The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

[Shelley Hansen]

Hi Gary

I saw that Mayor George had launched his collections of Cecil Lowther's poetry. A worthwhile achievement indeed.

I might have mentioned before, Cecil (Bannerman) Lowther's son, also named Cecil Lowther, was a school teacher at my primary school (Maryborough West). I knew him quite well, although he didn't actually teach me. He was a lovely man - an old-fashioned gentleman in every respect. He retired while I was still in primary school. In later years I visited him and his two sisters from time to time. They lived in the old family home near Ululah Lagoon.

Love the poem you posted. Definitely sentiments worth espousing!

Cheers
Shelley

[Gary Harding]

Shelley.. yes I recall that, now you mention it.

Isn't it a small world, full of all sorts of connections?

1. Fancy having Bannerman (Cecil Lowther) on our doorstep here! Two major books full of proper ballads, each of 700 pages!! Cecil Lowther makes writing proper poetry look easy. (Some of the best poets here make it look easy too .. but I doubt that it is)
I would enjoy delving into George's books but they are soft-cover and would soon look tatty with use. They will have to be kept pristine for display instead.

2. Bush poetry reaches into many fields. IMO There is a close bond between bush poets and enthusiasts that not only develops from having a similar interest but through mutual faith, respect, tolerance and trust as well. Banjo said "never to bet on a thing that can speak" but IMO if you are lucky enough to find the right people to fly as wing-men and support you while you get the job done, one cannot ask for more. Trying to establish a Cultural Centre for Australia that, among other important things, enshrines all the good bush poets is a monumental physical and mental undertaking. Especially when the price tag could be $40m (or multiples of that potentially). It takes positive, experienced people who revel in finding solutions and do not get bogged in the imponderables .... who love their country above all... and have the mental toughness and fight in them to take on those who will doubtless become more proactive against us as success becomes more assured.

3. The next article in Beacon deals with old Queenslanders. Maryborough is mentioned.

4. The replacement calligraphy poem by Edward Harrington, Flynn Of The Inland, has come back from the framer and it looks superb. There is still some work to do to finish this niche exercise off though and I look forward to eventually sharing the wonderful end result in a post here for fellow ABPA Members to appreciate.

All the best, Gary

[Gary Harding]

Bridging The Gap

In making Australia's first proper Cultural Centre we try and understand visitors, discover what they want and then cater to them.

1. For example.. one ABPA member posting on another subject recently made the statement "less is better".
We have heaps of old Australian Women's Weeklies and New Ideas and to put them all out might overwhelm people. The display loses its impact. So one might select a small number of the best and offer them nicely and well separated, with several optional reading copies for visitors.

So I agree that Less is Better.

2. Our own (perhaps novel?) approach is to build a bridge between the old and the new such that they are not separate worlds but all part of one. To bring the past into the present and establish its relevance.

For example, we may also display one or two of the Women's Weekly Elvis Presley (1970-71) covers or the Decimal Currency (1966) iconic edition (all recently acquired) so that visitors may say... "wow! I can relate to that. Elvis!!"

Break down the inherent barrier of "..here is me of the modern world... and then there is all this old anachronistic stuff".

Introducing people to the bush poets is tremendous etc but to make the Bush Poets relevant is the trick; that their poems are a part of today and what they say still holds true.

Importantly, to do it in a neutral way that never ever invokes politics or "issues" or opinions... a very major difference between all government-based establishments and ourselves. We aim to build a connection to the exhibits for the visitor. Totally unlike governments who have no understanding or vision of real Australian culture, we never leverage a political agenda off these wonderful Australian pioneers and poets.

So I hope this is the right approach?? Having visitors RELATE to exhibits... even if it means sneaking in some more recent things (like Elvis) to BRIDGE that gap!

[Shelley Hansen]

Totally agree about relevance to the viewer, Gary.

I know when we visit museums and historical displays (and we visit many) - while it is great to have the window to the more distant past, it is also a buzz to see an item or object from our own childhood or youth - so you get the "wow, I had one of these", or "I remember this in our house" reaction.

Decimal currency was certainly a landmark event worth commemorating - also maybe the moon landing (not Aussie as such although "The Dish" was involved). But everyone remembers where they were on that July afternoon in 1969!

Agree about Elvis - maybe also the Beatles 1964 Aussie visit if that comes into your possession. I remember what a stir it created for us girls at school! Some had "beatle boots" (a pointed faux-trimmed slipper-boot), others hand "beatle handkerchiefs" and "beatle headbands" with images of the fab four on them!

Cheers
Shelley

[Gary Harding]

1. The latest Beacon Magazine (on-line and hard copy) Issue 17, page 34 - 35 has our article on old Queenslander houses. It gives some background to the model purchase as well. Lots of luck involved in that one! True Australian Architectural Culture.

https://thebeacon.com.au/magazine-publications/

Also .. the attached photo shows two truly beautiful books (bought for $2 each at this morning's garage sale rounds) dealing with :

The Australian House : Homes of the Tropical North

Building a Nation : The History of the Australian House

They might be presented together in a glass case under lights as one of the items supporting the Queenslander exhibit that features the scale model.

2. Here is an interesting item from our Sentimental Bloke exhibit. (C J Dennis)

The sheet music from the original Albert Arlen musical c1961.

"Albert and Nancy Arlen started writing The Sentimental Bloke around 1950, to C. J. Dennis's The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. They staged the show themselves in March 1961 in the Albert Hall in Canberra. Then in Melbourne it ran for five months. It eventually ran for over a year in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and New Zealand."

This sheet music is perhaps bordering on the Rare classification. Very lucky indeed to obtain it.

The lady over the road is kindly practising "I Dips Me Lid" on piano and then I will record it ....and provide the dropbox link for readers to listen to a sample of this Sentimental Bloke music from around 60 years ago.

[Gary Harding]

For anyone who might enjoy the poems of John O'Brien, here is an interesting book from the collection.

What makes this delightful copy very special to me is that it is inscribed by Fr. Frank Mecham in 1983. It connects him to the book.
He has an Afterward included at the back.

Patrick Hartigan (John O'Brien) was Father Mecham's uncle.

Fr. Mecham, as I recall, also added extensive introductory notes at the start of the wonderful "Around The Boree Log" large illustrated book by artist Patrick Carroll. That book is boxed-up now with the display. Fr. Mecham was also author of the biography John O'Brien and The Boree Log which has provided many useful notes for me.

Frank pased away at the age of 91 in 2008

https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-champ ... drznu.html

At my mother's funeral service, I requested the following lines from The Helping Hand (pg 54, Around The Boree Log) be read out.

E'en though no herald trumpet-voice pronounce my praise,
And earth-won hero garlands wear I none.

E'en though the best the world shall know of me,
When mouldering clay is laid with kindred clay again,
Is but a stone on which the stars shine carelessly
Smooth polished by the fingers of the rain:

I shall not fear to stand before His Face
And answer for the schemes I've reared on shifting sand
Whereon the waves are trailing albs of pointed lace,
If on my way I've lent a helping hand

To fellow pilgrims toiling at my side,
Who, worn and weary, faint and fall beside the road,
If here betimes the blinding, scalding tear I've dried,
Or soothed a heart, or eased a galling load,

For He shall say "Your name in dust is hid,
No thought or deed has earned you immortality;
Immortal only are the kindly things you did -
Amen I say, you did them unto me."


These words from The Helping Hand summed up my wonderful mother's life better than any recited list of humble accomplishments ever could. She was always a perceptive and constructive critic of any poems I might venture to write.. even with little formal education.

Our presentation of John O'Brien's poems at Australia's first and only true Cultural Centre will be fantastic and just so entertaining..

And so it should be too.

[Gary Harding]

Here are two recordings of I Dips Me Lid (from the Musical.... A Sentimental Bloke) as promised. It is sort of a slow ballroom waltz.

Dawn from over the road who used to be a piano teacher, kindly had a fun go at them for me.

First one on piano here..... and then we walked over the road and did a second recording on her electronic organ. Dawn's voice can be heard at the end of the second where she happily pronounces "I think I did it!"

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s93ofcekiqlfn ... 3.m4a?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t6nzqdi8rt44h ... 5.m4a?dl=0

I enjoy posting about C J Dennis because I know there are at least two admirers of Den.. Shelley and Val.....

Some more really interesting material relating to the Collection's C J Dennis story will follow shortly....

[Shelley Hansen]

Love it, Gary!

I think I've mentioned before that the Maryborough Players performed The Sentimental Bloke musical in our City Hall in the mid-1980s. It was really well done with some of our most iconic local theatre characters pulling out all the stops in their performances! It really served to cement my already well-developed devotion to CJ Dennis' work.

You've undoubtedly heard this YouTube clip of Neil Williams singing "I Dips Me Lid" but for the benefit of others who may not have, here it is ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0WYAqQe69s

I'd love to get my hands on that sheet music, so you'd better keep it under lock and key!

Cheers
Shelley

[Gary Harding]

Well done Shelley.....

C. J. Dennis Story (Part 1, of 2)

As a very young bloke, when I lived in Melbourne an upcoming auction was advertised in The Age newspaper.

Among several items mentioned in the article was the original artwork for the cover of A Sentimental Bloke by Hal Gye. The auctioneer's estimate was $800 ($1900 in today's dollars). A cheap price for what it was and just within my financial means. So I fronted up at the Malvern Town Hall, along with half of Melbourne - who apparently all had the same idea as me!! To my annoyance, the item sold for more than ten times the auctioneer's "estimate". I think all the potential bidders who had been pulled along there felt a bit duped. I felt especially foolish as I had bragged to the person who had come with me how I was going to buy this important Dennis item. Lessons learned!

Luckily I think I know where that Sentimental Bloke artwork is today so it is possibly not lost to us, or the public at large. I do know who has the desk that Den wrote the Sentimental Bloke on. So..we will see.

I sat behind Ian F. McLaren OBE (and his wife) who was a friend of mine and who was also C J Dennis' bibliographer.
A selection of Ian's important material on Dennis from my Collection is included in these two posts. (Click on it to get a better view). Ian loved Dennis with a passion.

1. C J Dennis... His Life And Work 1961
2. C J Dennis... A Chronological Checklist of Journal Contributions 1976
3. (C J Dennis ... Centenary Celebrations Programme )
4. Talking about C J Dennis 1982
5. C J Dennis A Comprehensive Bibliography. 1979

In particular, the thick limited-run bibliography does not come onto the market often and when it does, expect to pay at least $100 for a copy.

[Gary Harding]

C J Dennis Story (Part 2, of 2)

Any C J Dennis display would be incomplete without giving Ian McLaren credit somewhere due to his enormous literary contribution and devotion to Den.

Obviously all these books by Ian I have scanned and attached will feature in it. However the covers are all very plain so we will need to figure out how to make them more interesting for our Banjo Paterson Cultural Centre.

I was only a young bloke then but Ian McLaren gave me a personal tour of his Australiana collection...(later to be transferred to occupy nearly an entire floor of the Baillieu Library at Melbourne Uni. where his portrait I presume still hangs in the stairwell). A big Honour.

His Collection was then located in his huge house in Waverley Road which was more of a library than a house! Together we focused on his massive Dennis collection because I was quite a fan even way back then..... and when I began to recite from memory some of Dennis' poems he remarked "It's a good man that knows his Dennis". I felt a few inches taller when he said that!

Coming from Ian F. McLaren, they are words that I still cherish and have stuck with me over the years.