John Meredith (folklorist)

John Stanley Raymond Meredith OAM (17 January 1920 – 18 February 2001) was an Australian pioneer folklorist from Holbrook, New South Wales whose work influenced the Australian folk music revival of the 1950s, in particular as a founding member of the Australia's first revivalist bush band The Bushwhackers (unrelated to the contemporary band of similar name).

Ellen looked after John and six more on a small block in Holbrook and he remembers that she sang a little as she worked and she entertained the kids with readings from Australian books and magazines such as The Bulletin.

Meredith took up the button accordion and at the age of fourteen, when Ellen promised him a brand new "Melba" model if he learnt how to play on his father's old and patched Mezon.

In 1944 Meredith moved to Melbourne and three years later decided to travel the east coast of Australia on his pushbike, picking up work where he could.

In 1954 Meredith became the secretary of the newly formed Australian Folklore Society[3] and also assisted in the formation of the Bush Music Club in Sydney.

During this time he spent every available weekend travelling throughout NSW collecting songs and dance tunes from some of Australia's finest traditional singers.

In 1960 Meredith was the recipient of an Australian Literature Fund Grant for 500 pounds to publish a book based on his field work and recordings.

In 1952, Meredith formed the first Australian revivalist bush band with Jack Barrie and Brian Loughlin (misspelled Loughlan in some sources).

In 1981 Meredith re-discovered his love for collecting and photographing Australian bush singers and musicians, which he continued to do until his health failed him.

He wrote several plays, including The Wild Colonial Boy with Joan Clarke, first produced by Brisbane New Theatre in 1955, and How Many Miles from Gundagai performed by the Bushwhackers.

Meredith also collected songs by Duke Tritton, a poet and songwriter whose work reflected his experiences as a shearer and as an unemployed itinerant worker during the Great Depression.

[8] Meredith also authored a large number of magazine articles (full list unavailable) plus numerous original photographs, audio recordings and some film segments.