‘There’s a Sound of Many Voices in the Camp and on the Track’ A Descriptive Analysis of Folk Music Collecting in New Zealand, 1955-1975 Michael Brown A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts in Music at Victoria University, Wellington New Zealand April 2006 i Abstract During the period from 1955 to 1975 a group of individuals began the task of collecting folk music in New Zealand. This collecting was different from the earlier collecting of Maori music – it focussed mainly on English-language material felt to be the folk heritage of New Zealanders of European descent. The collectors gathered a valuable body of songs, verse and music, which was used in a variety of ways. Many individuals promoted the material to a wider public by performing music, recording albums and publishing song anthologies. Other collectors commenced the scholarly study of folk traditions in New Zealand. This thesis is a descriptive analysis of the work of seven individuals involved in the overall effort: Angela Annabell, Rona Bailey, Les Cleveland, Neil Colquhoun, Frank Fyfe, Phil Garland and Herbert Roth. It seeks to understand the enterprise from their point of view: how they conceived of ‘folk music’; their collecting methods; and the ways in which they promoted or studied what they had collected. To help situate and compare the achievement of each individual, their work is placed within the wider contexts of overseas folkloristic research, related study in New Zealand and the folk revival movement. The collecting in New Zealand was relatively short-lived but brought together a recognised canon of folk music. Text and appendices © Michael Brown, 2006. Some source texts have been reproduced with permission, see page vi. ii Contents PAGE Acknowledgments vi Figures and Illustrations vii Abbreviations, Language and Format viii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Theoretical Background 5 The Search for the Field 5 Authenticity 9 Nationalism 11 The Folk Music Canon 12 Revival 13 Mediation 14 Chapter 2: The New Zealand Background 16 The Collecting of Maori Music 16 Early Collecting 17 James Cowan 17 Mona Tracy 19 Comment and Conjecture 20 The Folk Revival Movement 21 The Early Revival 21 Coffee Houses and the ‘Folk Boom’ 22 Folk Clubs and Folk Festivals 24 Folk Music Scholarship and Later Collecting 25 Chapter 3: Rona Bailey and Herbert Roth 28 Rona Bailey 28 Folksong Interest 28 Fieldtrips 29 Aims, Criteria and Concepts 31 Collectanea 32 The 1957 Auckland Festival 33 Later Involvement 35 Herbert Roth 35 Archival Collection 36 Research and Articles 38 Shanties by the Way 38 Description 39 Material 40 Aims and Approach 42 Conclusion 43 iii PAGE Chapter 4: Neil Colquhoun 47 Personal Background 47 1957 - A Pivotal Year 48 Collecting 49 Aims and Criteria 49 Methods 49 Collectanea 52 Folk Music Concepts 53 The Song Spinners 54 Later Involvement 55 Revival Concepts 56 Shaping of Material 57 New Zealand Folk Songs 59 Description 59 Analysis 60 New Zealand Folksongs - Song of a Young Country 61 Description 61 Analysis 61 Conclusion 63 Chapter 5: Les Cleveland 66 Personal Background 66 Folksong Interest 66 Authentic New Zealand Ballads 67 Description 68 Song Adaptation 69 Analysis 70 The Songs We Sang 72 The Book 73 The Recordings 75 The Great New Zealand Songbook 76 Description 77 Analysis 79 Dark Laughter 80 Conclusion 82 Chapter 6: Frank Fyfe 86 Personal Background 86 Collecting Interest 87 The New Zealand Folklore Society 87 Collecting 89 Aims and Criteria 89 Methods 90 Collectanea 91 Revival Activities 92 Folk music Concepts 93 Publications 94 New Zealand Folklore Society Aspirations 97 Later work 99 Conclusion 99 iv PAGE Chapter 7: Phil Garland 103 Personal Background 103 Folk music interest 103 New Zealand Folklore Society Christchurch branch 104 Collecting 105 Aims and criteria 105 New Zealand Folklore Society Collecting 106 1969-1970 Fieldtrip 107 Other Collecting 108 Folk Music Concepts 111 Revival Work 113 Music Career 113 Adaptation and Arrangement 115 The Singing Kiwi 116 Contexts and Roles 118 Conclusion 119 Chapter 8: Angela Annabell 123 Personal background 123 New Zealand Folklore Society Auckland branch 123 Branch collecting 124 ‘Aspects of the New Zealand Folk Song Ethos’ 126 Aims and Criteria 127 Collecting and Research 128 Approach 128 Analysis 130 Later work 132 Conclusion 135 Conclusion 140 Bibliography 145 Appendices 156 1 ‘The Bush Poet’ by James Cowan 157 2 The Mona Tracy Field Collection – Surviving Items 160 3.1 The Rona Bailey Field Collection – Surviving Items 162 3.2 Annotated listing of Shanties by the Way 166 3.3 Source types in Shanties by the Way 178 3.4 Three Versions of ‘The Liberal March’ 181 4.1 Checklist of songs collected or arranged by Neil Colquhoun 184 4.2 Annotated listing of New Zealand Folksongs 187 4.3 Other Songs from the Collecting and Arranging Work of Neil Colquhoun 194 4.4 Three Versions of ‘Waitekauri Everytime’ 197 5.1 The Joe Charles-Les Cleveland Songs 200 5.2 Annotated listing of The Great New Zealand Songbook 202 6.1 ‘Why Collect?’ by Frank Fyfe 209 6.2 Date index of Penny Post 210 6.3 NZFLS fieldwork reports in Penny Post 211 6.4 The Frank Fyfe Field Collection – Surviving Items 215 7.1 Selected Listing from the Phil Garland Field Collection 218 7.2 Songs from the Dick Morris Recordings 223 v PAGE 7.3 Two versions of ‘At the Mataura’ 225 7.4 Song Listing of The Singing Kiwi 227 8.1 The NZFLS Auckland Branch Field Collection 234 8.2 NZFLS Auckland collecting reports in branch documents 238 8.3 The Angela Annabell Field Collection – Surviving Items 240 vi Acknowledgments I am grateful to many people for help in researching and writing this thesis. Firstly to individual collectors who have helped me with interviews, information and many stimulating conversations: Les Cleveland, Rudy and Pat Sunde, and Bill Worsfold, with especial thanks going to Neil Colquhoun and Phil Garland for their patience with my endless queries. I would also like to acknowledge the late Rona Bailey, who helped me during the initial stages of my interest in the subject. Mike Harding also kindly gave an interview in the early stages of thesis research. Many other people have provided useful information - in interviews, conversations, letters and emails –helping supplement my understanding of the collecting work, historical background and the wider field of folk music. In New Zealand, thanks go to Mary Fyfe, Sharyn Staley, Bernard Thornton, Robyn and Mitch Park, Kath Worsfold, Sam Sampson, Duilia Rendall, Jim Delahunty, Julian Ward, Arthur Toms, Tony Simpson, Sue Harkness, John Archer, Roger Giles, Gordon Campbell, Marie Russell, Steve Dean and Robert Hoskins; in Australia, John Stafford, Graeme Smith and Keith McKenry; in the United States, Don Mcnaughton; and in the United Kingdom, Rod Stradling, John Moulden and Steve Roud. A group of librarians and archivists have been very helpful in utilising archival and library collections: Gareth Winter (Wairarapa Archive), Jill Palmer and David Colquhoun (Alexander Turnbull Library), Roger Flury (National Library of New Zealand), Paulette Milnes (Hocken Library), Nigel Champion (Archive of Maori and Pacific Music), Stephen Innes (University of Auckland Library), Nicola Frean (Victoria University of Wellington Library), John Kelcher (RNZ Sound Archives), Kristen Wineera (The Film Archive of New Zealand), Dolores Hay and Saffron Chalmers (TVNZ Television Archives), Jack Perkins and Jim Sullivan (Radio New Zealand), Murray Vincent (Kiwi Pacific Records) and David Dell (Sheet Music Archive of New Zealand) – my thanks to you all. The Turnbull Library also gave kind permission for three manuscript pieces to be reproduced in this thesis: “I fished at the Traps…”, ‘Line Four’, and ‘Haere go crutchee the sheep…”. I also wish to express my gratitude to Mary Fyfe for permission to reproduce Frank Fyfe’s article ‘Why Collect?’; Robyn Matheson for allowing Joe Charles’ ballad ‘The Malvern Hills’ to be used; and Ross McMillan for permission to reproduce his poem ‘Country Blokes’. Phil Garland, Bill Worsfold and Rudy Sunde have also kindly allowed collected pieces from their collections to be used. The first part of the title of the thesis is taken from a poem by David McKee Wright, ‘Shearing’s Coming’. For the shaping of this thesis I wish to thank Moira Smith, for her suggestions and advice, but above all to my supervisor Allan Thomas, who has guided me through the difficulties of researching this complex topic with insight and humour. Lynda Drumm and Chris Taylor kindly helped with the final proofing of the thesis. Lastly I would like to thank moral supporters, including Stephanie Cocks; my parents, Janet King and Don Brown; and my partner, Diane McAllen, for those many long discussions on the subject of “f.m.”. vii Figures and Illustrations Figures PAGE I “I fished at the Traps…” 31 II Programme of the 1957 Auckland Festival concerts 34 III Summary of Herbert Roth folders in Alexander Turnbull Library 36 IV ‘Memories of Midland Mick’ 37 V Shanties by the Way chapters with date range 39 VI Shanties by the Way source types 40 VII The John Leebrick Songs 50 VIII Recordings by The Song Spinners 54 IX Chapters and Songs in New Zealand Folk Songs 59 X Songs and Poems from New Zealand Ballads 69 XI ‘The Malvern Hills’ 70 XII Chapters and Songs in The Songs We Sang 73 XIII The Songs We Sang and More Songs We Sang recordings 75 XIV Comparison of two verses from ‘The Good Ship Venus’ 76 XV Chapters and Songs in The Great New Zealand Songbook 78 XVI Song Adaptations by Frank Fyfe 92 XVII Contents of The Maorilander 95 XVIII ‘Ode to a Shooter’ 109 XIX “They say there is gold on the Maggie…” 109 XX ‘I Happened to Be There’ 110 XXI ‘Country Blokes’ 112 XXII Phil Garland Folk Discography 114 XXIII Chapters in The Singing Kiwi 117 XXIV ‘The Storekeeper’s Lament’ 125 XXV ‘Welcome Poor Paddy Home’ 126 XXVI Chapters in ‘New Zealand’s Cultural and Economic Development Reflected in Song: Aspects of the New Zealand Folk Song Ethos’ 129 XXVII “Haere go crutchee the sheep…” 133 Illustrations 1.