Thanks. The Henry Lawson Centre in Gulgong, NSW, Australia - www.henrylawsongulgong.org.au/- sells a CD (digital) version of the same VHS video from which I made this piece. The CD is priced at around $20-$25 dollars. The segments are not as crisply edited as my short example. I'm a bit short on time to upload more, and I'm also sort of reluctant to, given that their CD is partly a fund-raiser too. I can thoroughly recommend the Henry Lawson Centre as a 'must-visit' item on any visit to Gulgong or the region.
March, 2023: The effects of Covid-19, the vagaries of volunteer availability, and other unknown factors too, means the Centre is not always open every day, despite the best intentions and endeavours of its custodians.
The Swagmen, are called" swaggies". They hump their 'swags' (bedrolls, an ol' blanket) to 'sleep on' ,on their backs. This swag is called "Matilda". That's where song 'Waltzing Matilda' comes from. See song "And the band played Waltzing Matilda", well sung by eg: John McDermott, for example. Growing up, we had a swaggy/Swaggie (dunno how to spell it) occasionly pass our outback corner , carrying his swag, & carrying his 'billy' full of blackberries, for us. We used to just know him as "The Blackberry Man". We didn't know his name, or where he lived, or where he was going to. He used to empty his billy of blackberries into some container, if we'd run up to the house, & bring some ol' tin out for him to empty 'em into. And, on he'd go... How I now wish mum had invited 'im in for a meal, some food, or given him some food, to take with 'im. Mum used to make the most wonderful blackberry jam from his kind offerings, to us. Mum should've kept a jar of jam, to give 'im, next time he passed by. But, he'd have no toast/toasters. Just toast some bread/damper on his campfire. No plastic containers/no 'Tupperware' then. No Plastic American baseball hats on 'em then. All leather straps, leather boots,(now, some businesses make items in 'Vegan-Leather' AKA plastic, PRETEND, Non-Leather), no anti-inflammatories then, no antidepressants then, no Dole/Centrelink then, no mobile phones, no watches, no umbrellas, no GPS/compasses, BUT they'd know the land, the trees, fall of the land, valleys, creeks. No 'RoundUp' on any blackberries then. No consumerism in people's lives then. No Op-shops, no charities then. But, there WAS a sense of Community then, even tho these swaggies saw the bigger community, as they travelled. And, they were part of the people/places we knew.
Thanks for the uploads this stuff is valuable Aussie history , please upload the other parts of possible.
Thanks.
The Henry Lawson Centre in Gulgong, NSW, Australia - www.henrylawsongulgong.org.au/- sells a CD (digital) version of the same VHS video from which I made this piece. The CD is priced at around $20-$25 dollars. The segments are not as crisply edited as my short example.
I'm a bit short on time to upload more, and I'm also sort of reluctant to, given that their CD is partly a fund-raiser too.
I can thoroughly recommend the Henry Lawson Centre as a 'must-visit' item on any visit to Gulgong or the region.
Thanks so much. I love Henry Lawson's work. My fav is 'Second class wait here'.
March, 2023:
The effects of Covid-19, the vagaries of volunteer availability, and other unknown factors too, means the Centre is not always open every day, despite the best intentions and endeavours of its custodians.
The Swagmen, are called" swaggies". They hump their 'swags' (bedrolls, an ol' blanket) to 'sleep on' ,on their backs. This swag is called "Matilda". That's where song 'Waltzing Matilda' comes from. See song "And the band played Waltzing Matilda", well sung by eg: John McDermott, for example. Growing up, we had a swaggy/Swaggie (dunno how to spell it) occasionly pass our outback corner , carrying his swag, & carrying his 'billy' full of blackberries, for us. We used to just know him as "The Blackberry Man". We didn't know his name, or where he lived, or where he was going to. He used to empty his billy of blackberries into some container, if we'd run up to the house, & bring some ol' tin out for him to empty 'em into. And, on he'd go... How I now wish mum had invited 'im in for a meal, some food, or given him some food, to take with 'im. Mum used to make the most wonderful blackberry jam from his kind offerings, to us.
Mum should've kept a jar of jam, to give 'im, next time he passed by. But, he'd have no toast/toasters. Just toast some bread/damper on his campfire.
No plastic containers/no 'Tupperware' then. No Plastic American baseball hats on 'em then. All leather straps, leather boots,(now, some businesses make items in 'Vegan-Leather' AKA plastic, PRETEND, Non-Leather), no anti-inflammatories then, no antidepressants then, no Dole/Centrelink then, no mobile phones, no watches, no umbrellas, no GPS/compasses, BUT they'd know the land, the trees, fall of the land, valleys, creeks. No 'RoundUp' on any blackberries then. No consumerism in people's lives then.
No Op-shops, no charities then.
But, there WAS a sense of Community then, even tho these swaggies saw the bigger community, as they travelled. And, they were part of the people/places we knew.
Poignant. Thanks for this.