I love it when a story comes full circle in the telling. Back in the late 70’s I interviewed a West Australian band, The Settlers in my role as a reporter with the Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper. The boys asked me to take some photos of the group for their upcoming album, “Bound for Western Australia” so I drove them out to an old hotel north of Kalgoorlie where we did a photo shoot.
Forty-six years later I interviewed a member of the The Settlers, Alan Ferguson about a song he wrote that became the first track on their album. “Bound for Western Austalia” was specifically produced for the 150th anniversary of Western Australia and achieved acclaim for its popularity.
Alan’s song, Albany Emigrants, became the catalyst for the birth of an Albany shanty group, the Albany Shantymen and their success led to the establishment of a strong following of shanty songs around Western Australia.
This video is part one of a two-part series about the Albany Shantymen. Enjoy.
INSPIRE NEWSCAST 