Held on a deck at a house in Auckland’s western suburbs.
This is a performance of New Zealand folk music accompanied by aslide show of photos from the webside “Papers Past”.
This was presented by Chris Priestly and friends(the duo Celtic Ferret),Adam and Emily.
First up “My man is gone” a song from the great depression about a wife left at home while her husband searched for work. Very expressive harmonica backed by two guitars and vocals.
“Down in the Brunner Mine” About the 1895 Brunner mine disaster on the west coast when 65 miners were killed. The low whistle works in well with guitars and vocals.
“Huria Matanga”She was the Maori woman who rescued the crew and passengers from the shipwreck of the Delaware.She took a line out to the ship. Adam and Emily added musical colour with Mandolin and violin to Chris on guitar and vocals.
“Amy Bock” from 1909 about an early transgender person.She posed as a man ,to marry a woman(to con her out of her money).She ended up serving time in prison( I don’t know what the authorities of the time thought about that.).
“Hokonui Moonshine whiskey blues”about Mary McCray(a widow who made a living distilling illegal whiskey along route 96 in Southland) They adapted “Route 66 “to 96 with funky guitar and mandolin.
“Robert Wellath the Taranaki teenage highwayman”who robbed travellers on the roads of Taranaki during the later 19th century. He too ended up in prison .Mandolin and Violin just added so much musically.
“Tiger Lil” a prostitute who serviced gumdiggers at Don Bucks Camp. There was a shortage of wonen in New Zealand during the early days so prostitutes like Tiger Lil were quite important. (Credit the book “Pleasures of the flesh in colonial New Zealand by Yska.
“Darling Jenny” an Entertainer who lost her life during a river crossing in the South Island. She was only 20 years old.
“The Ballard of Don Buck”He set up a camp(in the then rural west of Auckland)for unemployed and criminal men to dig for kauri gum. He supplied them with alcohol and prostitutes.
“Jean Batten” a pioneer New Zealand aviator who died in odscurity in Spain in 1982.( she was buried in a paupers grave).Violin so expressive drawing from American and Eastern European folk music.
“Cabbage tree Ned Devine” a stagecoach driver on the pigroot road in central Otago.
“Minnie Dean” a serial killer in Southland who was arrested,tried and hanged.
“High flying Bobby Leach” a stuntman who went over Niagra falls in a barrel but slipped on an orange peel in the main street of Onehunga, and is buried in the local cemetary.
“Captain Moonlight” who worked as a prospector,sheriff,judge,and hotel owner. It was said he did more good for the miners than any government.
“Joshua Morgan” a surveyor and interpreter who died on the forgotten world highway in Taranaki.
Thank you Chris for bringing those forgotten people to life again.
GT
