Welcome

I hope you enjoy travelling down these Australian highways and byways. These songs, poems, ditties, stories, yarns, toasts and snippets of history are a celebration of Australia's unique tradition.

Nearly everything on this site is open slather. As a collector of traditional and public domain material my motivation is to reintroduce it back to the community from where it came. All I ask is that the original informant or copyright owner, be credited along with myself as collector. It would always be appreciated if you could recommend this site as the source.

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Here you will find, possibly with the help of our search engine, a deep swag of folklore, curious history, over 2000 songs, poems and ditties, various indexes and facsimile reproductions, rare photographs and illustrations, lists of superstitions, children's chants and rhymes, e-books, videos, podcasts and real time streaming. There are also numerous articles about Australian social history, folklore and music.

There are several sections on my work as a folklorist, record producer, author, performer and oral historian including guides to my oral history (1972 onwards) and my manuscript collections (part one deposited 2004) which are housed in the National Library of Australia.

I believe I am in a unique position as a folklore collector in as much as I am also a performer. This allows me to collect and develop and, eventually, reintroduce songs back to the communities that created them. I have often said I am a ‘folklore recycling unit’ and if I have have a ‘mission’ in life then it is the popularisation of Australia’s folklore – both past and present. The passion has been to make our people feel ‘more Australian’ by understanding where we have come from and folklore can certainly help in that direction.

The site is large, busy (over one million visitors) and updated regularly including visitor contributions (which are always welcomed and acknowledged).

The Shop

The site, established in 2002, is a not-for-profit venture aimed at increasing awareness of Australian culture, particularly folklore and traditional music, however there is a shop where you can buy various books and compact discs and access downloads of individual songs and complete albums.

Navigating the Site

The main site sections are listed in the general menu across the top of every page and it's a good starting point for visitors. The site Index (or map) at the left is a more detailed explanation of what's on the site. The coloured menu on the left of each page lets you know the parts to each section as well as what is in each part. You can always return to this page by clicking on INDEX in the top menu bar.

Email questions and contributions are welcome.

I hope you enjoy traveling down these Australian highways and byways.
Advance Australia Fair Dinkum.

Warren Fahey



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AVAILABLE NOW as PDF in THE SHOP
Sing Us Anothery Dirty as Buggery ebook


News

  • LARRIKIN LAD The Rebel Studio one-hour bio documentary
  • SING US ANOTHERY DIRTY AS BUGGERY - ebook
  • A Life on the Ocean Waves
  • National Trust Talk
  • Two lectures for Sydney University
  • Song to feature on BBC documentary
CLICK HERE to view the current NEWS

  • WARREN FAHEY AT NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL, MARCH

  • Thurs 28th - Opening Concert Spectacular.
    Fri 29th - Screening of 'Damned Souls & Turning Wheels' Biennale
    Fri 29th - Up Close Concert - my personal choice of songs & stories
    Sat 3oth - Songs and Ditties From the Cities - concert
    Sun 31st - Australian Made - concert
    Sun 31st - Screening of 'Larrikin Lad' with introduction
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