The cedar tree

Component identifier:

Series 3

Content Summary:

F.W. Thring encouraged Monk to follow up the success of Collits Inn, leading to her second professionally produced theatrical work. The cedar tree, a musical comedy set in the 1830s, was based on the history of the cedar tree and the ship building industries in the Windsor district of New South Wales. Helene and Edmund Barclay wrote the play and Monk wrote the music and collaborated with Helene Barclay on the lyrics. Howard Carr did the voice arrangements and Carr and Willy Redstone the orchestration.

Thring premiered the play at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne in 1934 where it enjoyed a three month season. However, on transferring to the Criterion Theatre, Sydney it only ran for three weeks. Starring Gladys Moncrieff and Alfred Frith, the show was produced by Claude Flemming and conducted by Will Quintrell.

This series comprises papers relating to the production of The cedar tree and includes orchestral parts and words and music for songs, voice parts and the script.

Included in this series are the words and/or music for the following compositions: Australian bird ballet; Bush dance; The cedar cutters' song; The Cedar tree; Coo-ee; Cupid follows the mode; Drinking chorus; Every song of love; Finale; Following the sun around/Following the sun/We'll follow the sun; Forty miles from Sydney Town; Hawkesbury River Road; How I love you; I did not know; I'd love to be a statue in the park; I'm happy with you; It had to be; March of the pioneers/Pioneer's march; Marching song; Outcast; Overture; Pie song/The flying pieman's song; Shipwrights' chorus; Soldiers' march; Well, well - fancy meeting you; We never really meant goodbye; Wild emu/Why does the wild emu; Words, words, words; You're every song of love

Immediate source of acquisition:

The bulk of the collection was originally acquired by the National Film and Sound Archive (later ScreenSound Australia) in 1986, from Monk's daughter, Pam Evans. It was transferred from ScreenSound to the National Library in 1998. In 1969, 14cm of material relating to Collits' Inn was donated to the Library by Monk's son, Ian.

Names:

Varney Monk

Contents

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