Much-loved singer-songwriter, Mark Gillett, has succumbed to cancer, passing over on the morning of Friday 13th April, 2007 in Nambour Hospital, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

Mark was born in Auckland in 1953 and grew up happily and musically in New Zealand, eventually training as a geologist. It seems his environmental bent did not sit well with commercial geology so he moved to Sydney, Australia, in 1979 with the thought of instead, making music his profession!

In 1984, he and wife Narelle, moved to the Blackall Range area of the Suncoast Hinterland, where their son, Steven, was born.   (this move would now be called a "Tree Change" by Australian city folk, as opposed to a "Sea Change" - for the more coastal dwellers!)

Mark got involved with the Sunshine Coast Environment Council (SCEC) and played many gigs, also forming the Hinterland Band with Noel Gardner, Jim Maloney and Paul Vella.
He mainly played banjo and guitar, but was also a public ukelele player!


His many songs range from humorous to poignant and he often captured moments of local history.    My personal favourites are :

"Watching the Obi Flow" which won the National Folk Festival Songwriting Award for 1987 and the words were prophetic :
"… The city will catch up with you, no matter how far you go …"
as witnessed by the recent destruction of the Obi Creek banks and platypus habitats by retail giant Woolworthless, in nearby Maleny.

His "Rusty Ford Cortina" is a much loved parody of the Redgum hit "Diamantina Drover".

Who could forget his epic saga of "The Dulong Garbage Wars" - in Parts I and II !!!    Or the tale of "The Mapleton Poo Tanker"!!!

Previously known for its sugar cane mill, Nambour and its subculture is now immortalized in his song "Daggin' Round Sugartown".

"Little England" - evidence of the hold that the Mother Country still has over we folk in the Antipodes :
"… And in The Lion and The Unicorn / Cricket oval and the croquet lawn / Carol singers and hunting horn / ~ Little England ~ / And though I know it's just a state of mind / Little England can be so unkind / I'll sail away to see what I can find / Little England …"

"The Mapleton Tram" is one of those cumulative, tongue-twisting songs, which portrays the Shay locomotive and its goods, that used to huff-and-puff its way from Nambour up the steep Range through Mapleton and back, in the earlier part of the 20th century.   Loads of fun!!!


Mark was also a driving force at Mapleton's Red Kettle Folk Club and last month, they held their 10 year Anniversary celebrations, co-inciding with a Fundraiser for Mark's treatment costs. This attracted a huge crowd, from early afternoon to late in the evening and the function raised some $5000 - proof indeed of the love and respect felt for him in SE Queensland!!!

Mark will be sadly missed, but, his fellow performers will ensure that his songs live on.   A musical celebration of Mark's life will be held next Saturday, April 21st, in the hinterland rainforest, where some of Mark's ashes will be scattered.   Some will also be returned to his New Zealand birthplace by his family.


Vale, Mark.
Thanks for your music and your good humour.


Rich-Joy.