VAL McGINNIS

COLLECTION NOTES

Val's niece Kath Mills first introduced me to 'Uncle' Val McGinness in early 1987, when I was gathering background material for a presentation on �top end� music at the National Folk Festival in Alice Springs. His vast repertoire of tunes and songs amazed me, as did his musicianship at 77 years of age, whether on his favourite mandolin, home made steel guitar or button accordion. His generosity of spirit and willingness to share his music and knowledge disarmed me straight away. We shared tunes and stories and I did a little recording, mindful not to intrude. Then life became busier for both of us and I saw little of Val over the next year.

All that changed in September 1988, when the family asked me to record 'Uncle' who had been given only weeks to live. Over the next few weeks we recorded Val playing at home, at family functions and even a 50th wedding anniversary party � in all, some twelve hours of tapes, now deposited with the Northern Territory Archives Service in Darwin. Then he was gone, first to hospital and later back to his son's home in Atherton QLD, where he passed away in early November 1988 still playing his mandolin, the night before he died.

The following year, Val's grandniece Ali Mills and I compiled thirty sets of cassettes, dubbed from my tapes, for distribution to family members in Darwin and beyond. Music and commentary from those tapes has since been used for local theatre productions, dances and the documentary film Buffalo Legends. A few of Val's tunes have found their way around Australia, thanks to the time-honoured �folk process�. Interest generated led to a special presentation by my myself, members of the Darwin Mills family and friends, at the 2002 National Folk Festival entitled String Bands & Shake Hands � the Days of Old Darwin Town, as a special tribute to Val's life and music.

Jeff Corfield, 4/8/02