Southern Cross Trawlers

Southern Cross Trawlers is a combination of singers Margaret Walters and Don Brian from Sydney. The two share an interest in Australian traditional songs, especially those with a maritime content. They have pooled their talents for unaccompanied singing and for trawling through song books and elsewhere for unusual material.

SCT formed in 2005 and performed at the National Folk Festival in 2005 and 2006, and were guests at the Cygnet Folk Festival and the Tamar Valley Folk Festival in January 2007. Margaret and Don are also members of the group The Roaring Forties and participate in that group's presentation of Yarri of Wiradjuri , a song and verse cycle written by John Warner. Yarri of Wiradjuri (see www.folkjohnwarner.com for information and reviews) was recorded in 2006 and played at several folk clubs in Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra and at festivals in Cobargo, St Albans and Gundagai and was also performed at the National in Canberra in 2007.

Individually, Don and Margaret participate in various activities in the Sydney folk scene, notably the sessions on the James Craig and theme nights at the Bush Music Club. They are useful folk to have around - Don with his in-depth knowledge of Australian bush songs, verse and folklore; and Margaret with her wide-ranging repertoire of British and Australian songs about convicts, colonial women, feisty damsels, workers, peace, animals, the supernatural, unrequited love, the environment, etc - many with choruses.

They have plans for a CD as a duo and are seeking gigs at festivals and clubs in the UK in the summer of 2008.

Presentations as Southern Cross Trawlers:

"Trawling the Southern Oceans" considers the maritime history of the southern ocean from the convicts destined for the penal settlements at Port Arthur and the infamous Macquarie Harbour, attempts to escape, the perils of wild Bass Strait, shipwrecks, whaler men, sealers and intrepid explorers. Tasmania's history provides a wealth of enthralling stories that have been told in song and verse.

Besides concert performances of songs about convicts, bushranging, gold mining, and other traditional Australian bush songs, Don and Margaret draw on material they perform with the Forties - namely, Tolpuddle: the Australian Connection, Shellback Sheila: the working lives of sailors in verse and song
by Cicely Fox Smith 1882-1954, Chanties from the Nimrod, Yarri of Wiradjuri.

Enquiries: Margaret Walters - mwalters@mail.usyd.edu.au or featherswedge@yahoo.com.au
Mail: PO Box 615, GLEBE NSW Australia 2037 Phone: +61 2 9698 2206 Mobile: 0427 958 788
Don Brian - dsbrian@optusnet.com.au