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Brisbane Ladies

"Brisbane Ladies" is an Australian folksong and is one of many adaptations of the traditional British naval song "Spanish Ladies". The song is also known as "Augathella Station". It is numbered 21114 on the Roud Folk Song Index.

History

The lyric dates back to at least the 1880s and is credited to a jackaroo-turned-shopkeeper named Saul Mendelsohn, who lived near Nanango. Mendelsohn was later found as being related to actor Ben Mendelsohn via a 2009 episode of the television series, Who Do You Think You Are.

The place names used in the song were part of the route that cattle drovers used when returning from cattle sales in Brisbane to the cattle station at Augathella in South West Queensland. Those place names include Toowong, Augathella, Caboolture, Kilcoy, Colinton's Hut, Blackbutt, Bob Williamson's paddock, Taromeo, Yarraman Creek, Nanango and Toomancie.

Text and music

Recordings

"Brisbane Ladies" has been performed and recorded by a number of various Australian artists, including bush bands.

  • Snake Gully Bush Band
  • The Wild Colonial Boys
  • John Greenway on the 1959 album Australian Folksongs and Ballads
  • Gary Shearston on the 1964 album Folk Songs and Ballads of Australia
  • The Bushwackers, under the title of "Augathella Station" on the album Murrumbidgee
  • Hoyt Axton recorded "Brisbane Ladies" on his album Greenback Dollar, Live at the Troubadour

References

External links