Details

Latitude

-6.444645

Longitude

148.6045

Start Date

1992-12-14

End Date

1992-12-14

Tape#1: Music in New Guinea - Background, Journey, Exposure and Experiences Side A & B: Ray Sheridan was born on 6th October 1916 first went to New Guinea (PNG) in February 1943 as a Signaler with the Australian Army joining Allied Forces in the Battle of New Guinea in World War II. Ray had musical background in symphony orchestra in WA before posting to PNG during the war. Ray's musical journey and work on music of New Guinea was through his recordings, article publications and his input to encyclopedia on PNG during wartime and areas of battles from Port Moresby, Kokoda trail to Salamua to Lae then later after the war. In 1947-1949 he returned to PNG to work as a Music Office with Department of Education where traveled to various regions of the country from Southern to Northern Mainland to Highlands to Islands. His movements were either flying, bush tracking, boats, river rafting, vehicles to visit locations to research, collect and record music of the indigenous people. The areas include provinces of Central, Milne Bay, Northern (Oro), Morobe, Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands, New Britain and New Ireland. He had an office based in Port Moresby and Rabaul. His exposure to indigenous music in PNG was through the chants, drumming rhythms, singing songs and the use traditional instruments like flutes, kundu, garamut then later with introduction of guitars into stringbands and choir singing mainly in Rabaul under missionary influence. There were various associates of music in PNG and amongst many, Fr Reichel was an influential musician from the Catholic Church in Rabaul that Ray worked with. Ray continued in Australia from the 1950s as scholar and academic with evidence of his work and recordings on Music in New Guinea in late 1940s' amongst other interests in the field of ethnomusicology. (Steven Gagau, March 2019)

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