Author Keith McKenry had us enthralled for an hour on Sunday afternoon with his account of John Meredith's 40-year struggle to preserve Australia's cultural heritage. Without support from the academic world, without any money behind him, facing many difficulties, John Meredith worked all his life to record and achieve recognition for Australia's unique culture - songs, tunes, stories and poems. Keith's presentation ranged over John Meredith's field recordings with a tape recorder he couldn't really afford, to his role in establishing the original Bushwhackers, his leading role in the folk revival of the 1950s, the folk musical Reedy River, the old-time singers and musicians he met and recorded and his many other achievements. We showed how we're following in John Meredith's footsteps too, with Dave Davies' rendition of The Champion Bullock Driver and a session of tunes from the Newport Bush Orchestra. A great afternoon!
Keith's book, More Than a Life: John Meredith and the Fight for Australian Tradition is available online.
26 April 2015
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Another successful NFFC locally hosted event. A good attendance by members who experienced a real connection of John Meredith's life story to the tunes played by the NBO. Thank you to all involved.
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