On Friday 16th July 99, people attending the Hornsby-Ku-ring-gai Folk Club in Sydney's Northern Suburbs heard the first public airing of "Yarri of Wiradjuri", a song and verse cycle by John Warner who performed the piece with Margaret Walters, John Dengate, Jennifer Lees and Robin Connaughton.
Yarri was an Aboriginal who should be a household name throughout Australia and beyond. His is a tale of unsurpassed and selfless heroism.
In June 1852, a massive flood demolished the original town of Gundagai which was then built on the Murrumbidgee floodplain. Over 200 lives were known to have been lost. At the peak of the flood, on a Southern Highlands winter night, Yarri went out on his bark canoe, the most basic of small craft, and rescued 49 people - one at a time. The Wiradjuri people had warned the settlers frequently of the dangers of the flood but were ignored at great cost to the pioneers.
John Warner has retold the story in a song and verse cycle called "Yarri of Wiradjuri". The clash of interests between the Wiradjuri people who saw their land being overrun and changed by the invader, the enterprising pioneers and businessmen, the conflicts of motivation within the settlers' families and the dreadful menace of the flood itself are drawn in convincing poetry. Issues of reconciliation and racial conflict are uncompromisingly raised, but Yarri the man stands starkly above the issues in his unbelievable courage.
Members of the Tumut-Brungle Aboriginal Land Council are being consulted about the material in "Yarri of Wiradjuri" and consideration is being given to staging a full scale production with both British style and Aboriginal dancers. Yarri is one of the most dramatic of the stories of European-Aboriginal interaction and certainly one of very few from an English perspective in which the Aboriginal people are clearly shown as the heroic protagonists.
John Warner is highly respected among his peers for his well-crafted original songs, and he has a special talent for interpreting aspects of Australian history and environment into song. He has released two CDs with his singing partner, Margaret Walters, ["Pithead in the Fern" and "Who WasHere?"] besides a solo cassette of his early work ["The Sea and the Soil"], and a recent CD of songs for children ["Pack o' Pirates"]. As well as performing as a duo, Walters & Warner form part of the acappella group, The Roaring Forties, and two others from that group, Robin Connaughton and Jennifer Lees, will be joining them for the production of "Yarri".
Some of the comments are based on a demo recording:
John is a fine folk historian and songwriter with a solid track record of poignant, accurate, moving songs about Australian life and the history of "the folk" (eg his CD "Pithead in the Fern"). He also has a heart for justice and a sensitivity to all sides of a story. These, plus his attention to details and his canny awareness of drama and irony make a brilliant marriage with this word-smithing skills and truly singable melodies. With John's songs I find myself often hit with goose bumps of recognition and the beauty of the images that unfold as the lyrics roll along.
I believe the "Yarri" material is very worthy of support. It would benefit from a work-shopping production process with a sensitive director and skilled actors. Several of the songs are potential classics and the whole thrust of the story as John has retold it is timely for the advancement of reconciliation and understanding between indigenous and other Australians. How superb if would be if black and white Australians could do it together. (Fay White - Victorian songwriter)
John is such a fine poet. I'm amazed he's not incredibly famous. I think the story is beautifully told, simple yet sufficient. I felt completed within the aura of the scene there at Gundagai. Two of the songs are beautiful - the final reprise and "Murrumbidgee" ... It strikes me as a very important piece of history that John has researched and brought to the light of day. (Chris Wheeler)
I find the quality of the writing - poetry and music - quite remarkable ... I have been most impressed by Warner's writing for some years: he is a very fine song smith indeed. In "Yarri", he has excelled himself. Obviously countless hours have been spent on historical research to ensure authenticity. The spoken words and the songs a and music build up vivid, and often very moving, images. Quite apart form anything else, it's immensely entertaining. (John Dengate)
And comments from the live performance at Hornsby:
It was brilliant. Enjoyed the mix of spoken and sung words; John W's characteristic sensitive observations and insights' this skillfully crafted rendering of an incident in our history... A joy to have a focussed, concentrated experience without breaks. Also enjoyed seeing known faces and hearing familiar voices "speaking differently" - a nice use of a time-moulded ensemble and its new Gundagai connection. (Diana Harris)
Thanks for telling us the events of 1852 and bringing it to the 1999s. Well done - music, singing and verse... (Julie Olston)
Well done John! Very nice concept with some great words - powerful. Well presented as well. (Greg Wilson)
Beautifully researched and such talent to turn history into song. Thank you. (unsigned)
John - Fantastic story - very well presented. Powerful and emotional story which was made real with your choice of words and staging. (illegible signature)
Wonderful story delivered with passion and power. Immensely enjoyed. (Gerard McMullin)
Congratulations for building more bridges. Full of meaning... (unsigned)
A great production. The beginning sets a very haunting atmosphere ... The balance between voices is finely tuned and encouraging everyone to join in "John Spencer" was well placed. Mostly the clarity of diction was superb. (Dale Dengate)
Wonderful presentation - I want it on CD. Rather sad - needed to be done. Very well ended. We must hear more of it. (unsigned)
For more information about the Walters and Warner albums and "Yarri", CDs, photographs, quotes from reviews, etc.
The Hornsby-Ku-ring-gai Folk Club meets in the Beatrice Taylor Hall, Willow Park Community Centre Edgeworth David Avenue, Hornsby on the third Friday each month from 8pm.
Contact organiser, Barry Parks on 9489 1643 for more information about the Hornsby-Ku-ring-gai Folk Club.