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. From; John Meredith, p.101, in "Verandah Music, Roots of Australian Tradition", Curtin University Books, 2003, Ed Graham Seal and Rob Willis.
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.
John Meredith's portrait of Ma Seal is available here; https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/1172277
See NLA BibID 753109 "The Tunes of Ma Seal" Pioneer Performer Series, 1994.
