Bendigo Historical Society Inc.
Newspaper - PETER ELLIS COLLECTION: NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, 22nd May, 2015
Newspaper article from the Bendigo Advertiser stuck on A4 printer paper. Article is dated Friday, May 22, 2015. Article is accompanied by a picture of Peter Ellis and is captioned as such. Article is written by Jason Walls and is titled Loss for folk music history. Article reads: Celebrated Bendigo Music identity, historian and naturalist Peter Ellis OAM died suddenly this week after a brief illness. He was 69. Mr Ellis was highly regarded as a collector and preserver of traditional bush music, with his collection of dance related material the largest in the National Library Archives in Canberra. He was award an Order of Australia Medal in 2012 for services to the arts through the collection and preservation of Australian folk history and heritage. Mr Ellis was a founding member of the Emu Creek Bush Band and achieved two platinum and several gold records in his more than 30 years with the Wedderburn Old Timers Band. Fellow Emu Creek Bush Band member and close friend John Williams said Mr Ellis had made an invaluable contribution to the preservation of Australia's musical and dance heritage, travelling extensively across the country recording and notating folk music. 'In 500 year's time, as long as they can find the technology, people will be able to resurrect our bush dancing history,' he said. 'Probably his biggest legacy is the number of young people who have been made aware of bush music and are continuing to play it today and will play it in the future.' As a life member of the Bendigo Field Naturalists Mr Ellis was also involved in campaigns to establish the Whipstick and Kamarooka State Parks and the Saloman's Gully and Jackass Flat Flora Reserves, and lobbied for the inclusion of One Tree Hill in the Greater Bendigo National Park. A public funeral service will beheld at the Mulqueen Family Chapel on Bridge Street on Monday, May 25, at 11am, followed by a private cremation. An extensive obituary will be published in Saturday's Bendigo Advertiser.person, individual, peter ellis oam