Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)

Subject: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 21 Apr 20 - 11:37 PM

Hi all, just letting you know that (prompted by some recent Wikipedia contributions I have been researching for) the name "Bush Music Club" in Sydney, Australia (started 1954) has cropped up a few times and in the absence of a pre-existing article for it, I have created one at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_Music_Club


which might be of interest to some mudcat readers. The "club" is more than just the typical folk club of my experiences, being involved in folk music collecting, education, publishing, providing concert performers for events and generally being quite active over a 65+ year period. Many of the original founder members are no longer with us, of course, but it is interesting to see who have come and gone. Enjoy! And thanks especially to mudcatter Sandra in Sydney (Sandra Nixon) who is doing a sterling job putting the club's archive materials, magazine articles, photos, etc. online for the benefit of posterity. Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: GUEST,Jon Bartlett
Date: 22 Apr 20 - 12:23 AM

Well done, Tony!
Jon Bartlett

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Apr 20 - 03:01 AM

and it is a most excellent, well researched article, as all Tony's wikipedia contributions are.

Bush Music Club Blog

Only 2 of our founders ware still with us, one is in a nursing home, but Alex Hood<-/a> is still singing, tho he hasn't done much performing in the past few years.
Alex @ BMC 2014, in his 60th year of performing

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: JennieG
Date: 23 Apr 20 - 12:30 AM

It's a very good article......most useful. Thank you, Tony.

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 23 Apr 20 - 12:45 AM

You are welcome! Actually I have no connection to the club or the Sydney music scene myself - I just was intrigued by what had happened there 60+ years ago, and was still continuing - and its connection to the subjects of other Wikipedia articles I had been involved with (John Meredith, Alex Hood, and Sally Sloane).

Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 23 Apr 20 - 02:02 AM

That's wonderful. The Bush Music Club is truly a legend. I think we're going to copy you and make a Wikipedia article for the San Francisco Folk Music Club. We were founded in 1948. What other folk music clubs are more than fifty years old?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 23 Apr 20 - 02:43 AM

Hi Joe, thanks for the comment... RE folk clubs of long standing, see these 2 previous mudcat threads:

Long-lived folk clubs? 60yrs?

Oldest Folk Club Around?

Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: rich-joy
Date: 23 Apr 20 - 07:56 AM

The Top End Folk Club (TEFC) in Darwin (Northern Territory of Australia) hits 50 next April, in 2021.
I'm sure there must be a few other Aussie clubs still around of similar age, or older.

Actually, I think the CAFS is = Central Australian Folk Society in Alice Springs, c.1968 ......
And I think the state folk organisations would date from at least 1970 (like Western Australia's WAFF = WA Folk Federation.

Maybe Sandra has more info on the Aussie Club histories.
But SanFran's 1948 is sure a hard date to beat!!! :)

Cheers,
R-J

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Apr 20 - 08:27 AM

of course I do! Bush Music Club, Australia's oldest folk club & apparently the second oldest in the English Speaking world - a compilation from the thread which went from 2011 to 2016.

Central Australian Folk Society in Alice Springs est. 1968
Top End Folk Club est 1971

Western Australian Folk Federation est 1970

Folk Federation of NSW est. 1970 after the 1970 National Folk Festival in Sydney.

list of clubs from the blog, many had nothing about their history on their websites

San Francisco Folk Music Club (US) - founded 1948
Bush Music Club (Aus) - founded 1954
Topic in Bradford (UK) - founded 1956
Edinburgh University Folk Society (UK) - April 1958
Vancouver Folk Song Society (Can) - July 1959
The Folksong Society of Greater Boston (US) - 1959
Victorian Folk Music Club (Aus) - 1959
Swindon Folk Club (UK) - Jan 1960
Dunfermline Folk Club (UK) - 1961
Stockton Folk Club (UK) - 1962
Aberdeen Folk Club (UK) - 1962
Birtley Folk Club (UK) - 1962 & closed December 2014
Herga (UK) - heading to 50 in a couple of years
The Fo'c's'le (formerly Balladeer) Southampton (UK) - 1963
The Pick'n & Sing'n Gather'n (US) - 1960s
Grimsby Folk Club (UK) - 1964
Cutty Wren Folk Club, Redcar (UK) - 1965
Folk at the Royal Oak, Lewes (UK) - 1965
Black Diamond Folk Club, Birmingham (UK) - 1964
Southport's Bothy Folksong Club (UK) - 1965
Orpington Folk Club (UK) - 1965
Whitby (UK) - similar age to Orpington
Folklore Society Of Greater Washington (US) - 1965
Croydon Folk Club (UK) - 1967
Frodsham Folk Club (Cheshire UK) - Jan 1968
Durham City Folk Club (UK) - 1969
Fleetwood (UK) - 1969 (40 slightly interrupted years)
Calgary Folk Club (Can) - 1972
Islington Folk Club (UK) - 1972
Woods Hole Folk Music Society (US) - 1973 final concert May 2019, the Society is still in existence
Dorking Folk Club (UK) - 1976
Llantrisant Folk Club (UK) - 1980
Somers Traditional Folk Club (UK) - 1981

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Apr 20 - 08:32 AM

ps. I've added Top End & CAFS to the blog

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: GUEST,John Flynn
Date: 23 Apr 20 - 09:22 AM

The Christchurch (NZ) Folk Music Club (formerly Bank Peninsula Folk Club) celebrated it's 50th in November 2018.

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 23 Apr 20 - 10:37 AM

Excellent work! Thanks!!

Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 23 Apr 20 - 10:39 AM

thanks, John Ive added it to the blog & will also update the original thread

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Bruce D
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 06:34 AM

I've been a member of the BMC for 41 years.

Bruce D

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 11:38 AM

You are an official Olde Pharte then, I've only been a member since 1995.

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: GUEST,John Flynn
Date: 26 Apr 20 - 04:19 AM

Christchurch Folk Music Club website
www.folkmusic.org.nz

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Apr 20 - 04:23 AM

Thanks, John.

the blog article has all the websites.

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Apr 20 - 10:34 AM

updated with BACCApipes Folk Club, thanks to treewind


San Francisco Folk Music Club (US) - founded 1948

Bush Music Club (Aus) - founded 1954

Topic in Bradford (UK) - founded 1956

Edinburgh University Folk Society (UK) - April 1958

Vancouver Folk Song Society (Can) - July 1959

The Folksong Society of Greater Boston (US) - 1959

Victorian Folk Music Club (Aus) - 1959

Swindon Folk Club (UK) - Jan 1960

Dunfermline Folk Club (UK) - 1961

Stockton Folk Club (UK) - 1962

Aberdeen Folk Club (UK) - 1962

Birtley Folk Club (UK) - 1962 & closed December 2014

Herga (UK) - heading to 50 in a couple of years

The Fo'c's'le (formerly Balladeer) Southampton (UK) - 1963

The Pick'n & Sing'n Gather'n (US) - 1960s

Grimsby Folk Club (UK) - 1964

Cutty Wren Folk Club, Redcar (UK) - 1965

Folk at the Royal Oak, Lewes (UK) - 1965

Black Diamond Folk Club, Birmingham (UK) - 1964

Southport's Bothy Folksong Club (UK) - 1965

Orpington Folk Club (UK) - 1965

Whitby (UK) - similar age to Orpington

Folklore Society Of Greater Washington (US) - 1965

Croydon Folk Club (UK) - 1967

BACCApipes Folk Club - 1967

Frodsham Folk Club (Cheshire UK) - Jan 1968

Christchurch Folk Club (formerly Bank Peninsula Folk Club) (NZ) - est. Nov 1968

Central Australian Folk Society in Alice Springs (Aus) - est. 1968

Durham City Folk Club (UK) - 1969


Fleetwood (UK) - 1969 (40 slightly interrupted years)

Top End Folk Club (Aus) - est 1971

Calgary Folk Club (Can) - 1972

Islington Folk Club (UK) - 1972

Woods Hole Folk Music Society (US) - 1973 final concert May 2019, Society is still in existence

Dorking Folk Club (UK) - 1976

Llantrisant Folk Club (UK) - 1980

Somers Traditional Folk Club (UK) - 1981

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: GUEST,Dr Heather
Date: 26 Apr 20 - 07:36 PM

Excellent article. Thank you for writing it for wiki. My grandparents and parents were involved in the Bush Music Club and it's where I started social dancing. It's an excellent club and has helped create many keen musicians, singers and dancers. Interesting to learn it's the oldest and longest running club of its type in Australia.

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Apr 20 - 09:30 PM

thanks, Heather

you might be interested in Tony's other Wikipedia articles relating to our history - Sally Sloane, Alex Hood & The Bushwhackers (band). He also added to the article on John Meredith.

sandra

Heather's website Australian Colonial Dance The History of Music & Dance 1788-1840

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 26 Apr 20 - 10:22 PM

Or (not for the faint hearted), a full list of articles I have created and/or contributed to here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Tony_1212

Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: Bush Music Club (Sydney, Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Apr 20 - 04:59 AM

anyone might think you had nothing else to do ...