Sullivan ([e-mail])
Karen Wood ([e-mail])
Ken Pisichko ([e-mail])
Kerry Wilson ([e-mail])
Kim Badcock ([e-mail])
Kym Horsell ([e-mail])
LS
Lawrence Cavedon ([e-mail])
Leanne Archer (Leanne Archer)
Luke Brennan ([e-mail])
Mark L. Sawley ([e-mail])
Mark Morwood ([e-mail])
Mark the Magnetic ([e-mail])
Matthew Winefield ([e-mail])
Melissa Rogerson ([e-mail])
Michael Dower ([e-mail])
Michael Jennings ([e-mail])
Michael Johnson ([e-mail])
Mike Van Niekerk ([e-mail])
Ming ([e-mail])
Nick ([e-mail])
Nigel McFarlane <[e-mail]>
P Atcliffe ([e-mail])
Peter Butler ([e-mail])
Peter Dormans ([e-mail])
Peter Lisner ([e-mail])
Peter Rayner ([e-mail])
Phil Edwards ([e-mail])
Phil Ganderton ([e-mail])
Phil Watson ([e-mail])
Philip Orr ([e-mail])
Rex Mammel ([e-mail])
Rhys Weatherley ([e-mail])
Rich Wales ([e-mail])
Richard Helm ([e-mail])
Richard Hickling ([e-mail])
Richard Kerr ([e-mail])
Rob Geraghty ([e-mail])
Robert Chalmers ([e-mail])
Robert Elz ([e-mail])
Rodney ([e-mail])
Ron Seto ([e-mail])
Ronald J. Bartle ([e-mail])
Rory Clancy ([e-mail]) asked:
Ros Whysall <[e-mail])
Ross Alford ([e-mail])
Ross Casley ([e-mail])
Ross Paterson ([e-mail])
Russell Bride ([e-mail])
Russell Deighton ([e-mail])
Ruth McKay ([e-mail])
Ruth McKay ([e-mail])
Samir KASME ([e-mail])
Scot Art ([e-mail])
Shannon McNeil ([e-mail])
Simon Tortike ([e-mail])
Stephen Chapman ([e-mail])
Stephen Peter ([e-mail])
Stephen Rasku ([e-mail])
Stephen Wales ([e-mail])
Steven Rossetti ([e-mail])
Sytske Drury ([e-mail])
T. Leslie Sanders ([e-mail])
Tanya Tintner ([e-mail])
Therese Turner ([e-mail])
Thomas Cohen ([e-mail])
Thomas Marvan ([e-mail])
Tim Littlejohn ([e-mail])
Tom Northey ([e-mail])
Tony  van Rosmalen ([e-mail])
Tony Gedge ([e-mail])
Tony Mason ([e-mail])
Tony Sprent ([e-mail])
Victoria Chance ([e-mail])
Vincensius Sugito ([e-mail])
Warren Smadbeck ([e-mail])
William Eggington ([e-mail][e-mail])
Zev Sero ([e-mail])
[e-mail]
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[e-mail]
[e-mail]

--
| | | | | |   Stephen Wales               | Internet: [e-mail]
|M|I|N|C|O|M  Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.    | No employer opinion included