Simon McDonald
Simon McDonald, (1907-1968), Melbourne, Vic provided details of some of the Australian tunes in this archive, collected by Norm O'Connor.
Simon lived most of his life in Creswick, near Ballarat, Vic, fossicking for gold, digging potatoes, picking fruit. He had a repertoire exceeding fifty songs and at least seven poems of his own composition, but knew many more traditional songs and tunes learned from family members. He was known locally as a fiddler of dance music. "His limited range of experiences, with no distraction provided by newspapers or radio, seems to have sharpened his recall of the years. Simon's story of unremitting poverty was fairly typical of bush workers, but it was told with a richness of detail and humour, together with songs and recitations beyond the reach of most literate persons."
Hugh Anderson in "Verandah Music, Roots of Australian Tradition", 2003, p.106, Curtin University Books, Ed. Graham Seal and Rob Willis
