The bottom line at this point is we still only have Frank Woods -- of whom we seem to know nothing about -- as the only source to which at least part of "Wellerman" can be attributed.

When was Frank Woods interviewed by Colquhoun? folksongs.org.nz says 1966. The Ballad Index says 1969. I don't know where either gets that information, and can only guess that some NZ folkies got it through personal communication with Colquhoun.

Maybe that info is in the front or rear notes of Colquhoun's anthology? I don't have the book. I do have the specific page for "Wellerman," which sea music performer John Roberts and others have shared, but that page says nothing of the source.

The timeline becomes important here. Colquhoun published his first anthology of NZ folksongs, _New Zealand Folksongs_, in 1965. It does not contain "Wellerman." Then, Colquhoun evidently contributes to the anthology _Shanties by the Way_ in 1967—the details of which are given by GUEST.Tongers above. It also does not contain "Wellerman." I'd suppose that if Colquhoun got "Wellerman" in 1966, it would have been in _Shanties by the Way_, lending support for 1969 as the year of collection.

Colquhoun adds "Wellerman" to the second edition of his anthology, re-titled _New Zealand Folksongs: Song of a Young Country_, in 1972.

But before that, "Wellerman" appears on the stage on the album created by Colquhoun and his folkie collaborators, _Song of a Young Country_, in 1971.

to be continued...