Ron Edwards died on Saturday 5th January, after a long illness.

It would be hard to do justice to Ron. He was of course one of the pioneers of the Australian folk song revival, and publisher of over 300 books ranging the whole spectrum of folkish things from songs, yarns, a detailed index of Australian song published and recorded song, a folk magazine (Northern Folk) or two (he stood in as editor of Tradition for while, a journal (Australian Folklore Society Journal 1984-2007), 10 volumes of books on bush craft and much more.

Ron published the most comprehensive collection of Australian songs, The Big Book of Australian Folk Song, in 1976 with over 300 songs and about two inches thick. The book like most of his work was beautifully illustrated ... Ron was and an artist ... he drew old style bush tools and home made gates, saddles and whips, knots and mudbricks, Chinese medicinal herbs and Aboriginal rock art. He was major collector of Australian folk song and peoples stories and yarns and also of Torres Strait Island songs. He wrote children's books too.

My first meeting with Ron didn't actually happen! I was driving round Australian in 1968 and called into to see him at Holloways Beach in Cairns and he wasn't there so I signed the visitors book. For more than half a century, his Rams Skull Press has kept publishing and you can visit it online at http://www.ramsskullpress.com/