New chums and diggers; the history of Australian mining fields through song

Monday 16 November 2015

New chums and diggers; the history of Australian mining fields through song

Presented by Dr Ross Both

Songs from the Australian mining fields that have been handed down from singer to singer and collected by folklorists have become part of the traditional Australian folk music genre. Music played an important part in the life of the Australian digger, both around the campfire and performed by professional entertainers. The songs record experiences of miners and events that took place on the mining fields. The presentation will use fragments of song recordings to illustrate early life and events on mining fields, industrial unrest, introduction of new technology, and racial tensions.

Ross Both is a retired geologist and a founding member of the Burnside Historical Society. He was one of the Wheal Watkins tour guides until the mine was closed to public tours in 2005. He is currently the President of the Australasian Mining History Association. As well as his interest in mining history, he enjoys traditional Australian folk music and is assembling a database of songs from Australian mining fields.

Record of Meeting

View the record of all past meetings which details all talks given at meetings by guest speakers since our foundation in 1980. Most meetings since 1985 have been recorded.

No.*BTddocDateTopic, Speaker, Detail
38716/11/2015

New chums and diggers; the history of Australian mining fields through song

Presented by Dr Ross Both

Songs from the Australian mining fields that have been handed down from singer to singer and collected by folklorists have…

Legend

B: Burnside topic

T: tape

d: disc

doc: pdf document

*: on location

Disc and Tape recordings available in the Local History Room