HERITAGE SAVED: Bush balladeer Peter Coad, ACMF’s Lorraine Pfitzner and balladeers Virginia Coad and Lynette Coad with the panels before their journey to Tamworth.
ANOTHER piece of Australian country music history has been saved from white ant destruction.
The rescue began when Australian Country Music Foundation’s (ACMF) Lorraine Pfitzner spotted panels from Buddy Williams’ touring truck at Canowindra about two years ago and the ACMF secured them to the display in their Brisbane St museum.
The organisation arranged with bush balladeer Peter Coad to pick up the two pieces of the canopy and bring them to Tamworth.
This month the 2012 Community Heritage Grants gave the ACMF $2000 to assist with the cost of building an archival case and cover for the panels, and their future is now secure with construction on the cases to begin soon.
ACMF president and archivist Eric Scott said the ACMF wanted to get the whole canopy, but the white ants had destroyed much of it by the time they got there, so two panels was all they would have.
Country music legend Buddy Williams used the canopy in the late 1950s and early 1960s and it had sat in the yard of a private house at Canowindra – where Buddy’s truck had broken down – since then.
Mr Scott said the owner was a mechanic and repaired the truck, a 1948 Ford with a Mercury engine, and Buddy asked him if he would like the canopy for a cubby-house for his children because he was on his way to buy a new truck.
“The mechanic said yes and that was over 50 years ago,”Mr Scott said.
“Around two years ago we received a phone call in regards to this item and stated we would love it for our archives here in Tamworth. This is another valuable artefact in the story of Australian country music history which will be looked after forever.”
Mr Scott said retired joiner and cabinet maker Ron Young would construct a special display case/storage unit so the ACMF could share this memory with country music fans.
“We’re looking forward to Ron breathing his magic on it,” he said.
Mr Scott said none of this would be possible without grants like the heritage grant.
“Without them we couldn’t do
it because to raise funds is exceedingly difficult,” he said.
“We have our main fundraising event in the festival– our Roll of Renown Concert – and the main purpose of that is to get us through the following year.”
It will not be on display until well into next year.
The ACMF would love to hear from anyone who had a photo of the canopy on Buddy’s truck or any
further information about it.
The ACMF’s phone number is 6766 9696.