G'day all,

Thanks for the beaut response to my original request!

I didn't remeber to put a tracer on it and then my server was down for a few days and I lost track of the the thread. Fortunately you wonderful mudcatters kept popping in new items and the thread re-appeared. Now I will 'Trace' it!

I will have to go through carefully to find material suitable for primary school performance. The thing that surpised me - and still does - is that there isn't some well-known song that all the kids would know. It must be the only area were Aussie kids don't know a swag of American songs ... maybe Walt Disney didn't get around to 'doing' the gold-rush!

The Song "Australia and the Amazon" is interesting - I had never heard it appearing here (and there was a lot of crossover as so many Australians went to the American goldrush and then so many Americans came out here when gold was found in early 1850s.

I should reciprocate with a good cross-cultural song for you (that dos not seem to be in the DT); 'Herbert Hoover's Love Song'. This was apparently written by HH when he was a mining engineer in Western Australia in the early 1900s - to a local barmaid! The verses were picked up and published by a local newspaper and (presumably with a tune written later) appear in a local book "Great Australian Folk Songs", Hill of Content, (Melbourne?), (1964?).

Actually, I seem to remember that this book was picked up and republished (1970s?) by Oak Publications ... I hope their version didn't disintegrate in a few weeks ... my book has been held together by a bulldog clip for 35 years! (Damned early model "perfect bimding")

Regards,

Bob Bolton