The Drover's Boy

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"The Drover's Boy" is a song by Ted Egan.

Songs on the album (all composed by Ted Egan):

Song titlePerformer(s)
1. The Drover's BoyTed Egan
2. A Bunch of Damned WhoresNerys Evans, Margret Roadknight, Geraldine Doyle, Margot Moir
3. Mary BroadNerys Evans
4. God's PoliceTed Egan
5. TruganiniNerys Evans
6. Kitty BuchananNerys Evans
7. AlyandabuTed Egan
8. A Song for GraceNerys Evans
9. Bush WomanTed Egan
10. The Shearer's WifeNerys Evans
11. She's AustralianTed Egan
12. The RouseaboutNerys Evans
13. GrannyTed Egan
14. SurvivorsTed Egan

Book

Egan wrote a book based on the story of the song; The Drover's Boy. [1] The jacket description reads:

Contents

"Based on a song of the same name and set in the 1920s, The Drover's Boy recalls the time when it was illegal for Caucasians and Aborigines to marry, and the death of an Aborigine went unnoticed by the white community. This popular and moving Australian folk song comes from a true story about a Caucasian drover (the Australian name for a cowboy or sheep herder) who is forced to pass off his Aboriginal wife as his "drover's boy". Ted Egan wrote this song as a tribute to the Aboriginal stockwomen, in the hope that one day their enormous contribution to the Australian pastoral industry might be recognized and honored. Ages 11+."

Compilations and cover versions

Bibliography

The Drover's Boy has been collected in:

It has also inspired a series of paintings and a stage production:

Movie

Egan saw a potential movie in the story of The Drover's Boy and commissioned Cinevest Limited to find potential backers. A prospectus was issued in 1995 [3] The funds raised by Cinevest and Egan personally, after pre-production costs were sufficient to capture extensive footage of outback cattle movements on high quality film, but insufficient to guarantee completion of the full-length movie, so the project was abandoned.

In 2015 a hybrid-documentary based on The Drover's Boy song was released. The short-film, with a run time of 11 minutes, was directed by Margaret McHugh and produced by Lyn Norfor and has been screened at numerous film festivals. [4] [5]

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References

  1. Egan, Ted; Ingpen, Robert, 1936-, (author.) (1997), The drover's boy (reprinted 1998 ed.), Lothian, ISBN   978-0-85091-840-3 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. "Country Music of Australia Awards - 1990s". Country Music Australia, Tamworth NSW 2340. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  3. Cinevest Limited (1995), Ted Egan's the drover's boy : an Australian feature film. Prospectus, Cinevest Limited], retrieved 21 January 2015
  4. Internet, Chirp. "DROVER'S BOY, THE - Ronin Films - Educational DVD Sales". www.roninfilms.com.au. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  5. "The Drover's Boy (2014) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-02-22.