URANQUINTY
FOLK FESTIVAL 2004 - A pilgrimage
I was booked to play at the Uranquinty Folk Festival three years ago and
didn’t get there, due to Ansett very rudely falling out of the sky. So
this year I thought, why not have another shot at it. Luckily this
time everything went smoothly, and I arrived at Wagga Wagga airport, and
was picked up and immediately asked to dinner by Allan and Heather Hunter,
on the strength of my knowing Angie McGowan, one of the Jolley Hatters
Morris dancers, who is a friend of theirs. Yes, it’s a small
world! This was followed by a get-together around the campfire, with
some great songs and tunes. It was an opportunity to meet Peter O’Dea,
the organiser who’d booked me, plus a few others who immediately
organised a session for next day at the Quinty Bakery.
Next morning I was woken just after 6am by the white cockatoos on the wheat
silos. So I decided to explore Uranquinty, starting with foraging
for breakfast. Just across the road from the Pub, is a memorial to
the WWII Flying Training School, at which more than 2000 pilots were
trained. There is also a memorial to the European migrants who
were accommodated at the Uranquinty Migrant Holding Centre from 1948 to
1952. There were about 250 babies born there, and I am one of them.
I joined up with Toni and H of Lost’n Found, Allan Johnston from
Scotland, Warren R.White from Nevada and Peter O’Dea for a great
afternoon’s songs and tunes in a converted hall which had great accoustics
and excellent coffee. We were there for nearly five hours! This
was followed by the opening concert at the Pub, which featured Graeme Johnston
- The Rhymer From Ryde, Elana Higgins and the Franklin B. Paverty Bush
Band.
Next morning, having been woken again at the crack of dawn by those #@*#!!
cockies, I joined in a trip to see the National Art Glass Collection at
the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. This was a fabulous experience and a
highlight of the Festival programme. Back at the Oval, there was
a concert in the open-sided marquee, the line-up being Lost n’ Found, “Spoot’less,
Gael Mor, Warren R White, Blowhards, Fretwork, Alison Boyd and Elana Higgins. I
also went to a fiddle workshop run by Mary Firkins which featured a very
complex Cape Breton tune. The evening concert was held in the Uranquinty
Hall, and featured Graeme Johnston, Jan Lewis, Craig and Simone, Graham
Dodsworth, Elana Higgins, Remnants, and the Franklin B Paverty Bush
Band.
Sunday. Yes, I was woken again at cocky crow! The day started
with a Poet’s Breakfast and Liars Club, an Advanced Fiddle Workshop
with Sarah Davies, and a Tin Whistle and Bodhran Workshop with Alison Boyd
and Bill Arnett. It was also my day for performing. My first
bracket was at the Marquee Concert, and I was made very welcome by the
audience. My set went really well, and for my encore, I was joined
by Toni and H, and we did a totally unrehearsed version of “The Rosebud
in June’ in 3 part harmony!
The concert also featured Dave Allaway and Di Garland, the Blue Mountains
Rebel Chorus, Ian and Di Simpson, Tracey Harris, Allan Bannister and Graham
Dodsworth. Halfway through the concert, everything stopped so that
we could watch the kids’ production of the ‘Man from Snowy
River’. Imagine about 20 kids all running around dressed as
brumbies and a very small “Man” in a tiny Drizabone coat and
stockman’s hat. Dave Upton spoke the poetry and there
were sound effects from a boy cracking a whip! They were great!
At 3pm, I presented my workshop “Legends of Avalon - Tales
of Glastonbury and Arthur of the Britons” at the Tennis Club, to
a very positive response.
The evening concert was at the Hall, and the line-up was Dave and Di Allaway,
Blue Mountains Rebel Chorus, Alland Johnston, Warren R White, Fretwork
and Elana Higgins. It also included my third performance for the
day. After that, I could relax and enjoy all the other performers,
and dine from the evening’s menu of spaghetti bolognaise, and have
a well earned glass of sauvignon blanc. The Uranquinty Pub had no
champagne!!!
Monday morning, I found out why I was being woken up so early. The
6.12 am train comes thundering through and wakes up all the cockies on
the silos, who then proceed to screech for the next 15 minutes!
I was able to go out to the old Migrant Holding Centre site, and see where
I was born. Not that there’s much to see; just one old building
which was a mess hall, and is now a barn, and a lot of old concrete foundations
where the buildings once were. There are also a couple of rusty old
Nissen huts, and the wrecked old swimming pool, where Olympians John and
Ilsa Konrads learned to swim. It was a very emotional experience
for me, knowing that my parents had been here, when they first arrived
from Europe, after the war, and knowing that this was the place I was born. It
was the first time I’d been there, as I had come to Tasmania at 3
months old.
Back at the Pub, the final event of the weekend was the Famous Uranquinty
Chorus Cup, which was a total riot. I can’t remember who won,
but bribery and corruption play an essential part in the process!
I came away from the Festival,having had a wonderful time, heard great
music and made new friends. Thank you Uranquinty!
Alex Myers
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