On 22 December 1914, just three days before Christmas, eight transports carrying soldiers from Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania sailed from Melbourne to join up with the rest of the second convoy of the Australian Imperial Force at Albany. For these men Christmas 1914 would be spent in the Great Australian Bight. The convoy, including … Continue reading Australia Will Be There
Music
When Irish Eyes are Smiling
Lines from the chorus of When Irish Eyes are Smiling are a motif in And the Women Watch and Wait, occurring at several points through the novel. The song is a romanticised tribute to Ireland and was written by Chauncey Olcott, and George Graff Jr, with the music composed by Ernest R. Ball. Olcott was … Continue reading When Irish Eyes are Smiling
The Wearing of the Green
My latest novel And the Women Watch and Wait is set in Coburg, a northern suburb of Melbourne, during the Great War and its immediate aftermath. The characters are, mainly, from the Australian-Irish community and, as with my other novels, music plays a part in their lives. Over the next few months I’ll post some … Continue reading The Wearing of the Green
Military Music – Western Australia, September 1914
Recently, while attempting to find examples of songs and music from the Word War 1 period that were not military, I stumbled across this delightful photo (definitely a search fail but a wonderful find). Taken in September 1914 at Blackboy Hill camp, Western Australia, it shows Privates Leonard Darcy and John Pratley of the 3rd … Continue reading Military Music – Western Australia, September 1914
Background Music – 2022
People have always loved music, both making it and listening to it. Many of us like to have it in the background while we work. Unfortunately, while I can block out random chatter and street noises when I need intense concentration, I can’t block the music. Music is for the times when I can appreciate … Continue reading Background Music – 2022
Cold Blows the Wind – The Soundtrack
People have always loved to sing, probably for as long as there have been people. These days, despite most people still loving music, most of us are too self conscious to sing in front of others, especially unaccompanied. It wasn't always this way. In the not so distant past, after the day's work was done … Continue reading Cold Blows the Wind – The Soundtrack
A Horrible Pestiferous Vice or Wholesome Exercise? – Dancing in Elizabethan England
Elizabeth I Dancing with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester Philip Stubbs, the Puritan pamphleteer, in his Anatomie of Abuses (1582-3) had little good to say about dancing unless men and women were dancing separately to the glory of God, following the example of King David. He described it as 'an introduction to whordom, a preparatiue … Continue reading A Horrible Pestiferous Vice or Wholesome Exercise? – Dancing in Elizabethan England
A Christmas Season
In many parts of the English speaking world Christmas begins with decorations hoisted and songs blaring out in shopping centres from late November. The weeks leading up to Christmas are party time and often Christmas is over by 26th December with the well organized dismantling the tree on this day. It is followed by a … Continue reading A Christmas Season
The Feast of the Holy Innocents
On 28th December, in the midst of Christmas and New Year celebrations, sits the Feast of the Holy Innocents, also called Childermas. This day commemorates the massacre of boys aged under two ordered by King Herod to ensure the death of the newborn King of the Jews whose existence he had been made aware of … Continue reading The Feast of the Holy Innocents
Van Diemen’s Land
Like so many traditional songs there are a number of versions of Van Diemen's Land. Apart from various musical interpretations, there are a variety of lyrics depending on the country of origin of the singer, England or Ireland. The earliest published lyrics can be found in the Launceston Examiner of 21 Nov 1839 (p.2, c1). … Continue reading Van Diemen’s Land
Catherine Meyrick 