Bob Bolton sent me MIDI files for the lyrics he posted above, and I put links to the tunes with the lyrics. Here's what he said about the tunes:

I don't know if you glanced at the resurrected (ancient ... thread # 1397 - 26 April 1997!) MudCat thread on The Gum Tree Canoe ... but a query from DUG (Doug Jenner, of Buckley's Chance in London) - about collecting and attribution of the two distinct Australian versions, which I fielded, led me to post corrections.

The words quoted in all cases as those collected, in 1957, ultimately sourced to Freddie Bolton of St Arnaud, Victoria, Australia ... turn out to really be those collected by Warren Fahey from Jim Cargill of Randwick, New South Wales, Australia in 1973 - but associated with Freddie Bolton's, not Jim Cargill's, tune!

I've posted both sets of words ... and both tunes - in Alan Foster's unsupported MIDItext format (hey! It does include an ABC rendition that somebody must be able to read … and convert to a MIDI!). I have attached the MIDIs for these two different tunes and CC:ed to MMario. The MIDI GumTreeB is the tune sung by Freddie Bolton ... and the accepted tune in folk circles - and the DT (collecting/publishing path: Freddie Bolton - Mrs Wilson - Frank Nichols - Billabong Band - Bush Music Club/Singabout ... !) and the GumTreeC MIDI is the tune collected by Warren Fahey from Jim Cargill in 1973.

It would be nice if the DigiTrad could be corrected: perhaps one entry each for the two quite different sets of words - each linked to their own tune.

Please get back to me (PM - or at this address) if anything else needs explaining or translating.

Regards,

Bob