MYPONGA FESTIVAL
January 1971
History
The town of Myponga is situated on South Australia's
Fleurieu Peninsula, about 60 kilometres south of Adelaide. Prior to the
staging of the Myponga Festival in 1971, the town's main claim to fame
was the 1953 discovery of a uranium ore deposit at Wild Dog Hill, just
outside the township and between 1953 and 1955, small quantities of
uranium ore were obtained from the site. The Myponga area was chiefly
known for dairy farming.
The Myponga Festival -- its proper title was "The
Australian Festival of Progressive Music" -- was held on the
traditional festival date, the Australia Day long weekend, from 30
January to 1 February. It was staged just a week after the Wallacia Festival in NSW and
many of the acts who played at Myponga had come direct from performing
at Wallacia.
The main figure in the festival organising company,
Music Power, was Hamish
Henry, an young Adelaide millionaire entrepreneur who had a
continuing involvement with rock music in the early '70s. As well as
organising the Myponga festival, Henry managed one of the headlining
local bands, War Machine. Ca. 1970-73 he also managed two other
Adelaide groups, Headband and Fraternity.
The front page of the promotional flyer for the festival said:
"Music Power presents at Myponga, South
Australia on January 30th,
31st, February 1st, the first Australian Festival of Progressive Music.
The promoters believe that in keeping with world trends of freedom of
expression and thought in all fields of art, literature and music,
Myponga 71 will be an exciting, aesthetic and elevating experience
through progressive music."
Although there is little information available today,
the Myponga festival was important for several reasons. Myponga was the
venue for the first Australian performance by leading British heavy
rock group Black
Sabbath and it is believed to have hosted the
Australian first
performances by visiting Hungarian jazz-rock group Syrius, which
featured the late
Jackie Orszaczky.
It was also the first Australian visit by leading UK heavy
rock group Black Sabbath. Then at the peak of their form, the band
turned in
a fine performance and it is reputed to have been by far the best of
their several Australian appearances. The other major overseas act
scheduled was Cat
Stevens, but his appearance was reportedly cancelled just
before the festival began. Stevens eventually toured here in
for Paul Dainty in August-September 1972.
Myponga was also an important event in the careers of
two leading Australian groups -- Daddy
Cool and Spectrum.
Spectrum's successful appearance was some months before their national
hit breakout with "I'll Be Gone", and according to
Adrian Rawlins, they played a very impressive set, an opinion confirmed
by Carl Belle (see Recollections).
The same was true for Daddy Cool, which at the time was
still part of Wilson and Hannaford's larger Sons
of the Vegetal Mother project. DC had been warmyl received at
Wallacia and when their Myponga set totally eclipsed the Vegetals it
was clear that Daddy Cool were far more popular than their parent band,
so Sons of the Vegetal Mother was soon shelved for good. Filmmaker
Chris Lofven was on hand with a movie camera to capture some of the DC
set and this footage (often mistakenly thought to be from Sunbury)
eventually found its way into Chris' landmark film-clip for Daddy
Cool's debut smash-hit single Eagle Rock.
Adrian Rawlins noted that the festival was
well-supported by the Adelaide media, so we hope that as time goes by
more material about this important event will come to light. However,
some recent information sent to us suggests that violence and excessive
alcohol consumption were major problems during the festival, and that
there were several serious incidents, including a number of rapes.
A lively exchange about Myponga took place on the
Milesago guestbook in May 2003 between Carl Belle and Terry Murphy,
both of whom attended the festival. We've included their comments in
the 'Feedback' section below. Although Terry evidently had a good time,
Carl's memories are less than rosy and he speaks vividly about the
violence, the generally 'heavy' atmosphere that prevailed there and
about the negative effect the festival had on progressive bands in
Adelaide.
Milesago contributor John Low
provided the following invaluable information, which adds considerably
to what we know about this festival:
"Re: the discussion about the
artists appearing at the South Australian Myponga Festival, recently I
learnt that a friend of mine (Ray Grieve) played at the festival in one
of the Adelaide bands and today he showed me his scrapbook containing a
copy of a promotional flyer and a newspaper list of bands performing
and the times they were on. There are a number of anomalies but here's
what they say:"
| Myponga
Program (from an undated and un-sourced newspaper
clipping, provided by Ray Grieve) |
Saturday
(11 hours)
2-3pm Uncle Jack
3-4pm Storyville
4-5pm Moonshine Jug String Band
5-6pm Lipp Arthur
6-7pm Daddy Cool
7-8pm Desiderata
8-9pm Spectrum
9-10pm Jeff Crozier's Magic Freaks
10-11pm Lipp Caine Rock Orchestra
11-12pm Fanny Adams
12-1pm Syrius* |
Sunday (12
hours)
1-2pm Coney Island Jug Band
2-3pm Daddy Cool
3-4pm Hippo
4-5pm Sunshine
5-6pm Company Caine
6-7pm John Graham & Margaret RoadKnight
7-8pm Sons of the Vegetal Mother
8-9pm War Machine
9-10pm Steve Foster / Blackfire
10-11pm Fraternity
11-12pm Black Sabbath
12-1am Spectrum |
Monday (10
hours)
1-2pm Fat Angel
2-3pm Octopus
3-4pm Hans Poulsen
4-5pm Pigface
5-6pm Lotus
6-7pm Chain
7-8pm Jeff St. John, Wendy Saddington & The Copperwine
8-9pm Healing Force
9-10pm Cat Stevens*
10-11pm Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs |
"Ray does not remember either Syrius* or Cat Stevens appearing. Ray
Grieve sang in a number of bands in Sydney (most notably Elliot Gordon
Union which also included Gary Lothian, later of Galadriel) before
moving to SA and joining Adelaide band W.G. Berg. By the time of
Myponga they'd changed their name to War Machine and were in the
process of disintegrating. According to Ray, they played a terrible
set! Ray subsequently moved into folk music and played with The
Rouseabouts in the late 1970s and early 1980s."
*NOTE: Cat Stevens did
not appear but Carl Belle's comments (see below) indicate that Syrius
did perform at Myponga. (Ed.)
Recollections
Adrian Rawlins (from Festivals in
Australia: An Intimate History)
"I was ... sole compere at
Myponga. This festival was held on a far from perfect site -- a flat
treeless farm not far from a lovely beach, but quite a way from
Adelaide. The event was organised by gentlemen who were not without
capital. They had arranged for Cat Stevens and Black Sabbath to
headline. Through no fault of theirs, Cat Stevens failed to honour his
agreement, but Black Sabbath arrived, and delivered a performance of
insane, unbridled energy, such as they never did again -- neither in
1973, '74 or '80. But while Black Sabbath was the Big Name at Myponga,
Daddy Cool were the Big Hit. Ross Wilson's on stage persona, the band's
zaniness and raunch, their pure golden rock, their elan and panache,
captivated everyone and established them as the nation's number one
band. Spectrum's seriousness and creativity were more completely
appreciated in Adelaide than they had been in Melbourne -- though
before long the band notched up a sizeable following throughout the
country."
"The Adelaide media supported the concept of Myponga far more
vigorously than the Sydney press or TV had supported either Ourimbah or
Wallacia. But the numbers of participants who actually arrived were
still not over 15,000 -- not enough to put the backers into a profit
situation. Had another 5,000 people turned up the festival would have
been an all-round success."
Vince Lovegrove:
"I can well remember [Black
Sabbath's] first-ever Australian performance at Adelaide's historic and
legendary, Myponga Festival. If you have never heard of the Myponga
Festival it is probably because it has been all but forgotten by most
of Australia's east coast rock historians who seem to think that Oz
rock exists only in Sydney and Melbourne in their time only. But
Myponga Festival was one of the great Australian rock Festivals and
close to the hearts of all that attended - including the aforementioned
Ozzy Osbourne and many of Australia's mainstream acts. But it did not
include most of today's rock historians who either snubbed the event or
maybe were not even born."
- from "Lovegrove's Ear on London", immedia, 21 May
2002
Sam Pickering:
The front cover (2 pages) of the
Sunday Mail dated 30/01/71 has a banner
headline "10,000 FLOCK TO POP FARM". Other items of note in that
edition: 'Premiere of The Partridge Family' and
'Lillee bags five wickets in the first innings of his first
test.'
"Late News: A number of people at
Myponga were given urgent medical
treatment for drug freak-outs by medical staff at the official hospital
centre. Festival organisers claimed they knew of no drug trouble.
Hospital staff refused to give any details. The freak-outs, some known
to be serious, confirmed earlier rumours that drugs were being
circulated."
Carl Belle, 15 May 2003
"I would like to
comment on the Myponga rock festival, held on Australia Day long
weekend, January 1971. My recollections are very different from those
of your record. The festival was marred by drunkenness, acts of
violence, and several reported rapes. It was also boycotted by most of
SA's leading bands, due to discrepancy in performance payments."
"Best performances were by Syrius, Spectrum (after the release of "I'll
be Gone"), Lipp Arthur, CoCaine (before the arrival of the insufferable
Gulliver Smith), Jeff Crozier, and the Sons of the Vegetal Mother.
Black Sabbath created a lot of hysteria, but their performance, I
thought, was extremely disappointing (other than that of their lead
guitarist). However, the continual threats of violence drove a lot of
people (especially young women) off site."
"Daddy Cool were an act that prevented a very ugly atmosphere from
developing into a serious situation; their humour, good nature and
"feel good" rock and roll completely transformed the crowd dynamics -
albeit temporarily."
"Adrian Rawlins as compere was rather flat; he spent much of the time
performing rather silly laughs. The Myponga rock festival marked the
decline of alternative music in Adelaide. The groups which boycotted
the festival - including highly creative acts such as Red Angel Panic
and Hard Time Killing Floor - found many venues henceforth closed to
them, and a more commercial teenybopper sound was deliberately fostered
in many venues throughout the city."
"By the way Myponga is about 60 kms south of Adelaide, and was --
before
economic rationalism -- a noted dairy centre. The venue for the
festival was a converted dairy farm, but the facilities provided were
rudimentary and didn't help foster an atmosphere of "peace, love and
harmony" (the festival had been advertised as Adelaide's answer to
Woodstock). For this attendee, it promoted a great interest in Spectrum
and Syrius, and vain attempt to find our more about Lipp Arthur (who
played a very professional set)."
Terry Murphy, 17
May 2003
"Its strange how
people have different views of occurrences. I too was at Myponga but I
had a great time and was impressed by Black Sabbath and still have
visions of watching Jeff Crozier dancing on top of a bus as Black
Sabbath played and did not see or hear of any problems during the event
...
I have also read of people who had a bad time at the Mulwala festival, but I had a
great time there also ... but I must be one of the lucky ones I suppose.
Carl Belle,
17 May 2003
"At the risk of
exceeding the hospitality of the guest book I must respond to Terry
Murphy. I can remember two distinct incidents within the first three
hours of the opening day which must have been witnessed by the entire
Myponga audience."
"Firstly, an ambulance crew were pelted with rocks and beer cans as
they
attempted to treat a young woman who was hyperventilating. Secondly the
Wizard of Sydney was driven from the stage by a fusillade of beer cans
(some full), and had his face cut (an incident which was quelled by
Adrian Rawlins' brave intervention.) This set the scene for the
weekend."
The Ambulance crews treated numerous victims of violence including 5
raped girls and 1 raped man. (Indeed a young woman was attacked by
drunks outside our tent, and but for our intervention would have been
raped.) The Adelaide media carried reports of general violence, as did,
I think, the Adelaide Uni paper, On
Dit. The Ambulance and CFS
authorities told me that crowd behaviour was easily the worst they had
ever seen. Things were considered so bad that a group of Flinders Uni
students tried to organize a properly run festival in 1972 at Meadows;
unfortunately they did not have the money to realize their dreams. (The
festival went ahead but was commercially run.)"
"As I stated, Myponga more or less destroyed alternative rock music in
Adelaide. As for Black Sabbath, as I mentioned there was a lot of
hysteria, and their mere appearance was enough to provoke a positive
reaction. (I always thought Jeff Crozier's dancing was a satirical
statement; certainly the musicians I sat with couldn't believe the
muffed entries and the discrepancies between bass/drums and lead).
Certainly most of the Australian musicians put on a much better showing
than the over-rated Sabbath."
Terry Murphy, 19
May 2003
"Well I did seem
to hit a nerve with Mr Carl Belle. It was not my intention to slight
your version of the events but just to give my view as I saw it ..I
never witnessed or heard of any of the things you mentioned that is not
to say they may not have occurred but we all know media reports can
distort happenings O.K."
"I went to these events for the music and nothing more and was elated
at
what I saw and experienced If your experience was soured I am sorry the
people who marred these events are normally only a few percent of the
total attendee's but its because of them that future events have
trouble getting up and going ... "
Carl Belle, 20
May 2003
"I will agree with
Terry Murphy that it is the disruptive minorities that have spoiled
rock festivals. In 1969-1970 Adelaide had developed a really creative
and progressive rock scene, probably equal to any in Australia, and
fairly closely linked to elements of the counterculture. Musical
influences extended from rock as theatre through progressive rock to
jazz/rock fusion and blues. Throughout 1969-70 there had been a number
of open air and other concerts at various SA locations, all of which
had passed without major incident."
"The Myponga festival changed that. The dubious reputation of some of
the financial backers and the boycott by Adelaide's leading groups kept
many fans away. The debate among musos, critics and others which
followed agreed on one thing; that although some great music had been
played at Myponga, the festival itself had overall been a failure and
largely ruined by violence, drunkenness, poor security, and lousy
management. Many of the groups who had refused to participate, were
"punished" by influential figures among Adelaide's venue owners; with
the result that many successful bands either folded (through lack of
work), or the key musicians drifted interstate to the thriving musical
scenes in Melbourne and Sydney."
"It was a tragedy for a state which had produced band of the calibre of
Red Angel Panic, Hard Time Killing Floor, Abraham Lots Blues Band,
Lotus, which while probably ranking a little behind the great
Australian bands of the early 70's -- Spectrum, Syrius, Tully and
McKenzie Theory -- were original and full of musical ideas."
"I'm glad Terry, you had a great time. I didn't; I'll never forget for
example the two thoroughly traumatized 16 year old girls my girlfriend
(now wife) and I drove home, or the later wilful destruction of many of
Adelaide's most promising and interesting bands. That era remains
probably the most productive in alternative Australian music."
References / Links
Special thanks for their
contributions to Carl
Belle, Vince Lovegrove, John Low, Sam Pickering and Terry Stacey.
Vince Lovegrove
"Lovegrove's Ear on London", immedia, 21/5/02
http://www.themusic.com.au/im_m/leol.html
Ian McFarlane
Encylopedia of
Australian Rock & Pop (Allen & Unwin, 1999)
Fleurieu Peninsula Family History Group - Myponga Festival
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~safpfhg/html/mypongafestival_files/
New Zealand
Music of the 60s and 70s
http://www.sergent.com.au/highway.html
Highway To Hell
AC/DC fan site
http://www.buoy.com/~bonfire/
Adrian Rawlins
Festivals in Australia:
An Intimate History
(D.T.E Publishers, Spring Hill, Vic, 1986)
Margret
RoadKnight
http://www.gips.com.au/~roadknight/bio.htm
Stephen Foster official website
http://www.stevefoster.info
Vince Melouney official website
http://www.vincemelouney.com/Bio.htm
Myponga
(Wild Dog Hill), SA
http://www.sea-us.org.au/oldmines/wilddog.html
Uranium Mining
In Australia
http://www.energy.sa.gov.au/pages/conventional/resources_
use/nuclear/uranium_mining.htm:sectID=20&tempID=1
