Mortlake country music muster

 

The Durdins

Musicians muster for Mortlake event
Warrnambool Standard 8th April. 2004 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard  2004.  All rights reserved
LOCAL musicians will donate their time and skills to this weekend’s Mortlake Muster. The inaugural event is anticipated to draw more than 4000 people to the D.C. Farran Oval over two days with about 20 hours of country music. The muster’s music co-ordinator Ray Anderson said the musicians had all waived their fees for the event, which aims to raise money for 15 local organisations. He said the region’s kindergartens, schools, service clubs and Mortlake’s Abbeyfield Hostel would be among the beneficiaries. Musicians from Mortlake, Warrnambool, Woorndoo, Koroit, Port Fairy, Ballarat and the Western District will perform across the two days. Anderson said the line-up will feature Morgana, country music legends The Durdins, Robyn Gleeson, Tommy Grigg, Doug Barr, Streamline, Bill Langhorn, Lynne Moloney, Nicky Murley, Andy Shirtcliffe, Danny Grigg, The Backpockets and Des Morgan. An all-star band will provide the music for the event’s centrepiece, a live-action horseback performance of The Man From Snowy River, and will then perform into the night. Anderson said the muster’s rural Australia theme would continue when people returned to their camp sites at the D.C. Farran Oval. “There will be a couple of big camp fires to gather around and entertain themselves,” he said. “At the end of the night we hoped people would sit down around the camp fires and . . . tell yarns and play guitars and sing songs.” He said the response to the event had been overwhelming, which organisers hoped would help it carry on and make the muster an annual festival for Mortlake. “When it originally started I didn’t expect to sell a ticket, to be honest, so I was blown away. “If it works and the profit stops in this district and if people embrace it then we’ll definitely make this an annual thing.”

Thousands rounded up for second muster
By Vanessa Burrow. Warrnambool Standard March 28th 2005 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard  2005.  All rights reserved
Mortlake's second annual Muster was boosted by riveting re-enactments of great Australian poems and legends at the weekend, attracting crowds of up to 3000 people. Waltzing Matilda, Clancy of the Overflow and The Man From lronbark were among the performances, leading up to the main attraction of the reworked Man from Snowy River arena spectacular in the evening. Muster committee president Barry Robertson said the Australian stories, presented by local actors and entertainers, had left the crowds spellbound. "They were excellent. We've had a lot of feedback about them and they've left a smile on people's faces," he said yesterday. "What we set out to do was try and give local bands and actors a chance to perform and showcase their talents. There's a lot of talent in the bush and rather than bringing in big-name musicians we wanted to give them a go. I think the public vote with their feet." Mr Robertson said about 3000 people had attended the Muster's evening session on Saturday and another 2000 tickets had been pre-sold for last night's Man from Snowy River spectacular. Two performances had been scheduled this year because the inaugural performance was sold out in 2004, he said. Other Muster attractions included a miniature colonial town, complete with a blacksmith's workshop, church, bakery, jail and old-time school. Free children's activities such as face painting, jumping castles and a merry-go-round were also on offer. Profits from the 2005 Mortlake Muster would be donated to community groups in the town, Mr Robertson said.