Music and world-building in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

This article investigates the perceived benefits of music community membership within a historical framework of music making in the same geographical locations. Research was carried out in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter Valley regions of New South Wales. These regions were selected because of their connection with ongoing historical research on the role of music in world-building for these communities in the early settler period. Coalmining was the major industry underpinning the founding of these regions and today it is still a dominant presence, whether it be as active mines or felt as the impact of mine closures. The research aimed to compare music communities across time, looki..