Friday, July 12, 2013

A CURSE ON THE ROCK ?


A   recent  acquisition  for  the  oddity  collection  is  the   above 45rpm  record , THE CURSE OF AYRES (sic) ROCK , composed  by Eric Tutin ,   produced  by  Queensland Country Style , Archerfield,  Brisbane .   Ayers  Rock,  named  in the  1850s  after   the  South  Australian  Governor, Sir Henry Ayers ,  of  course, was  the  spot where  the  Chamberlain  baby disappeared  , aspects of the sensational    Lindy  Chamberlain  case  covered in detail  in previous Little Darwin posts . It was claimed  that  tourists who  took rocks  as  souvenirs  from Ayers Rock  / Uluru  were  cursed.  Media reports making this claim resulted in  many people returning rocks,  some weighing  many kilos . While some  people said they had  indeed been “cursed”, others said it was  nonsense .   Over the years ,  The  Rock  has  inspired    authors , musical bands, artists  and poets. Now  an  award  winning  playwright, Alana Valentine , who has been  studying  the National Library of Australia  199 document boxes  of   letters sent to Lindy Chamberlain  during her ordeal, has announced she  is planning  an  ambitious  work ,  LETTERS TO  LINDY The flip side tune on this record is MY HEART'S WITH  YOU  IN TAMWORTH, by Nancy  Cohen.