Ahoy!

The Australian National Maritime Museum, in Darling Harbour, Sydney, is a maritime museum situated in a working harbour. Yesterday I participated in the annual Wooden Boat Festival by presenting two one -hour concerts where I talked about various aspects of the Clipper ships that were so much an important part of Australia's 19th century life. Being an island, a bloody big island, Australia was dependent on these beautiful old ships for the flow of emigrants and the supply of wool, beef and minerals back to Britain. It was the discovery of gold in 1851 that saw the clipper trade explode. I concentrated on two ships  - the Marco Polo and the Cutty Sark. 

I was fortunate to have the Roaring Forties shanty group join me and together we sang of salty sailors, life at sea and port and some of the songs created to celebrate the famous Black Ball line.

Here is a truncated version: