G'day Mark,

Sandy Hollow Line certainly does seem to be this tune sung slowly. did not consciously write tunes - he sang words to tunes as he remembered them and then changed the tune to suit the demands of the song (in which he was much the same as any traditional singer ... particularly in the Australian context, where folk song were mostly driven by information. As Duke used to say "If some bloke in 5th row back doesn't understand it ... you've mucked the song up!".

As far as the tune goes, there would be no copyright problem. It is certainly old enough to long in the public domain. Duke's words, of course, (since he died 35 years ago, copyright remains until 2015) would still have copyright protection but nobody is likely to enforce it. Duke's song were freely shared and first published by the Bush Music Club, which looked on all folk song as being in the public domain.

When serious recording occur (eg; ABC TV programs or records) I tend to be contacted as the notional copyright holder by virtue of being the BMC's current editor (for the last 30 years!) and I usually give permission. I have not been able to contact Duke's daughter, Linda McLean for some time ... she was last heard of up the Central Coast area of New South Wales.

Regards,

Bob Bolton