In Memory of an Unknown was Commissioned by the Liechhardt Espresso Chorus in 2004 as part of the Song Cycle ‘The Outback Suite’. It was toured by the choir under the leadership of Michelle Leonard with Paul across NSW for Year of the Outback.
The haunting photograph of an unmarked gravestone found on the Elsey Station in the Northern Territory, which featured in Thomas Keneally’s ‘Outback’, written in 1983, inspires this piece. The moving image, accompanied by the written accounts of Jeanie Gunn, author of ‘We of the Never Never’, and Thomas Keneally’s personal experiences on the remote property, capture entirely the enigma and the enormity of the outback.
That rugged, lonely, magnetic space which covers most of Australia is an unknown entity to many Australians, yet the history of the area and its people is an important part of Australian history. From the First Australians, to the sojourners, wagoners, stockman and explorers, there are a variety of dramatic stories and folklore. Many of the first European ‘wanderers’ of the land perished due to the harsh conditions and some were lost into the landscape without ever having an identity. This piece is for them.
Sample recording courtesy of the Hillcrest Christian College Choir, directed by Jenny Moon