In 1972 I returned to Australia from a year teaching in London and travelling through Europe. I had attended the University of New England in Armidale previously and gained a BA Dip Ed. I had also spent those four years working for the student Newspaper Nucleus. Vi Tourle was the editor and made me aware of a series of “gatherings” set up by the National Union of Australian Students. I attended the Melbourne one in 1970 and the Perth theatre one in 1971.
I learnt that there was to be another one on sustainable living at Nimbin in 1973. Vi said I should photograph it. I attended three meetings in Nimbin at the Tomato Sauce Factory to plan the festival (with John McKnight the founder of the Buttery}. Vi, Graeme Dunstan and Johnny Allen were there.
As I was teaching at Lismore High School by then I offered to develop a theatrical production with Year 11 students, based on the Whole Earth Catalogue, which we would bring to the Aquarius Festival. Some 16 students and I worked to develop material for performance. Kerith Selwood helped write the music/songs and Peter Lawley from Lithgow, an amazing sound and lighting person, came up to help stage it.
Images of Man (which had had two previous iterations in Armidale and Bankstown) was staged on the first Saturday of the Aquarius 73 Festival in the Nimbin Town Hall at 2pm and 6pm. The shows were staged ‘in the round’ and the space packed. I have been greatly puzzled ever since that people like Graeme and Johnny, who were there, don’t acknowledge the show.
The theatrical experience and the Festival had a profound effect on these young people. A group camped out there in Nimbin during the Festival and went on to forge notable careers in the arts, technology and sustainability.
For the 50th anniversary Wendy Champagne, a film maker, recognised their importance and Corinne Fletcher, Bruce McDonald and Angela Miles travelled here and were interviewed for a film she was making.
Way back in 1973 I was freelance photographing for The Australian newspaper and some magazines so taking Vi’s advice I carried a camera with me throughout the Festival. I shot what I regard as record documentary photographs.
For 45 years these languished in glassine bags, along with 40,000 other negs, in our shed.
Then in 2020 it was suggested that I find and scan these negs for the 50th as well as the NSW State Library Archives. There were 180 frames, still in their 35mm Tri X film state, but with a fair degree of mildew etc on them.
Helped by locals Geoff Henderson and Jon Paterson we started scanning the frames. I ended up buying a high-end scanner as the State Archives wanted unretouched frames at 200 mg each plus TIF versions ‘cleaned up’ at 80 mg each.
When completed I showed the Lismore Regional Gallery the scans and they were very excited and proposed an exhibition in conjunction with the Nimbin celebrations in 2023.
I had had a very successful exhibition there with Jacklyn Wagner three years before, Heart and Soul was well received.
As we were preparing the exhibition the 2022 floods hit the region!
My previous exhibition was washed away but Ashleigh Ralph, the Gallery Director and Kezia Geddes the Curator proposed that we still get 51 Aquarius 73 photos printed 20 X 16 and the Gallery would supply the frames and glass. It was a huge task but on the first day of Aquarius50 we set up the framed photos for the duration of the Festival in the Nimbin Town Hall the main venue for the festival program.
Some 3000 people passed through the exhibition viewing the frames. Some very moving scenes took place when some people in the photos identified themselves. The Friends of the Lismore Regional Gallery brought a bus load from Lismore to view it to hear my artist talk about the photos and their documentation of a milestone 20th century event.
There was a big debate about taking it down before the youth day concert. We prevailed and I was thrilled to see so many young people on the Saturday night looking at and talking about the photos. Many of the photos are being used in the Aquarius movie being made and now there are full sets at the Lismore Regional Gallery and the State Library Archives.
My huge thanks to my wife Ros Derrett, the staff of the Lismore Regional Gallery, Kezia Geddes, Chas Glover, David Hallett and the Hall Committee and Paul Tait and Jeni Kendall in their efforts to host the exhibition as part of an extensive Aquarius50 celebration.