Life stories from the Oral History and Folklore collection of The National Library of Australia

A Song from Yesteryear

The South Coast Bush Band of the Fifties

by Russell Hannah


Out of the blue I had a phone call from an old friend the other day. Her name is Lola Wright and we were friends many years ago when she was the principal of the Oak Flats Infants School and an activist within the ALP.


South Coast Bush Band c1955 courtesy Lola Wright
l to r: Norm Mitchell, Merv Haberly, Jack Wright, Jeannette Cain, Wally Watt, Lola Troy (Wright), Jack Chalmers.
Lola's house in Oak Flats with her partner Bill Everill was a great party place and Friday nights was 'Keg and Singing Night'. Lola had a piano and also played the accordion and in true 'infants mistress' style she made sure that nobody had an excuse for not singing. She had an overhead projector and would project the words of the songs onto the wall. Even those of us who couldn't hold a note were obliged to bellow out the words and there are still quite a few people around the Illawarra who know all the verses of 'Solidarity Forever' and the second verse of the 'Red Flag' because of Lola's transparencies. Sometimes we would be joined by former 'Cobber', Bruce Cawthome and other members of the 'North Bulli Bush Band'

Lola and Bill left Oak Flats 20 years ago (we gave her a great send-off) and after a stint running the bar on Narrandera Railway Station (Lola called it 'servicing drunks') settled in the tiny Riverina town of Morundah.

Lola is now 75 and is cleaning out her 'collectables', the things she would like to see preserved, in case, as she so poetically puts it, I snuff it'. She was a member of the South Coast Bush Band-the second Bush Band in Australia and she sang me a verse of a song (The Hungry Miner) that she felt should be preserved and sung- not only because it is a good song but it is representative of and age and an ethos that has long since passed. Perhaps someone will write a song of our time with the same irony 'The Hungry/Greedy CEO'.

Anyway three days later a letter and the song arrived and I think Lola's story is worth publishing:-
Narrandera Railway Station


"This song was published in the Miners' Federation paper, 'Common Cause', I guess between 1956 and 1959 and was attributed to a miner on the Northern Coalfields.

It would mean nothing to an audience these days unless the presenter could describe the horrors of the contract system of mining (pre mechanization)horses working underground, but on the coast, at least let out of the pit at weekends. I'm led to believe that wasn't the case on the Northern Fields!

It was so hot men worked in women's half petticoats and nothing else but a safety helmet and boots. In the early 50's I'm told, some miners were lying on their sides in water getting coal out of the seam with a pick! "Excelsior".


South Coast Bush Band c1955 courtesy Lola Wright
The South Coast Bush Band sang this song. The members were mostly in the Communist Party of Australia and Australia was swamped with 'Peter, Paul and Mary' and heaps of other American Folk Songs. Oz folk songs were ignored. The 'Party' decided that ordinary 'folk' should spread the Oz news.

John Meredith was rushing around with his little tape recorder. The 'New Theatre' produced 'Reedy River' and featured the FIRST Bushwhackers Band.


These people came down to Austinmere Heights where I lived in a dear little humpy erected on crown land by miners during the depression. Imagine! In the SOs! No electricity, a kerosene fridge, a woman powered washing machine, battery radio, tank water, but a glorious life style!!

So we formed the second band in Oz that featured Oz songs only! It was called the 'South Coast Bush Band'. We slaved our gutses out and never took a penny! We even played at Mary Gilmour's 90th birthday party at the Petersham Town hall. Anyway should anyone be interested, we featured in an Illawarra Mercury on a May Day between 1957 and 1959.

I don't know how many of the originals are left. I'm here! Johnny Chalmers and Rod McKenzie are deceased. I don't know about Norman Mitchell, husband of the intrepid Winifred, (in Lismore now I think) Stew Haberly of Coledale might be alive. Certainly he'd be pickled and should last. Wally Watt was with us for a short time but he is long lost as is Jeanette Cams who married a conservative cricketer and we lost her- but I guess she's still in the Illawarra- about 65 now but I don't know her married name.

We played anywhere for any good cause and for no cost - not even petrol. Schools, surf clubs, May days, fund raising for striking wharfies, Trades and Labour Council "do's", miners' break-up parties and such. Looking around at what happens now with Australian Folk Songs, it's something of an honour to have been in on the ground floor even if no one knows or cares."

Reprinted with the permission of Russell Hannah.
This article was published in Illawarra Folk Club Journal and the Cornstalk Gazette #325, November 2001

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