Events from the Past

The WAFF put on a show for Heritage Month on 26th April 2025
— Here’s to the West Concert – History & Heritage in Song
Welcome to Australia’s largest community-driven celebration of heritage. As part of this festival the WAFF presented a concert to celebrate our WA Heritage.
A good audience was welcomed to the West Australian Folk Federation for an afternoon of Western Australian original and traditional music, bringing to light lesser known stories through song and spoken word performed in the Heritage Listed Christ Church in Claremont, one of the oldest suburban parish Churches in Perth featuring the song writing talents of: Bernard Carney OAM, Warralakin, The Western Songbirds, The Rambling Bilbies & John Ralph.
The church was built of locally quarried Cottesloe limestone the foundation stone was laid on the 10th September,1892. This combination of Folk music in a beautiful heritage building was perfect with wonderful acoustics accentuating the performers talents.
Artist info:

Warralakin Hear the Music, Smell the Dust, Listen to the Stories. Phil and Yvonne Gray are Warralakin and opened the show with songs from their new CD which and you certainly could feel dust and stories in the songs. they have lived and worked in the places less travelled and have a lifetime of Story, Song and Verse that reflect an Australian way of life. Warralakin took us on an authentic Australian Folk journey. Songs, verse and stories of seafarers, pirates, whalers, shearers, drovers, farmers and many other Australians. Much of Warralakin Music is their original material and they painted a picture of our Western Australia.
The Rambling Bilbies are a Western Australian based duo of Rob & Jill Oats. Their musicality was evident with Songs written by Rob and Jill highlighting lives and struggles of Western Australians around out great state from the plight of the farmers and the itinerant workers to the beautiful trees and landscapes and a Pat O’leary poem about trees and forests. They finished their set with Jill’s song about the race riots in Kalgoorlie in the early 1900’s www.thebilbies.com.au	style=”height=100px”>
John Ralph came on to finish the 1st half with songs and tunes that painted stories influenced by his studies of Western Australian music during the early settlement and beyond including a set of songs showing the diversity of life after and before European settlement. John’s guitar playing is wonderful to listen to, his experience playing around the world shows through in the fine song writing and performing	>
The Western Songbirds are Carmel Charlton & Lynda Martin. Carmel & Lynda have been playing around Australia both as solo and a duo for quite a while and their voices blend beautifully. Opening the 2nd half they presented songs written by Carmel and Lynda as well as others which enlightened the audience with some quirky names of towns and the lives bought up in rural Australia. Their experiences in rural and city life were presented in a wonderful variety of songs.www.carmelcharlton.com Carmel will be joined by Lynda Martin a singer guitarist with many years playing and writing songs.
Bernard Carney closed out the concert in the only way Bernard know with songs of humour, serious songs and all done with impecable guitar playing. He has written many songs of the West and on this concert he bought them to life. He had the audience joining in his song about the Midland Workshops and any other song that they knew. It was a masterful performance and a great way to finish a wonderful afternoon of good music.
We can’t close without thanking the people who provided support for this concert. Joe Ralph did a wonderful job on the sound desk, often a forgotten member of the crew. Manning the front desk was Terry Bonnett dealing with the busy crowd as the doors were open, not always an easy job but between he and Wendy they managed to get everyone in before start time and then made teas and coffee at half time. This whole show was pulled together in quick time by the WAFF committee when we received an email from the Heritage council only a couple of weeks before the show. The venue was wonderful and thanks to the Christ Church people for the use of a wonderful venue. If I have forgotten any one I apologise. We will organise another concert soon.