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�Islands in a River�A Political Genealogy of Two Australian Ballads�

Bob Fagan

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“Rothbury Riot” Memorial

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“Norman Brown” in Singabout, 1957

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“On an Island in A River”: Newcastle 1930s

In those humpies by the river

We lived on dole and stew

While just across the river

Those greedy smokestacks grew

(Dorothy Hewett, Where I grew to be a Man, 1960 and Weevils in the Flour, 1965)

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“Weevils in the Flour”� Australian Tradition, Nov 1965

Source: Australian Tradition, November 1965

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Three Reflections

  • …Norman Brown and Weevils … became folksongs in the 1960s via intersections between left-wing poets, literary/political magazines (Realist Writer, Overland), song and folklore magazines (Singabout, Australian Tradition), “revival” songwriters, performers and their eager audiences
  • Songs of the 1960s realist writers remain relevant & inspirational to singer-songwriters in 2020s – remind us performance & writing is a legitimate part of political activism; the songs are products of their time but remain timeless in their messages (like all good folk songs)
  • Folklore, including song, remains a valuable source for “history from below” (E.P. Thompson) helping us understand crucial intersections between history, politics and cultural change