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05 Apr 03 - 02:35 AM (#926557) Subject: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: GUEST,celtaddict Some years ago my brother heard a group called Boola Boola playing at, of all places, a mall opening in Alice Springs. He bought their recording and I have a cassette of part of it. They have or had a lead singer with one of those weirdly compelling voices that I would listen to if he were reading the phone book. I found at one time a web site for them, and established e-mail contact with an individual "Peda." I tried to purchase everything they ever recorded. No package arrived and the check never cleared, the website vanished and the e-mail address has never responded since. They did among other things a song called "Warragul Creek" which is a very dramatic ballad involving, evidently, a massacre of aboriginal Australians by "McMillan and the boys." Peda said it was based on a dark chapter in Australian history. I could come up with other lyrics if it would help, but the refrain goes "Left women like dogs in the back yard, howling at the moon, The day McMillan and the boys rode out in the bush and it did bloom." Can anyone help me find the song, the album, the group, or the story? |
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05 Apr 03 - 10:10 AM (#926641) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Sorcha I didn't find lyrics, but I did find this page. Maybe you can still get a recording........Bob Bolton, et. al. please check in! |
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05 Apr 03 - 07:45 PM (#926929) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Helen I did a Google.com search. A lot of pages came up for "Boola Boola" so I added Warragul to the search box. The first site just shows a list of songs on the album called Graffiti Cafe, and a link to another album. The link called "About Us" didn't work to find out what this site is about. Boola Boola Graffiti Café Song titles: 1.Amazon Song 2.Burrawinna 3.Can You Imagine 4.Finnigan's Wake 5.Graffiti Cafe 6.Honey Dripper 7.I ain't got no Home 8.Marie's Wedding 9.Nell Connors 10.Seeds of the Wattle 11.That's the way the World goes Round 12.Unemployment Blues 13.Warragul Creek 14.Whale Song Click here http://folk-music.mainseek.com/25665/16/Boola_Boola.html I also found a reference to the band playing at the Gippsland Celtic Festival November 2000 http://members.dcsi.net.au/celticfest/page1.html If you e-mail the organisers they may know how to buy a copy of the album or contact the band. HMV Australia's music shop site was closed for maintenance or something, but they are worth checking out to see if they have any copies in stock. Helen |
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05 Apr 03 - 11:01 PM (#927016) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: GUEST,celtaddict Thanks; that is the album because the tape I have includes Marie's Wedding (which is the Lewis wedding song, Off to Mary's Wedding), Seeds of the Wattle, and the Whale Song. I tried the MainSeek site but that page is a dead end, and the only connection I could find was for a Vince Guaraldi, jazz pianist. Thanks for the Gippsland contact; even if the band has disbanded, perhaps they could put me in touch with Peda or someone for the two albums. I still would love to find the story; a web search unearthed a Warragul Creek history museum or some such, but not the actual story, just where I could presumably visit to learn the story. |
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05 Apr 03 - 11:56 PM (#927052) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Helen The Warragul Creek reference rings a bell with me. I heard about it only recently, or read about it somewhere. I'll have to search my brain files for some clues on that - a little focused internal memory searching. Something will click, I'm sure. Helen |
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06 Apr 03 - 07:05 PM (#927478) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: GUEST,celtaddict Thanks, Helen. I am still hopeful. |
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07 Apr 03 - 12:10 AM (#927614) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Bob Bolton G'day celtaddict, Helenm has done a good job of finding mentions the group Boola Boola. Were they a Gubba (white/European heritage) group or Aboriginal (Anangu ... or possibly Yolngu ... if Northern Territory)? The song is about massacres of Kurnai/Gunai Kooris (south-eastern Australian Aborigines) in the 1840s ... as you should see if this 'blicky' works (Mudcat keeps dropping out - and I have lost the text of this reply twice, trying to test the link!): Warrigal Creek Massacres The Kurnai were local to the East Gippsland region of Victoria. John Warner, several of whose songs have been mentioned in other threads, lived and wrote songs in this region - including some about the Kurnai. I don't think this is one of his, but I'll ask if he knows of it, Regards, Bob Bolton |
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07 Apr 03 - 12:40 AM (#927620) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: GUEST,celtaddict Thank you, Bob. Now I am really hopeful. I never saw the group or the album; will ask my brother about their roots. Something about Peda's writings (two or three letters before the disappearance) made me think he was aboriginal; seems he mentioned another person with a European name but who could know as names get swapped so freely. Appearance at a Celtic festival is interesting; they do some Irish material, with didgeridoo and some Oz trad suggestions in the arrangements. I gather a mixed group is not likely. Thanks for the history link. The spelling variant is noted and could help. |
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07 Apr 03 - 02:43 AM (#927644) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Bob Bolton G'day celtaddict, Well, there is no reason not to have a mixed group ... the name looks like a Koori word - and may have been an indicator of a group with a definite line or emphasis. They seem to be a local group in the Gippsland area, which has a Kurnai background ... and was an area of both profitable timbergetting and mining ... and then farming. I would imagine that most Koori survivors, in an area as developed and settled as this, would be of mixed ancestry. John Warner's CD Pithead in the Fern is all set in this area and I'll try John for any further insights. John's music partner, Margaret, is a 'catter ... but relatively infrequent (ie ... not as fanatically addicted as some of us!) and she doesn't seem to have noticed this thread. The spelling "warrigal' (a Dharuk - Sydney area Koori - word for our dingo, or native dog) is the standard ... but the spelling "warragul' was used by the Boola Boola group, on their recording - and I did think that might have been a local variant. Kurnai land is about 650 kilometres south of the Dharuk, but the east coast languages are a continuum of small changes up and down the coast. There would be Kurnai descendants still, despite massacres ... although they intermarried with Western Australian Nyungar women under the Mission's care ... and were "educated" out of as much of their own culture as possible! Boola Boola is a site in the Gippsland area, but that's not an area with which I have any more than a passing tourist's knowledge. John may be more able to help on the geography. I notice that the Celtic Festival was in the Gippsland area ... and they may have adopted some of the Celtic material for its anti-English sentiment ... or their may be Celtic blood amongst them ... the Celts were always less 'racist' in British colonies than the upper-class English! Regards, Bob Bolton |
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07 Apr 03 - 03:12 AM (#927660) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: GUEST,celtaddict Bob Bolton, you are a gold mine. |
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07 Apr 03 - 03:31 AM (#927667) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Helen My Google search using the terms: Warragul aboriginal massacre turned up this site. Museum Victoria: Fighting Hills Massacre, 1840 http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/ed-online/encounters/Journeys/Robinson/Fighting_Hills.htm And the bibliography lists this book which was published in Warragul, but the massacre happened at Fighting Hill(s) in 1840. Gardner, P.D., 1983, Gippland Massacres... the destruction of the Kurnai Tribe 1800-1900, West Gippsland Community Education Centre, Warragul, Vic. Having recently travelled in Victoria I wasn't sure if we had passed through that area, and that might be why it rang some bells for me, or whether I saw something somewhere else. Not knowing the area in question, I wondered a) whether the Fighting Hill(s) area is near a place or creek called Warragul Creek b) the songwriter changed the name to Warragul, and the surname of the Whyte brothers to McMillan and the boys. c) it has nothing to do with that massacre d) none of the above (grin) Helen |
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07 Apr 03 - 03:45 AM (#927671) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: GUEST,celtaddict The Bataluk Cultural Trail (from Bob's message above) lists a series of massacres, 1840-1850 in the East Gippsland area, at least five by "Angus McMillan's men." One was in 1843, Warrigal (dingo) Creek, killing between 60 and 180. So we have the event; still hoping for the song and the group...thanks, Helen and Bob! |
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07 Apr 03 - 05:08 AM (#927691) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Bob Bolton G'day celtaddict, I just rang John Warner and picked his brains re Boola Boola and Warrigal Creek. He remembers the band ... and thought they may have performed fpr the recent Coal Creek Festival (part of the local wine and food festival?). I could not narrow down the search well enough to find another mention of the band ... and Helen's URL (which is not currently working!) is the only site for the band. I talked with John about the massacres - he mentioned that the last acknowledged full blood Kurnai died about 10 years back ... but there are many mixed parentage Kooris of predominantly Kurnai heritage in the area. I asked if he had written a song about the events of the 1840s. John tells me that he started to write about the bitter irony of a Scot, hounded from his own native land by the British and the landholders in the "Highland Clearances" ... leading a troop of his fellows (MacMillan's Highlanders) ... in a vicious 'clearing' of the Kurnai ... for the British rulers of the new colony. John found the emotion of this paradox so overwhelmed him that he could not complete the song. Regards, Bob Bolton |
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07 Apr 03 - 05:45 AM (#927699) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: GUEST I found this is a search of Ask Jeeves, but the link does not work. Boola Boola Band is Peter Chambers, Brian Strating, Lyndal Chambers and Ruth McKittrick. CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS AT THE LAUNCH. Click here to find out about the new CD Wanoom Link to find out more |
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07 Apr 03 - 06:03 AM (#927705) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: GUEST I also found this at Rodney Waterman's website http://home.mira.net/~benwater/index.htm 15. Travelling Song (trad.), Wanoon, Boola Boola, CD 002, 1996 (59 Moore St Traralgon, Vic, Australia 3844), Ruth McKittrick, recorder. |
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07 Apr 03 - 05:16 PM (#928107) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Celtaddict Thanks, all! I love this site. What a fascinating search this is turning into. And to think there was a time, recently, when people bemoaned the Net for killing real seeking/collecting, by making it too easy... |
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07 Apr 03 - 06:35 PM (#928176) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Celtaddict Guest, whoever you are, thanks. I assume the original correspondent "Peda" who gave an address of "Peda & Ruth" must have been Chambers & McKittrick. |
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07 Apr 03 - 10:01 PM (#928319) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Celtaddict Boola Boola as performing at the time of "Graffiti Cafe" was Chambers, Chambers, and Strating, all Caucasian. |
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08 Apr 03 - 08:12 PM (#929104) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Bob Bolton G'day Celtaddict, Yes, the band appears to be completely Gubba ... with the original reference was to Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory, and the band name I was inclined to think it might have been an Aboriginal or mixed group ... but that is a lot less likely in their Gippsland, Victoria, area. Boola Boola is a local town/locality name in that region. Following up from our GUEST's mention of a Boola Boola CD Wanoom, I found that Music Deli, a wide-ranging program on the national broadcaster ABC played (inter alia): Saturday 5th October 2002 Playlist: 1906 Theme Boola Boola The Ballad of Charlie Tarra P Chambers CD "Wanoom" Private release BBCD 002 3'32". The CD number indicates that they have at least one earlier CD ... perhaps a CD release of the recording of which you had a cassette - and, most likely, also a private release. All we have to do is find a current, valid, URL ... an email address to order from ... a snail-mail address ... and get them to cash the cheque ... and send of a CD ... ? Regards, Bob Bolton |
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08 Apr 03 - 08:23 PM (#929107) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Celtaddict Still trying! (Or maybe I should say, still battlin', a la Bloodwood, my other favorite Australian group; I am guessing that Scott Balfour's group is going to be easier to trace, or at least he will; I believe they are disbanded.) They do have an earlier CD, Graffiti Cafe, which is the indie I have the four cuts from. Helen's reference yielded the list of songs on the CD. I hope to purchase everything they have ever recorded, and my brother wants any he does not have. P. Chambers is Peter, and I am guessing the "Peda" with whom I had a brief correspondence before the antipidal black hole took him. I note the village and local things (museum etc.) in East Gippsland use the "Warragul" alternative spelling. |
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08 Apr 03 - 11:54 PM (#929197) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: Bob Bolton G'day again Celtaddict, Bloodwood were still alive and kicking about six months back ... they requested use of the photograph I took of them on the main stage (Budawang) at the 2002 (Australian) National Folk Festival - on their web site. However, I don't seem to have bookmarked the site ... and I couldn't find it with a search for the obvious sorts of words (although I got a lot of items about them appearing at different functions) - and the email correspondence has fallen off the far end of my email server. The "warragul" spelling may well be the local variant - but the Nomenclature Board seem to have elected to use the 'standard' spelling on official maps. I presume the band name Boola Boola, reduplication of "water", is the local description of a river junction ... indicating a local preference for lower vowels than the "billa" of more northern languages (eg: billa [bong] = [dead] water ... a description of an isolated anabranch). Regards, Bob Bolton |
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09 Apr 03 - 04:59 AM (#929306) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: GUEST The name Boola Boola is the former name of the town Tyers in Gippsland (east Victoria). I notice that the Gippsland Accoustic Music Club meets in the Tyers Hall and the contact given on the web site is 59 Moore St, Traralgon. 3844 Telephone (03) 5174 5680 or (03) 0351 221634. This is the same address as given in the reference I found at the Rodney Waterman website. The link I have to the website for the Gippsland Accoustic Music Club doesn't seem to work anymore. |
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05 Dec 08 - 05:25 AM (#2508428) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek, by Boola Boola From: GUEST,Matilda Chambers hi there, better late then never.. but i am the daughter of Peter chambers, and can answer any questions or put you in contact with him. email me on matilda_chambers@hotmail.com |
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07 Dec 08 - 01:38 PM (#2509642) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: Celtaddict Thank you so much! I am sending e-mail and PM. |
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07 Dec 08 - 05:18 PM (#2509758) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: Bob Bolton G'day Matilda, It's wonderful to hear from you ... and I'm sure that many of the 'Mudcatters', local and from all round the globe, who followed this thread more than 5 years back would appreciate any information - especially if there is any way to obtain (buy) copies of the early Boola Boola recordings! I guess that they were never sufficiently widely-known to lead to a commercial re-release to CD ... but I think it's important for all of us to see as much as possible of songs that come out of all parts of our history - especially those the establishment hopes we all forget! I hope we hear more from you ... and I hope you might sign into the Mudcat (it costs nothing ... and gives you access to services like the "PM" that Celtaddict mentions above - a Private Message that is 'flagged up' when you open Mudcat ... and lets you deal with just the other 'Catter or give details that you may not want to be on the main site). Regards, Bob |
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08 Dec 08 - 05:12 PM (#2510204) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: Rowan Coincidentally, last Sunday there was a broadcast of ABC Radio National ("Hindsight") on the "Captive white woman of Gippsland", where references to the activities of Scottish and other settlers abound. While Bob's The "warragul" spelling may well be the local variant - but the Nomenclature Board seem to have elected to use the 'standard' spelling on official maps may well be the go in NSW, the South Gippsland usage when I grew up in Korumburra was always "Warragul" as the name of the town on the Princes Highway and was also the usual name for those we now know as the Kurnai. Cheers, Rowan |
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01 Feb 09 - 04:35 AM (#2554240) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: GUEST,cam Better even later than never: Was a clear day in November, The Melaleuca flower, Warabin and Yardu, Wanjina held the power, Saw a four legged jumbuck, grazing through the trees, Speared it twice and cooked it, got punished by degrees, McMillan got the boys, and away they did ride, For Warragul Creek, Kurnai land, where most of them they died, Drove in fast, no questions asked, drove Warabin to the creek, With wild eyes they shot him, it knocked him from his feet, In the dust they turned and rode away, went home to their wives and kid, Running from the troubles of the day, and everything they did, The people in the bush, all scattered and dead, When Warabin and thirty five others, and the Warragul Creek ran red, Left women like dogs in the back yard, howling at the moon, The boy McMillan and the boys they rode, in the bush and it did boom --- I'm not sure about the spelling of some of the words. McMillan is Angus McMillan, after whom the electoral division of McMillan is named. He was responsible for murdering a lot of Kurnai people. |
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01 Feb 09 - 04:38 AM (#2554241) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: GUEST,cam That should probably be 'the day McMillan and the boys' at the end, also. |
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01 Feb 09 - 12:54 PM (#2554550) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: Celtaddict Thanks, Cam. I did write M. Chambers and received a contact, but no luck yet on a response about obtaining recordings; I will post here if I meet success. |
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12 Feb 09 - 08:58 AM (#2564842) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: GUEST,Chris Wow.. This thread is the longest I've come across in my time on the net. I have one of Boola Boolas albums, Graffiti Cafe (and signed :D), and wanted more info. Got it a long while back at a concert (Boolarra Folk Festival?) when I was a little kiddie. Well.. Not that long ago but can't find any of their other cds. And looks like most of the work is done for me. :P Great work all on finding everything. And still going nigh on 6 years later.. |
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19 Apr 09 - 10:17 PM (#2614749) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: Celtaddict Chris, I just received a song on another thread, that I started with the request in 2001! I have not yet heard back about other recordings. I wrote Matilda Chambers and through her, her father Peter Chambers, about wanting any further recordings available, but have yet had no response. |
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19 Jan 11 - 07:03 AM (#3077786) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: GUEST,GUEST, Belinda Hello, This is very late, but I happen to be friendly with all 4 members of Boola Boola, and if anyone is still after old material of theirs would be happy to look at following up. You could also try contacting members through Community Music Victoria - Lyndal Chambers and Brian Strating both sit on the Board there and could be reached through the organisation. |
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28 Jul 11 - 04:07 AM (#3197106) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: GUEST,HG I'm currently looking for the lyrics to Boola Boola's song Warragul Creek. There is nothing on the net. Can anyone tell me the lyrics??? |
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28 Jul 11 - 07:17 AM (#3197178) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: Fergie Hi GUEST,HG I think you'll find that the lyrics to Boola Boola were posted in Feb 09. Scroll back 6 or 7 posts to find them. Fergus |
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29 Feb 12 - 11:45 PM (#3315400) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warrigal / Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: GUEST,Scuzzi Hi Guys, Recently Boola Boola have been playing locally again (Gippsland Vic), I am doing a screen and media course and contacted Peta about using some of their stuff to make music vids and have a fiddle with. Here's one called Moe Man about the local area. It was written for a shire competition and song ended up becoming the official song of Moe. (http://youtu.be/6sbwJ-7DPxA) The vid is just a school project thing so had requirements like text and some effects that I normally wouldn't have included. I'm working with some of the locals over at the Warragul Creek massacre site (Woodside Vic) to find out some more and get some footage from there. Apparently McMillan and the boys drove them into the creek where they tried to hide under the water, when they came up for air they were shot.One of the locals that showed me the site said "when the grass is down you can see the bones sticking out of the sand" Urghh. Nat Parks have fenced the area off. Old dead links to their music (1995 - 2003) were mostly on an ISP servers I ran, I also had streaming (real audio) of most of their songs their too. Unfortunately that was in a past life and those servers are no longer operational. apologies for that. Anyway, they are great people and great musos, Ill see if i can get some more of their stuff up as time goes by. Ron/Scuzzi |
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17 Sep 12 - 09:46 AM (#3406140) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warrigal / Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: GUEST,LYRIC ADD ................ 999 Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: GUEST,cam Date: 01 Feb 09 - 04:35 AM Better even later than never: ######################## Was a clear day in November, The Melaleuca flower, Warabin and Yardu, Wanjina held the power, Saw a four legged jumbuck, grazing through the trees, Speared it twice and cooked it, got punished by degrees, McMillan got the boys, and away they did ride, For Warragul Creek, Kurnai land, where most of them they died, Drove in fast, no questions asked, drove Warabin to the creek, With wild eyes they shot him, it knocked him from his feet, In the dust they turned and rode away, went home to their wives and kid, Running from the troubles of the day, and everything they did, The people in the bush, all scattered and dead, When Warabin and thirty five others, and the Warragul Creek ran red, Left women like dogs in the back yard, howling at the moon, The boy McMillan and the boys they rode, in the bush and it did boom --- I'm not sure about the spelling of some of the words. McMillan is Angus McMillan, after whom the electoral division of McMillan is named. He was responsible for murdering a lot of Kurnai people. |
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01 Oct 12 - 10:14 PM (#3412831) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Warrigal / Warragul Creek (Boola Boola) From: Celtaddict Hi, Guest Scuzzi, sorry I did not see this when you first posted; I am glad to hear they are playing and that they are traceable. I will be in contact too! |