The Fair Dinkum Matilda
Songs of the Australian bush, including the first ever recording of the original Craigielea setting of Waltzing Matilda. Another disc of bush songs? You bet – and brought to life by one of Australia’s most respected folk singers, Denis Gibbons.
Brian Fitzgerald bass, synthesiser, drums, piano, recorder, harmonica, vocals
Andrew Pendlebury guitars
Ade Monsbourgh recorder
Alan Hawking autoharp, guitar, vocals
Lorraine Milne percussion
Charlie Gauld guitar
Bill Ackfield whistling
Banjo Paterson composer
Christina Macpherson composer
Charlie Flower composer
Richard Magoffin composer
Lorraine Milne arranger
Features the original version of Banjo Paterson’s Waltzing Matilda (as well as the one we all know and love) and many more of our finest bush songs – 23 tracks in all, including Click Go the Shears, Wallaby Stew, The Wild Colonial Boy, The Drover’s Dream and The Broken Down Squatter.
The songs were recorded for a Radio Australia programme, Understanding Australian Folk Songs. Alongside the familiar bush repertoire sit three settings of Henry Lawson and three versions of Waltzing Matilda, among them the first recording of the original Craigielea setting.
Reviews
songs, familiar and obscure, come evocatively to life in the hands of a premier folkie.
on this entertaining album ... grog shanties, road junctions and waterholes are brought to life by one of Australia’s most respected folk singers
Gibbons sings with a gentle simplicity, concentrating on the meaning of the words.
Artist

Denis Gibbons
Denis Gibons has sung Australian folk songs from Simpson's Gap in Central Australia to Government House in Victoria. In 1982 he received an Advance Australia Award, for ‘his outstanding contribution to Australian Folk Music’.
Audio preview
Tracks
- Click Go the Shears 3:34
- The Drover’s Dream 2:18
- Reedy River Henry Lawson 3:09
- Waltzing Matilda [original version] Banjo Paterson Christina Macpherson 2:48
- Another Fall of Rain 3:02
- The Old Bullock Dray 3:20
- Denis O’Reilly 2:02
- Wallaby Stew 2:33
- Lazy Harry’s 3:24
- The Bush Girl Henry Lawson 3:57
- Billy of Tea 2:04
- The Billygoat Overland Banjo Paterson 2:47
- Botany Bay 3:17
- The Broken Down Squatter Charlie Flower 3:59
- The Old Palmer Song 2:10
- The Gum Tree Canoe 3:00
- The Wild Colonial Boy 3:13
- Melody of the Rain Richard Magoffin 2:46
- Lime Juice Tub 2:53
- Andy’s Gone with Cattle Henry Lawson 2:33
- South Australia 2:25
- [traditional version] 2:31
- [Queensland version] 3:20
Waltzing Matilda Banjo Paterson
Performers
- Denis Gibbons
- Brian Fitzgerald · bass, synthesiser, drums, piano, recorder, harmonica, vocals · tracks 1–17, 19 and 21
- Andrew Pendlebury · guitars · tracks 2–12, 14–16, 18–21
- Ade Monsbourgh · tracks 1, 6, 8 and 12
- Alan Hawking · autoharp, guitar, vocals · tracks 2–4 and 22
- Lorraine Milne · track 23
- Charlie Gauld · guitar · track 23
- Bill Ackfield · whistling · track 23
Composers

Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian poet and short-story writer whose bush verse has long been sung and set to music. His words catch the hard beauty and melancholy of life inland.

Banjo Paterson
Banjo Paterson (1864–1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author whose ballads helped define colonial Australian identity. His 1895 song Waltzing Matilda is widely regarded as Australia’s unofficial national anthem.
Lorraine Milne
Lorraine Milne is a composer of songs for young children. Her pieces sit among nursery rhymes and early-childhood repertoire, often marking ordinary moments in a child’s day.
Where to listen
The Fair Dinkum Matilda is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.
The Fair Dinkum Matilda is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.
Product details
- Catalogue number
- MD 3175
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 67 minutes 5 seconds
- Contributor
- Martin Wright
- Recording Engineer
- Peter Thorp
- Mixing Engineer
- Peter Thorp
- Mastering Engineer
- Jim Atkins
- Release date
- 1 Jun 1995
- Musical work
copyright - © 1995 Move Records
- Sound recording
copyright - ℗ 1995 Move Records
- Categories
- Australian, Folk music, Vocal
- Genres
- Folk, Vocal & Opera
- Barcode
- EAN 9314574317527
Related recordings

Captain Quaver's Merry Go Rounds
A cheerful set of nursery rhymes and songs for little folk, mixing traditional favourites with pieces by Lorraine Milne, Malvina Reynolds and others. First issued in 1969 and reissued by Move in 1990.