List of Bob King Crawford's 'Triumphs' Including World & Australian Firsts.

 

Many of which changed Australian history in their fields. 

 

2012 will mark 80 years since his first professional performance

Proof of the following is held in 17 large scrapbooks. 

 

Some Recognised importance by authorities. 

A 4 hour history of his life was recorded by the National Sound & Film archives and major life history also recorded by The Australian Bush Balladeers Association  acceptance

Literary works have been inducted into the State Library of Victoria Pandora scheme.

Other works are in the • Victorian  Performing Arts museum, Victorian Jazz archives, Sandringham Historical Society and Melbourne Museum.  Additional recognition at State receptions, Organisations, Australian & International awards, etc. Nominated twice for Australian of the Year.

State Receptions include: FEIP 5, Trieniell Tourism awards 2 and Crawford 1.

  

Composer.

 

Material was first played on the ABC radioin 1948. Materialrecorded from the originals for the Victorian State Sound Library by Lyric Records is as follows featuring indestructable Words, Music and Stories.

Football Sing Along & Dixieland party

Some of my favourite compositions

The Snow White Ballet

Pygmalion Ballet

Ugly Duckling

He Sees

Two Shows

Meet Mr. Genius

Songs of Melbourne

The Wonderful Musical Mystery

Tour of the Land of Oz 

Victoria’s sequa Celebrations

Lady in Blue Musical and ballets: story Crawford and music Doug Surman

The Dreamtime

Pinocchio

 

Then we have Crawford musicals with additional music by Doug Surman:

Term of His Natural Life

Robbery Under Arms

Eureka Stockade Folk Opera   

Panther and other Australian hits

Australia Day 1983 

 

In addition: 451 songs plus 5 ballets

 

The above does not include the scores of lost works. The main collection of which is 17 record labels. Hundreds of important live productions & records have been lost  i.e. the following: Australia the Opera, The Time Machine, The Welcome to the Tall Ships show, Portrait of Norman Lindsay. Tribute to Robert Stigwood,  Paris by night, A world History of Music. , etc. etc.  However some of his huge tribute shows are captured on CD Elvis Presley Memorial Show, Tribute to the Beatles. A triple CD of his Melbourne Jazz Festival. Country Music Jamboree & Monolith of Brass the 1000 piece Brass Band also on archival CD.Some of these have attracted tourists internationally & with total  audiences of a 100,000. His comedy Scrooges Screwy Xmas is also saved on C.D.

The importance of some of the major production CDs:  

The Snow White Ballet when first performed broke 17 world and Australian records, including the use of the world’s first organ symphony and to quote a critique from A to Z magazine “There have been three major ballets written in the world for children, Tschaikovsky’s  “Nutcracker suite,Prokoffiev’s ”Peter & the Wolf” and now “Snow White.” The Sun “Snow white is a sheer delight.” Additionally it was Australia’s first full length ballet, plus the only ballet with one hundred themes. It had 5 successful productions. Its season at the Princess Theatre had to turn away crowds every day. All other productions of it and all the other ballets have been  successful.  

These two musical comedies:

Why is a Woman and Story in Six Flats with Crawford’s words, music & story were the first musical comedies commissioned for television in Australia. 1961 performed on ABV2.

In 1961 Meet Mr. Genius was the first all track album with words and music by an Australian composer.

He Sees was recorded as an album of inspiration, which played constantly in full on Hospital Hour radio programs. It was also important as it contained Crawford’s new music of the Lord’s Prayer and the new and original music to the Hail Mary, both favourably compared to the classic versions. 

The Eureka Stockade Folk Opera.  Crawford’s pre occupation with Australian history is well known, so it was no surprise when he decided to  write and stage the event as a musical for the Australia Day holiday in 1984. He got together to create a spectacle that turned out so popular that it was requested Crawford stage it for the Begonia Festival in Ballarat. The resulting triumph was perpetuated by a page and a half rave review, most of it on the front page of The Ballarat Courier with the major banner “Ninety Minutes of Emotion.” A  television comment was made that “It made Les Miserables look and sound like a poor children’s picnic.” and that was before the incredible rewrite yet to be seen.

This is my Country. It was 1987 and the country was in a frenzy of preparation for the 200th Birthday, all except Victoria because it was broke, so no official ceremony of any sort was possible. Crawford was upset and decided to find the money which he did in V. Lines’ promotional budget and talked them into letting him have it for a production. The money was only 30,000 so he had a little help from his friends. He wrote the libretto for the History of Australia and Doug Surman also wrote the music. The explosion of patriotic gunpowder that followed was spectacular. A sixty piece orchestra and chorale, 3 bands, 2 conductors, 3 wars, horses, camels, carriages, cast of 300, cannons on stage, two major dance troupes, actors and 3 big name narrators, an all star cast and well over 2 hours of impact on the huge extended stage.

All his albums have a story to tell:

Lady in Blue was a musical written as the first country music/Gospel and Australia’s answer to Jesus Christ Superstar. The all star country music cast were so successful it became an annual event for 5 years.  It received an award from the Country Music Association of America.

Additionally he wrote Aurora Australis and The Raindrop Ballet.

for Les Ballets Enfants. The rest too all have stories. According to sound historian Grahame Orr, Crawford was the most recorded Australian composer for the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. 

He was also the first Australian composer released on paper recordings.

The Tall Ships Show was the first show for the Bicentenary with an audience of 4000 including the ships’ crews. Crawford was congratulated twice by the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke. 

He was nicknamed the King by musicians of the sixties and it stuck. 

He wrote and produced his first ice spectacular Mystery of the Magic Skates at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl with Humphrey Bear, Clowns Zig & Zag & Spiderman the detectives. All star production “Salute to Australia” Successful.

 

Sports, Including Some World Events. 

 

Produced the opening and closing of The World Bowls and wrote the games theme Hymn of 1980 and four productions for overseas visitors.

Then he produced the opening and closing of the World Hockey.

He helped Billy Snedden with the Scottish World Games. 

Assisted Premier Cain in the giving out of State medals honouring our Olympians.

Helped establish the Grand Final week for the then VFL. 

For years produced the entertainment at the Melbourne Cup & helped establish the march of horses and of course the flags.                                                                    

He in fact created the first public drawing of the Melbourne Cup barrier numbers as a production both at the Bowl and the City Square.   

Created the successful annual Bourke Street Flag Race for Australia Day. 

Wrote the 22 Football Marches 12 inch vinyl album with the Southern Command Band, the first all music album by an Australian composer and the fastest written compositions in history: 24 marches in 24 hours recorded by Telefil on Planet..

In 1961 his words and music were used recently in the ABV2 television production of The Coach. 

The title Miss Melbourne Cup was his idea.

  

Some Indigenous Involvements.

 

Created the first Indigenous Expo.

Designed the Corroboree the first Aboriginal flag in 1962 and which was flown by our most famous indigenous person of the time, Sir Douglas Nichols in 1972. The flag now is in the Melbourne Museum. 

Created the Indigenous Flag used to promote the Long Walk in 2,000 where 400,000 people joined to show a support for their people. One hundred indigenous flags were in the march, later forming a tree of unity at the end of the march.

As a vocalist arranged and sang on 78 rpm record the first indigenous protest song with his arrangement of Black & Blue. This had a large following.

In 1951 he wrote the first blues song for an indigenous person, which was the title song for Georgia Lee’s Down Under Blues which won the National sound & film archives annual award.This Crest record was reproduced by other companies and is currently available on two, including the only blues number on an album Down Under Country, which is based on a documentary about indigenous Country Music. It was also released on Vibraphonic records.

The only other Australian composition track on the album was his Yarra River Blues,a song he used to sing himself on the Yarra River pleasure boats in the late 40s. This song is on a number of archival collections recorded by different luminaries such as Dianne Faulkner at least twice, Danny Stone,Bill French etc.  Then there was the archival CD of Crawford/Surman’s Dreamtime Ballet toured America with an indigenous cast, and invented a form of Aboriginal Jazz or Daen Jazz..

In 1973 wrote the Corroboree Ballet, performed by indigenous dancers at Crawford's Princess Theatre production “Australia Hurrah.!” 

Also ‘A Tribute to Namatjira’ in A Festival of Sunday Theatre. 

 

Community Involvement's.

 

In 1972 Crawford had just signed a book deal to write 5 books and seeing an advertisement for a Community Arts Officer decided to take the risk and do both. He was appointed and became the first permanent Arts Officer in Australia, his success making it viable for this  career to become an accepted role in similar positions.for the Australia Council. This  initiative incorporated a number of new Arts activities into Melbourne City’s Community Centre's and he was asked if he could use 3000 dollars to create an entertainment activity in the Parks of Melbourne. The utilizations of the money to create a balanced arts programme caught everyones imagination as  the money was spread into Rock, light Opera, the Drama of “Picnic on the Battlefield” Jazz, Country, Scottish pageantry & ballet, stunned the  administration in its range. Using his abilities, within a few years it had become the worlds biggest free entertainment program with 37,OOO artists a year and he was promoted to be the worlds first Superintendent of Arts. The program of all the performing arts was the greatest free entertainment in all forms and genres for the arts, and for over 16 years it entertained 15 million people live, winning two triennial gold awards for tourism covering 6 years. It was important as an Australia Council initiative because if it had not been successful they would not have proceeded with the scheme of Arts Officers. And what has now been achieved would not have happened changing the image of Melbourne throughout the world.

Crawford organised the money to pay for the program  from Private enterprise, Government and tons of free food I.E. The great Australian Pie day was an example, where untold thousands of hot pies made that morning were distributed free on the day. Huge queues. There were many other presentations. These activities went way beyond his work criteria. He made himself available to any celebration in the state, for input or expertise and including whole productions at no profit.. All the written material was created in his own time.

He did a lecture tour of the New Zealand government on community entertainment  traveling under a “State credential asking for any courtesies which may be appreciated by the Government of Victoria.” and signed by the Premier. He was also was the keynote speaker at many seminars on the subject and available even now for community groups.

An annual production of the Crucifixion alone presented as a musical news cast at the time had a cast of 350. 

Now he had built the largest community art Dept. in the Southern hemisphere.                                     

 

Author. Writer. Poet.

 

The  book  Australia’s Greatest Folk Hero was written and illustrated by Crawford. This was the longest ballad written in the southern hemisphere by an Australian. e.g. The Man from Snowy River had 13 stanzas, while the Crawford ballad has 354 plus over one hundred of his illustrations. 

He also wrote the best seller books The Awful Australian and The World is Flat which is comedic history of  Australia, and as far as can be ascertained, Australia’s first chronological history. Both were Illustrated by Peter Russell Clarke.

He wrote the first children’s album at the time, on vinyl, The Story of Santa Claus. This is still played each Christmas, although it’s 60 years old.

He wrote the world’s first visual sound release The Story of Mr. Showbusiness. 

He gained international and local praise, with it being the record of the year. It was the most expensive Oz album made up untill then. Both now on archival CD.s

He wrote and produced with his cast Australia’s first political satire album: Holt OO7. He also wrote the first album that was a satire of overseas personalities: The Wonderful World of Beeplemania which was performed with his cast.

He was the only script writer for the following National TV shows:

Jimmy Hannon’s I.M.T ,Noel Ferrier’s I.M.T., Debney Park community T.V. then a little Graham Kennedy’s I.M.T. Wrote as part of a team for: The Ray Taylor Show. Celebrity Game. Mavis Bramston, A.M., etc. Over one hundred television shows.

Wrote the following vinyl albums and  performed the same with his casts :

How to Speak Australian which was the biggest selling comedic LP up to then. 

The Australian in 1961. Strilyan. How to be an Australian. An Aussie meets Shakespeare I’ve never heard such rubbish. Man’s best friend.  

OO7 On his Majesty’s Secret Surface. 

Then in 2008 he re worked How to Speak Australian, including his narration  of his classic the ‘Whipnell Football Team’.  Also wrote the Australian Dictionary book enclosed with CD.  and hits “King st. Bridge, How I love football, McGinty the Footballer etc

Wrote productions for histories of Australian Ballet, Jazz, Opera, Country music, Folk and poetry. Was writer for B.P., Jaguar, A.P.M. etc. . Became a free lance showman at five & later a short term as a stand up comic.                                                  

 

Vexillogist.

 

Crawford wrote and produced the first Sonet Lumiere on the history of Australian flags, which has since been released on the Victorian States Sound Library CD archives, complete with his book insert “55 Flags of Australian History.” and Wrote, produced, and narrated an Annual “Floating of the Australian flags” in  pomp and Ceremony  on Australia day for 16 years at  Cook’s Cottage, Fitzroy Gardens. He designed 43 logos and Festival flags plus specials for ceremonials, and the Flag of Unity took 200 designs. ( To become a community flag.). Became thew basis for the Australian sports flag. The Big Red , a leap ahead.

 

Designer.

 

In 1953 vinyl record covers mainly consisted of folded cardboard with a little (very) small amount of print saying what the album inside was about. Crawford saw the wasted sales potential and was the first to design art covers on albums.

He was also the first to design artists’ photos on the label, with back and front artwork. This encompassed the world’s first Duotones and four colour  letterpress.  

HIs design capabilities included Sets, Costumes, Lighting, Hats, City Amphitheatres, Stages and the Traveling Theatre, Dressing facilities, green room. etc.

His Easter hats are in art museums. 

 

Integration.

 

Amazing events had amazing results. His multi national festivals were mentioned in Federal Parliament as Australia’s best integration scheme, where special days would bring people together to celebrate such as Greek Day where Gods arrived, the torch of Apollo was lit, bread blessed, nine muses dance, Zorba rules, exact replica of the Horse of Troy unveiled.

German Austrian Swiss day where the Fitzroy Gardens became a snowfield.

Irish day where the  garden celebrations become the destination of the Crawford revived St. Patrick’s day march, South American day, Asia day Echoes of Scotland,Where pipe bands from every point of the compass descend on the audience, Free Haggis is a treat etc. Italian day where Venus searches for the most handsome man and Nymphs crush grapes etc. etc. 

Many different nationalities worked through the year to perform on their national day in the parks.

Guest comparer Ethnic 74, 75 and 77 at the Sidney Myer Bowl.

  

Musician.

 

It was the late 1940s when he took lessons singing, piano, drums, sax and clarinet. He joined the Alan Rhodes band at the Jump Club for 2 years and Crawford suggested they should make records for publicity. Later re recorded on the Lyric archival CD on  A Night at the Katherina including the first Planet Records 78 rpm. Some of the tracks which were recorded are still played.

He became Southern manager for Philips records and found out what the international artists and record companies were doing wrong. 

Was voted Australia’s top Jazz vocalist in 1952. 

Became Vice President of the Musicians Union.

Formed his own group the King Crawford Quintette for touring and concert work, and sharing the stage with the top bands in the country, in the musicians’ Union’s then famous Rhythm Festival concert series. 

Became a singer with the all star vocal group the Commandos. Made the best selling album Songs of World War 2.

 

Planet Records.

 

“If Artists are out of this World They’re on a Planet.”

Planet 2. In 1953 He went to his aunt and asked her for ninety pounds to start a record corporation. 

Now that he had the money he needed a technician. He found a teenage genius Marcus Herman and they began upsetting the Multi National record companies by being a step ahead. They led the world in presentation and content. It took the others years to catch up. Meantime the fight for the outlets became physical. Planet became so relevant it shared space with the Multi Nationals on new release radio shows such as Men behind the music.

 

Crawford was responsible for a list of record World and Australian firsts. 

 

• Art covers

• with Marcus triple play records were invented

• Sheen covers, • Hundred percent return of product

• organised traveling artists in interstate concerts with the Up among the Stars show etc..    

                 

Artists could not be recorded unless  Australian or naturalised Australian.

It was the first and only Australian label pressed overseas under its own label. 

Among the many historical achievements of this All Australian company was the recording of The Olympic Games Massed bands 1956.

The first 12 inch multi track, multi title Rock & Roll album in the World.  

The first modern sounds of country music Australian recording etc. 

Both refused to sell Marcus’s invention for recording more sound onto a disc than anybody else, to the multi nationals, in order to keep the advantage for Australian artists.       It turned into all out war with the Multis playing dirty.

It was the first Australian record company to have its creative director ( Crawford) produced monthly concerts for Planet artists and simultaneously have the broadcast: titled The Melbourne Town Hall rock n’ Pop show, it ran for years the artists  when introduced coming out of a  huge Planet record label.

It out shone the American hit ‘Battle song of the Republic’ to become voted as Recordings of the year. It was praised by the President of the United States.  Planet joined the radio stations in the fight to stop the multi national recording giants put an embargo on broadcasting their recordings, in order to charge directly for any of their records played on radio. They lost.

Crawford was credited in Jamm magazine with being tie biggest employer of musicians in Australia. Planet ended up with a staff of twelve with large offices, store and studios in Bourke St. with its own city  drive in facilities in Lonsdale St. Melbourne for its fleet, recording artists & clients taking. This space space originally that of one of the Multi Nationals. 

Planet was the independent label that broke the monopoly of the multi nationals.

 

Environment and Art.

 

Crawford’s first exhibition of art was at the Boyd family home in 1969 and by coincidence his first Environmental award for the achievements of his organization was the Robin Boyd 1980 Environmental award citation.

 

Eleven years later a similar environmental award was given to him by the Royal Australian Institute of Parks, Gardens & Recreation. Keynote speaker annual seminar  of organisation in New Zealand.

He later established his own environmental awards.

When he abdicated after 16 years as the Superintendent of Arts in order to devote more time to painting, the move received national publicity.  

Public Relations and Production.

For some reason Crawford got the itch to become a promoter and set out to create the Worlds Biggest Dance. He achieved this and overnight became a darling of the press. He then started a series of Major Jazz Concerts called Make Way for the Bands and finally a huge spectacular with over one hundred musicians on stagein The American History of Jazz,all which he produced and compared. Now his promotional ability set others thinking and he became an attraction for promoters. Over the years the biggest names were to use his P.R. abilities to promote their wares and he did so with names such as Eartha Kitt, Gene Krupa, Jean Sablon, Melvin Douglas, The Follies Bergeres,numerous visiting shows and then working as compare with Shirley Bassey, his own shows, guests and The Ted Heath Big Band & later with worked with Patrick Carghill, Jimmy Edwards, Douglas Fairbanks jnr. and World and Australian Miss Universes.

Over the years Crawford mounted some of the most extraordinary publicity stunts of all time, one heading the front page of The Herald for 5 days in a row.

His negotiations for the statues the Pathfinder and the Phoenix ended with them being prominent in the City’s Queen Victoria Gardens opposite the Arts Centre, He wrote the dedication music for the unveiling of the John Batman and John Fawkner statues in Bourke Street, Melbourne. A first for Australian statuary. 

Produced the  Dave Allenby show for the Lido. 

 

Artist ‘Extroardinaire’.

 

Or that is what Ad Art magazine called him in a 5 page coloured article.

MAJOR ONE MAN EXHIBITIONS ONLY. 

The History of Australia. This was mounted as fund raiser for SIDS, which was opened by Sir Rupert Clarke.  

Three decades of Crawford: a retrospective, which was opened by the Minister for Arts.

Colonial History & Ned Kelly, opened by Professor of history Weston Bate.

 

Other major art shows:

 

Roar of the Paint. Opened by Frank Traynor. A Tribute to Eureka. Opened by Peter Lalor. Gold in Oil. Opened by Suzzane Steel. 

Moments of Change  exhibition opened by fellow artist, the late DavidLarwell. 

The Two of Us - aplanned exhibition with family friend Howard Arkley would never due to his untimely death..                                                     

Lord Mayor opened his exhibition The Left Bank to promote outside exhibition place for the city’s artists on the Yarra.

Crawford’s early works were likened to Van Gogh, then he invented the ‘Mesmeratic’ art style/technique. ( The More You look, the more you see.)

All his exhibitions gained fantastic critiques. There was high praise in international magazines, comparing his work to Nolan. New exhibition book “Melbournes first Czar of the arts”especially made for itch

  

Additionally.

 

Crawford was a sponsor for the Melbourne Street Poets and the United Nations. 

Paintings in Action.  He created what is believed to be the first live Art in action work, where re enactment artworks were used to create live visual actors, to tell a story of history at the Polly Woodside ship, wharf and surrounds, recreating the Ballarat uprising in sound, live drama and music.

He invented Talk a Story Jazz, first performed in the Flagstaff Gardens, with the Frank Traynor band and lead trumpet Bobby Barnard.

Hosted and produced the first International Women's Year celebrations in  NGV in 1975 for the Victorian Premier Rupert Hamer. 

Donated thousands in additional time and expertise to other councils and overseas groups.  This is something he still does.

His F.E.I.P. programme had so much prestige world wide, that the famous Russian Dance co. Sputnik with a cast of 75 plus the winners of their acrobatic Olympic team flew to Melbourne to do one show in Australia for Crawford’s programme & flew out again at their Government’s cost. 

He was the narrator on the production of War of the Worlds. There are two productions on archival CDs. He was also the narrator on The Glenn Miller Story season at  Dallas Brooks Hall and six other productions.

He was an actor/MC for over 2000 productions. Also actor/voice over on the  TV series Bellbird. He held leading roles in pantomimes and was also Simon Mc Nasty villain children’s performer.

He created the  Children’s Theatre at Ackland Street, St. Kilda. This opened with Mystery of the Mill his music. 

The Bob King Crawford Library was named after him by the National Humourversity.

He recorded works for the following labels:RCA, Leedon, Planet, Talent City, Galaxy, Rodeo, Homestead, Choir, Opus, Jazz Incorporated, Probe, Rebel, Orbit, Baton, Star, Festival. Accompaniment, LTGE and Prestodisk. 

He represented Philips, Esquire, Esquire Mercury & Fidelity. 

His material was also re-recorded on Toad, Larrikan, World Record club, Crest, Lyric, and  Watts Rockin’? labels.

The album And Everything Stops with the famed Army Southern Command band is a Crawford composition. This is My Land is now on a State Archival CD. It is part of Crawford’s classical Australian Suite and one of the 8 nation-building songs he has written.  In the 1950s it was often played in Europe as the Australian National anthem.  The vocal of This Is My Land by Ian Cousins is also on a State sound Archival CD.

The Princess Diana connection.

Crawford created the first cable Television Station in Australia Debney Park 10, which was a community station in Melbourne.

He recorded the first modern Sounds of Country Music The Traiblazers Stage Show. This was released twice.

He performed an unexpected Royal Command Performance at the then City Square for Queen Elizabeth. 

He performed in the film Remembering Elvis.                

He instituted celebration marches through the City Streets leading into festivities in the Parks, with the first Teddy bears picnic march, Jazz days marches, St. Patrick day marches, Dance Week, Echoes of Scotland, Cavalcade of Transport. Country Music Hayride, Roller Skate, Mad Hatters’ Party etc. 

There were also marches for visitors such as the Gridiron /cheer leaders etc. He wrote Cry for the Animals for a rally of the same name. He wrote and produced a show for the rally which he co compares with Derryn Hinch.  

Recorded the first  all-Australian cast album  For Amusement Only  also The Sentimental Bloke musical original cast. and other C.J. Dennis material. 

He was nominated for Australian of the Year in 2011.

He stood for Lord Mayor of Melbourne at the age of 81. 

He staged at the Princess Theatre Tribute to the Goons with scripts by Spike Milligan and himself. He later formed the Ying Tong choir.

He created I Love a Sunburnt Country as a Parkscape, which was a pathway of giant original paintings from Bill Bevan’s book in the Flagstaff Gardens. 

His FEIP creations were given a State Reception.

He wrote the show The Good Old Days and talked the combined service clubs, e.g. Lions etc to arrange transportation to carry in the senior citizens from all over the state for their show. This was estimated as 5000.

His lyrics against the French for the Atomic bomb tests, echoed around the world.

Creates a successful series of Downtown promotions for the city. 

Produced and compared the MCG. and Flemington race course entertainment production for the Papal Visit 86.

He produced the annual Glamour Week fashion spectacular. This is on State  sound archival CDs, being one of over 340 festivals he organised/produced between 1972-86.

He was the band that disappeared.

First Australian to record voice impressions on record. 

He was written to by Prime Ministers including Sir Robert Menzies and Sir John Gorton congratulating him on his efforts to promote Australian Talent.  

He composed the unique Royal family celebration disc, Royal Baby Waltz.

 

Created Own Awards for....

 

These were for musical arrangers, the Media, Entertainer of the Year, The Survivors (lifetime achievements), Community activities, Kings & Queens of Jazz, Country music entertainers, Australian folk & poetry. And environment awards called Colonial Kings/Queens.

 

Served.

 

Served on numerous committees such as the following 12 Premier’s committees. Chairman of the Premier’s The Salute to Australia committee. This was a forerunner to the Australia day committee Victoria. Served on all Australia Day committees for 15 years. Wrote and produced without charge numerous spectaculars. 

Served in all on over 20 committees.

The Latrobe Centenary committee. Wrote the theme music for the festival which was first Australian song which had its first broadcast simultaneously in France and Melbourne.

Garden State committee - for several years. Light Entertainment committee - short lived.Children’s Week - several years. Norman Lindsay Commemoration - several years.

Melbourne/Hawaii Centenary.Tall Ships - 2 years .Bi-Centennial Australia -for some years.  Garden Week - for some years. Community Festival known as the Pensioners Basket Picnic -several years. Papal visit - 2 productions. 

Melbourne Cup Carnival Committee - several years.

Zoological Gardens Promotion committee - short term.

Community Centres - Princess Hill, North Melbourne, Debney Park, West Melbourne - some years. Nerve Deafness Committee.. etc...etc.

 

Heritage.

 

Crawford was born in Grenfell, NSW in 1927, educated at Xavier College, and previously Assumption. Melbourne. Married Heather, who assisted in productions etc. Son Ashley an author and daughter Kay, a breeder of working dogs. Ancestors include Australian explorers, inventors, pioneers. Father was a decorated soldier M.M. in the Far East and Gallipoli. He was also an engineer. Mother was a needlework portrait painter and amateur entertainer. Aunt Thelma Crawford was a needle work designer, based in The Block Arcade in Melbourne. Others were mainly distinguished with an interesting historical profile.Now

Have recently formed Arts for Seniors.  This involves making original paintings available free to retirement home walls at no cost. “ Paint up your soul with coloiur”

Working on painting series Mesmeratic Two.The much acclaimed Dr. Partricia Angus has begun his Biography.

Presently he and Doug are enjoying success of the renewed interest in the re release of their National song The Australians as sung by Lesley Martin, including another national song by Crawford “People Power.”. There are also new songs, a number of which are to be included on a new CD called The Great Australian Songbook.

Currently writing the Australian answer to Lord of the Rings: The White Trilogy.

An autobiography: Rebel Without A Pause. A new look “Snow White Ballet” production is envisaged for 2012 .Fiction: The Flower Stealers an anti Pedophile book. 

Three volume Book of Philosophy: You and the Meaning of Life a.k.a. YATMOL complete with own illustrations. Incredibly you can open it at any page and there is a message. Presently available extracts on the internet at www.ridsmagic. com

A satire comedy adventure Hairy Potter and the Galloping Mermaids with a cover by Peter Russell Clarke to be released as an e book. 

Children’s stories The Little Flag That Grew. 

Also working on building an Australian Comedy Museum. Now available his design of the Australian sports flag The Green and Gold of 2012 already inducted into the State Library as part of history.

Working towards an exhibition of his new paintings and a historical brochure of same.

Some Others’ Comments about BKC.

Eighty years so far in the industry is scattered with references in books, multiple pages in magazines and newspapers with all sorts of glowing comments such as “Genius of the Arts”, “Greatest Employer of Musicians in Australia”, “Melbourne’s First Arts Czar”, “Dynamo” , Provocative palette, Jewel like colours Mr. Entertainment, etc., and never a bad critique.

In the 150th anniversary edition of The Age 12 December 2004 a special commemorative magazine 150 influential lives listed BKC under “Visionaries”, stating that the Premier Sir Rupert Hamer referred to him at a gathering of the media  as a “genius”. In the UNESCO report on entertainment in Australia it was stated that “Crawford was a composer, compare, Impresario, writer, producer, organiser, salesman, wit, human dynamo, a veritable many faceted diamond.”  The highly respected Geoffrey Orr of  Lyric.states him as being “Our original Australian musical genius.”

Time unfortunately does not allow us to complete the mounds of available material.

 

 

Self assessment:  “A mild mannered idiot with a little bit of talent.” 

 

Stories.

 

The Romance. 

Snow White and Walt Disney. 

Snow White the Ballet. 

Me and the Royals.

A corporation  to cost 90 pounds.

Elvis and I.

FEIPisms.

Local company takes on the world and wins.

Story of flags.

The Mystery of the overseas Ballet co.

Buying a house.

State Reception .

The big sell.

Birth of the children.

The Mystrys. 

The Dynamo thing.

Star by mistake.

Changing the face of a city internationally. 

The uglier face of politics.

Drugs and chairs.

St. Patrick’s day.

Children’s Simon Mc Nasty.

The Crucifixion.

The  strange tale of the Mobile theatre and the Graffiti mongers.

Me and the Ghost of the Princess theatre. 

Honeywell.

Talent City.

Composer and the eternal “Eureka Stockade Folk Opera.  

The damp wedding in the park.

I find I’ve got E.S.P. 

Not another first?

The spectaculars never forgotten. 

The horse of Troy and the Scots.also Snow. etc.

 

Our philosophies are our being but must be polished with time. Without them there is nothing behind our facade, a carriage without wheels. 

To climb a mountain without sides achieves nothing.  

 

Ethics.

 

If humans ran the cosmos it would blow up in a week. 

 

****

 

Smiles are bonuses in ethical procedures. 

 

*** 

 

The  rules based on trust are now shaky.

Who do you  believe.

Buy off the plan and see the paper shrink.

The ethics of now are written smaller each day than almost ever before and  the teeth of the sharks sharpen daily as electronic talons seek more victims on more and more outlets than even yesterday..                                          

 

***** 

 

The person who waves the flag made of ethics also waves a banner made of trust.

 

*****

 

Chaos can be stopped but you must listen to the earth. 

Hear what it tells you about the music of nature but you can't sing the song if you do not know the tune. 

 

**** 

 

A red light tells you of danger and that you must stop but hackers are colour blind and their victims mostly can't see.

 

**** 

 

There are few plans for the long term for individuals.  

The walls of trust are made of poor material. 

Make a list of who you can trust. 

It is not that long is it. 

Ethics are not an older persons dream.

They are the saviour of the new world.

 

*******

 

A gift to you and the Nation.