Footscray Folk

Name: Footscray Folk
Start: 2026-03-07T17:00:00+11:00
End: 2026-03-07T17:00:00+11:00
Location: Ercildoune, Footscray Historical Society

About

A Singout featuring the pioneers of the sixties Australian folk scene: David Lumsden, Martyn Wyndham-Read, Margret RoadKnight…and a concluding hootenanny!

Saturday 7 March 2026

A sundowner (5pm to dusk ) in the splendid gardens of Ercildoune, 66 Napier Street Footscray

A fundraiser for Melbourne’s Living Museum of the West and Footscray Historical Society
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Tickets at www.trybooking.com/DHSBO and on the door if available.

General entry: $30
Solidarity price: $50
Concession price: $20 (no one turned away)
Fantastic Folk price: $200 (includes free food and drinks all evening)

Can't make it? Buy a ticket for someone in need and support our fundraiser.
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More about the event:

Melbourne had a thriving folk scene going back to the 1950s. There were also teams of community historians who were traveling around the country, looking for rare songs and examples of what we now call “folklife”.

A new museum exhibition is dedicated to one local family who were involved in both folk singing, recording stories and putting on some of the first gatherings of the Melbourne folk revival. The exhibition – ‘Footscray Folklore Revisited: The Lumsdens’ – features rare footage, music, oral history and new research about this until now hidden piece of local history.

Exhibition curator Alex Ettling says, “Principles began to be established in the folk scene. Telling local stories. The experiences of the exploited and marginalised got a hearing. Folklore elevated workers and their stories into popular culture. Folk music was often about passing around songs without commercialising culture.”

Alex Ettling says “Folk music was about breaking down the barrier between the celebrity at the front and a largely passive audience that took what was offered to them. The idea of not plugging in was about valuing intimate events, where more people could participate in storytelling, and agitation could have more of an impact. It was democratic culture and community history – and in a peculiar period of history during the dowdy 50s and Cold War politics, it somehow hit number one on the pop charts. Folk was wildly popular with young people after the arrival of rock’n'roll”.

On Saturday 7 March 2026 at 5pm, we will celebrate the Lumsden Family and the local folk music scene which connected Melbourne to the world.

This will be the last opportunity to see these legends of Australian folk. This is Martyn Wyndham-Read’s final ever tour of Australia. Margret RoadKnight and David Lumsden no longer regularly perform. This is a special one-off occasion taking place in the beautiful garden of the Footscray Historical Society’s building Ercildoune. It's not to be missed...and who knows what will happen at the hootenanny to close the show?

A “singout”, a “hootenanny”, these are words that came out of the traditions of the folk scene – at its most simple it is people coming together to share culture. Join us for an evening of storytelling about the emergence of the Melbourne folk scene. BBQ, drinks and a one-off rare display of rare historical artefacts from the local folk scene.

Also available will be ‘The Black Death’ a rare and elusive beverage from the sixties Melbourne folk scene...which some advocates are campaigning to be heritage listed.

The event is co-hosted by Melbourne's Living Museum of the West and Footscray Historical Society. All proceeds to support local history work.

Media contact:
Alex Ettling
0416 493 506
alexettling@gmail.com
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Media release: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iXZFYvoTnICSXE7dzwal-1Va_B2zsRoM/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=114778393898333031896&rtpof=true&sd=true

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Print a poster: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gYpPjzH61Xxw0GcxNEQsG4Ll0Yl5ulVi/view?usp=drive_link