The Bushwackers: Australian bush band and folk revival contributors

Origins and early lineup

The original core was a trio that performed in university halls and local venues. Early members named in contemporary accounts include Dave Isom, Jan Wositzky and Bert Kanahoff. Other musicians joined soon after, expanding the sound to include distinctive instruments associated with Australian bush music. Dobe Newton became known for playing the lagerphone and contributing vocals, while Mick Slocum added accordion and singing. Tony Hunt supplied fiddle and viola, giving their arrangements a fiddle-driven energy that blended with harmonica and guitar.

Instruments and musical style

The Bushwackers combined conventional folk and country elements with uniquely Australian touches. Their instrumentation frequently featured guitar, fiddle, harmonica, accordions, and the lagerphone — a percussion instrument assembled from bottle tops and pole — often accompanied by a makeshift "bush bass." This mix produced rhythmic, singalong arrangements intended for dance, concert and festival settings. Their style bridged community folk traditions and more polished studio recordings.

Recordings and repertoire — Over the 1970s the band recorded several albums. Early releases included The Shearer's Dream (1974), which introduced many listeners to the group's approach. Other titles from their catalog include Faces in the Street, Beneath the Southern Cross, Bushfire and Murrumbidgee. Their 1976 release And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, issued on a major label, is often cited as one of their strongest studio efforts and helped bring wider attention to the band.

• Folk and country traditions formed the backbone of their material.
• Mick Slocum's accordions and Jan Wositzky's harmonica were central to the group's sound.
• Tony Hunt's fiddle and viola added melodic drive; Dave Isom's guitar anchored arrangements.

Sources and influences — The Bushwackers frequently set texts by notable Australian bush poets to music, bringing verses by writers such as Henry Lawson to new audiences. Their adaptations helped preserve and popularize bush poetry by placing it in accessible musical formats. They recorded a mix of original songs, traditional tunes and musical settings of poetry, sometimes produced through independent labels and, for some releases, larger companies such as EMI.

Legacy and distinctions — The ensemble is remembered for energizing Australian folk performance with theatricality, inventive percussion and a commitment to rural storytelling. Personnel shifted over time, but the early and mid-1970s recordings remain reference points for students of bush music. Their work exemplifies how folk revivalists combined historical material with contemporary concerns, and their recordings remain in circulation among collectors and folk enthusiasts.

1. Notable recording: settings of poetry by Australian writers.
2. Historical figure referenced in material: Henry Lawson.
3. For further background on Australian folk revival contexts see harmonica and community music resources and general fiddle histories.

The Bushwackers' blend of tradition and performance helped define a strand of Australian folk music. While the group's membership and activity evolved through the 1970s and into the 1980s, their recordings and live legacy remain part of the country's folk-music narrative.