G'day KathWestra (back a day or two...),

That elderly Australian ... who in 1905 authored "Shearing in the Bar" (an incredible singer even at an advanced age) was 'Duke' (Harold Percival Croydon) Tritton - a fine old singer and writer of good verse, songs and reminiscences (particularly his autogiographical work Time Means Tucker ... named from a line in a Henry Lawson poem).

Pete made that on black & white 16 mm film back around 1962 ... about 3 years before 'Duke' died. 'Duke' was viewing the boastful old-hand shearers from the perspective of a young bloke who had been lucky enough to have scored a "Learner's Pen" first time round ... and who was working like hell to keep his head up among the experts in a game that was one of the few big earners available to a working class bloke in those days ... but bloody hard work. (I declined the suggestion that I should take up a learner's pen, back in 1965, when the driller I was teamed with on the Tasmanian Hydro Scheme quit - to go back shearing in Tassie's wool season. I don't think my back would have forgiven me ... if I had been foolhardy enough to take it on!)

Anyway, I'm glad to say I have a 16mm copy of the film in the Bush Music Club archive ... and copies on various ages of video tape ... and MPEG on a CD-ROM.

Regards,

Bob