Monday 12 August 2019

Fran Shaw's songsheets - Part 5, Talks on bush music

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 In 1995 Chrissie Shaw, daughter of early members Rod & Fran Shaw gave us items from her parents' collections, including 2 manilla folders of song sheets, many of them undated. Dated song sheets range from 1956 to 1961.These are the final items from Fran's collection.



Singabout 2(3), Dec 1957
Extract from email from Chrissie Shaw Dec, 2018


My Mother Frances Mary Shaw (nee Cottingham) was not a teacher in any official capacity. She was born on October 23 1911. She came from a theatrical and musical family. Her father would not let her go to University even though her godfather had offered to pay the fees, so she went to secretarial school. I know that she worked in a radio station, might have been 2SM or 2GB. She was an amateur actor, at the Genesians Theatre Company in Sydney. She also sang, and studied singing with Paul Williams (along with my Dad Rod). She met my father when she was modelling for artists in a studio in George Street. They married in Windsor in 1939.

She then became a homemaker, but continued to sing and play guitar and/or lute. She was involved in The New Theatre, directed a play I believe. Through the first Sydney production of Reedy River, Fran met John Meredith and other members of the band that played in that production (Harry Kay, Chris Kempster, Alec Hood (later Alex), Brian Loughlin, Jack Barry, Alan Scott etc) and joined the Bush Music Club, I believe around 1954 or so. She and I (as a child) went to the monthly meetings in the rooms under the approach to Sydney Harbour Bridge and she joined the concert party. We attended the bush dances that were put on at the Trocadero and other venues.

Mum was a very keen scholar and performer of folk music, from different lands but mainly the Australian music, and she gave workshops, yes, at the National Fitness camps among other venues

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Fran Shaw's songsheets - Part 1, Bush Music Club Song Sheets dated 1956 & 1957, & undated

Anniversaries - Bush Music Club's 2nd Anniversary, 1956 - Fran Shaw's Song Sheets, part 2
Fran Shaw's Songsheets, Part 3. Miscellaneous sets & papers
Fran Shaw's songsheets - Part 4. Camp Songs, Dept of Education, Phys Education Branch

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Women and the Australian Bush Song, talk given to the English Association, 1959 (9 pages) with corrections


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 The Australian Bush Songs (15 page typescript)


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Australian Bush Music, talk at ShadowBox 1961

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