New Zealand folk scene has earned itself a stellar reputation for being open to experimentation and taking an independent approach, evidenced by the country’s dynamic session culture.
Contrary to Britain, few New Zealanders have collected songs for publication; an exception being Percy Jones from Australia who obtained a version of The Shanty by the Way about gold-field saloons.
Phil Garland
Phil Garland was one of the pioneers and an influential figure of New Zealand folk music, serving as an archivist of colonial folk song and contributing original compositions as an active musician and collector/writer of folklore. Prior to his death in 2017, Garland left behind an extensive legacy in New Zealand folk music.
Garland first developed his love of music as a teenager in Christchurch. Prompted by Bill Haley’s Rock Around the Clock movie screening, he sold his stamp collection and used the proceeds to buy his first guitar – an electric Gibson Hummingbird purchased at a music shop and inspired by Pete Seeger guitar tutorials provided an ideal foundation upon which his performances would develop over time. Soon he became one of the city’s premier singer/guitarist/collector of folk songs.
He was one of the founding members of the New Zealand Folklore Society and made significant contributions to its work. His research into folklore was greatly influenced by international folklorists such as Cecil Sharp and John Lomax as well as by other folklore researchers such as Angela Annabell, Rona Bailey, Les Cleveland, Neil Colquhoun and Frank Fyfe.
NZFLS was unique among New Zealand folklore societies because it focused on collecting local music and stories rather than urban culture. Unfortunately, however, due to lack of interest among members in continuing field collecting activities and disagreements among founding members it disbanded in 1975.
Even though many folklorists have continued collecting, few of them have remained very active in the field for extended periods of time. Only Garland, one of the original founders of NZFLS, has continued actively collecting and publishing folk songs despite his move to Australia; his work will likely resume shortly.
Garland first became intrigued with folk music while serving with the New Zealand infantry during World War II. He was fascinated by the subversive, sexually suggestive lyrics of soldiers’ songs which fascinated him; these recordings would later become published as Shanties by the Way in 1967 and remain essential reading for anyone seeking knowledge about NZ folk songs.
Rona Bailey
Rona Bailey was an integral figure in New Zealand folk music and an advocate of Maori language productions during the 1960s. As well as her involvement with New Zealand folk music and dance movements, Rona Bailey also participated in anti-apartheid campaigns and cultural affairs of Maori people. Rona taught at Taki Rua before later teaching at Te Kura Toi Whakari o Aotearoa (New Zealand Drama School). Rona actively promoted biculturalism within theatre productions through using Maori words whenever possible in productions – she advocated using Maori language productions in productions.
“She conducted extensive collecting work throughout New Zealand’s back country and West Coast of South Island, where she found songs associated with gold-mining and other aspects of rural life. Bailey first published New Zealand Folksongs in 1965 before expanding it in 1972 into Song of a Young Country – Song of a Young Country, both books focused on offering singable versions of songs for people to learn while raising awareness of traditional New Zealand music while simultaneously receiving criticism as too populist.”
She took great delight in experiencing other countries’ cultural traditions and participated in folk festivals and concerts internationally. She traveled extensively, visiting Britain to study physical welfare before journeying on the Youth Railway of Hungary and Yugoslavia. In Panama she witnessed a concert by Paul Robeson; upon his visit to New Zealand he invited her along.
Bailey was an incredible worker, with an impeccable attention to detail and the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely. A staunch feminist, she believed that social change could only come through education and action – her activism being inspired by her passion for the arts; furthermore she encouraged all her students to be active members in their local communities.
She was one of only a select few New Zealanders with wide-ranging interests who was capable of creating cross-disciplinary connections, making her highly popular while being widely respected for her honesty and integrity.
Angela Annabell
Angela Annabell’s scholarly research on New Zealand folk music is an outstanding contribution to literature. Her articles have appeared in both Journal of Folklore Research and various collections; additionally she has written book chapters that encompass ethnomusicology, folklore studies, cultural studies, history as well as revival and contemporary folk music debates.
New Zealanders, sailors, and travellers would record lyrics they heard in New Zealand during the 19th century as they passed through it, thus helping to preserve a small collection of folk songs. Furthermore, goldfield entertainers frequently produced topical songs using standard folk or music-hall tunes that they published into song books for goldfield workers to enjoy.
Rona Bailey, Herbert Roth, Neil Colquhoun and Les Cleveland all collected material for publication during this era; these four became members of the New Zealand Folklore Society and published works that followed suit – New Zealand Folksongs (1965) and Song of a Young Country (1972) by Colquhoun were populist in nature as they presented songs as complete complete versions instead of simply gathering tunes with accompanying text.
Garland was working to keep alive this folk tradition when he published two books of folk songs and poems he called Folk Songs From America (1932 and 1933). At that time, there was widespread interest in folklore due to a growing interest among people during times of economic uncertainty; when combined with protest-inspired song of protest songs from rural areas across America. Garland set out to preserve this folk tradition when he published these works.
Garland excelled in the narrative folk-ballad style of folk songs and dance tunes and poetry written in New Zealand vernacular. Additionally, he helped establish a folk club movement and hosted its inaugural festival of traditional music in Wellington in 1957; later becoming an early leader of the Folk Revival movement and often seen as its founder. Furthermore, he made numerous recordings and performed live television performances; creating some 18 albums of traditional songs that many consider Garland to be its father – his music has had an indelible place in history!
Rudy Sunde
New Zealand’s folk music scene is flourishing. Many clubs host performances from American urban blues and Celtic to Euro gypsy jazz, country and old-time country as well as a cappella harmony groups and solo singers performing covers or originals. Some groups specialize in instrumental folk music as well as singing folksongs.
Folk songs are an integral component of New Zealand culture and music heritage, dating back to when people would slap their leathery feet against hollow rocks or carve sticks to make noise and mimicking birdsong cadences or animal mating calls to attract mates. New Zealanders have long held onto this tradition of singing folk songs as part of their cultural identity and musical heritage.
Early folk enthusiasts collected and published traditional folk songs. One such enthusiast, Frank Fyfe, founded the New Zealand Folklore Society with serious intentions in 1966; its pamphlets and newsletters expressed his sense that time was running out to collect older folksongs before time ran out to do so. Over time he established branches in Wellington, Auckland, and Christchurch.
The 1960s saw a flourishing of New Zealand country music. Local radio featured the music of Garner Wayne, Paul Walden and Peter Posa, while TV show The Country Touch ran between 1968-1969. Additionally, Mosgiel entrepreneur Joe Brown promoted several albums by New Zealand country musicians with package tours to both America and Australia.
By the late 1960s, folk song as an artform of protest had become a central aspect of New Zealand cultural life. One group that engaged with this was Rudy Sunde’s Unity Singers; formed to take part in international anti-nuclear activism. A recording held by Turnbull Library features this group performing an adaptation from Pete Seeger’s Talking Radiation song called on governments worldwide to withdraw support for nuclear weapons.
In the 1990s, New Zealand session culture blossomed dramatically, as young people “trained to become folk musicians as seriously as they trained for All Blacks”, according to singer-songwriter Nick Bollinger. Recordings by various folk musicians have been produced, many of which are currently being released as CDs.