Ma Seal
Catherine (Kate or Ma) Seal (1901-1997), Kimba, was born in Hawker, SA. She provided details of some of the Australian tunes in this archive, collected by John Meredith & Peter Ellis. She learned to play the accordion when she was 5 years old. Kate's father brought the accordion home and told her and her brother that the first on to play a tune on it could have it." -- John Meredith, "Verandah Music, Roots of Australian Tradition", Curtin University Books, 2003, Ed Graham Seal and Rob Willis, p101.
Ma Seal moved to Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula after her marriage in 1955. She played Button Accordion, and varied the way she played, including the decorations and sometimes the melody, depending on the occasion.
There are photos and recordings of her in the National Library of Australia in Canberra, search the NLA catalog for "Ma Seal".
You can see John Meredith's portrait of Ma Seal.
See also "The Tunes of Ma Seal", compiled by Peter Ellis and Dave De Santi, Pioneer Performer Series, Carrawobbity Press, 1994
