Community & Business
28 September, 2022
40 years for Ridgee Didge
Members of the locally founded Ridgee Didge Bush Band are this year celebrating 40 years of entertaining through music and dancing on the Darling Downs.
The band was formed in 1982 by the then Principal of the Clifton State Primary School John Swan.
Before coming to Clifton John had formed or played in Bush Bands in other areas and decided to form a Bush Band in Clifton after being approached by the Clifton Jaycees to provide entertainment at an Arts and Craft Festival which Jaycees held regularly in the town.
The original members were John Swan, St Francis De Sales’ Paddy MacNulty, Jim Benn from Clifton State High School, housewife Marie Ruhle and peanut farmer Trevor Beutel.
A total of 20 musicians have been associated with the band over the 40 years, all except one (from Toowoomba) coming from Clifton.
The majority of the members to pass through were school teachers, hence the high turnover.
Over the years the band has done a lot of travelling to dances, school functions, birthdays, weddings, festivals, ag shows, orientations, civic events, shopping centres and many other public events.
The band has also appeared on ABC Radio’s ‘Australia All Over’ hosted by Ian “Macca” McNamara in 1994 at Allora and the Drought Breaker Concert at Dalby.
The band has released two albums, Around the Ridges and After All These Years and featured on two compilation albums, Sound of the Downs and a Waltzing Matilda album consisting of different versions of Waltzing Matilda which was marketed through the Waltzing Matilda Museum at Winton.
In 2006, the band was used in a bush dance scene in a short feature film called SHORN which was shot at the Jondaryan Woolshed.
The film was a 2006 finalist at the Hollywood Film Festival and three other festivals in Australia.
The band is still playing with two original members still in the band, John Swan and Trevor Beutel.
Other present members are Kathy Bianchi, Brett Gredig and Brian Cullen.
Trevor is the only member still living in Clifton, the others living at Ocean Shores in New South Wales, Ipswich, Stanthorpe and Toowoomba.
The band specialises in conducting and teaching bush dances at the functions.
Music is quite lively with jigs and reels for the bush dances, old time dances for the not so young as well as dances for the little ones - in other words, dances for the whole family.
For 27 years the band has been playing at the Jondaryan Woolshed New Year’s Eve Bush Dance for crowds of up to 900 people on two dance floors.
The band’s philosophy is enjoyment for the whole family and while the members are still vertical they will continue to keep alive bush dancing and good old Australian Heritage songs.
Ridgee Didge is playing at two public functions soon - the Bush Dance kicking off Clifton Country Week on Friday, 14 October and at Nobby State School for its 125 year celebration on Saturday, 12 November.
