Desert Feet at Kellerberrin Street Party

Kellerberrin, a forgotten Wheatbelt town on our eastern fringe lies enroute to the mighty Kalgoorlie, whose inverted mountain of gold overshadows the struggling farming industry. Where the men have gone to drive trucks and the rain is too late, too little, or too long, and so these towns, with their slight populations and loyal labourers line the periphery of the heavily laden trucks and flying turbo diesels passing by with the glint of gold in their eyes. Those golden eyes stare down that highway with furious intensity at a goal that has little time for naught else except a casual glance or a quick stop for fuel, enroute to destination; "make money on the mines." That might as well be the street sign pointing out of Kellerberrin and about all you might see of the little town while following the lure of the dollar.

However, there are of course those that stay, or cannot leave. Those tied to the land, bound to the earth or native to the country. And they, the Kellerberrinians, still have a need. Like all of us, they want the same thing. They want what every parent on earth wants. Opportunity and education for their children. Enter left stage, CANWA! Now take a bow.

CANWA might be an arts association, it might be a matriarchal power house, then again it might just be the mother of the Wheatbelt? What they are doing, is a great job with kids in the community. CANWA is a 21st century milestone. But warning; "Do not mess with the CANWA girls." There is more talent than the on the Johnny Young Show in a room of CANWA girls and enough spunk to sink a warship.




At 6am our excited team mounted the Hino, our mobile music machine and trusty old truck. On the map, Kellerberrin reads a mere 205 kilometres, however there is one slight obstacle. That being, a giant hill called the Darling Ranges. For the old White Rhino (our affectionately dubbed Hino) it meant an average top speed of 40 kilometres an hour. And so it was 10am before we rolled in along the open plains of a patchworked land.

The 4 hours where not wasted on us though and the landscapes absorbed our attention, the quilted country a checkerboard of giant golden paddocks, long fences and roaming fields, intersected by quaint 19th century towns. A breath of fresh air, literally, from the grinding bustle of the city. The lack of crowds, the giant blue sky, the friendly country folk, the smell of fresh scones, the pace of country life, an Aspirin to our city fevers.

Protected by its isolation, deserted for the all-absorbing mining world, and peacefully content is Kellerberrin; "Where life is as rich as the landscape" read the welcome sign, and in the next 24 hours the Desert Feet Team would find a little part of that richness to take home with them. An experience to treasure, a day to share, learn and grow alongside those all too often forgotten voices, the 'Voices of the Wheatbelt'.


In the local antique shop, Colin talked eagerly about the coming street party that night. In the second-hand bookshop, the ladies asked us if we would be playing any Jonny Cash, and in the Op shop we were treated like celebrities. Then we discovered that Kellerberrin has a really, really good cafe, and we were all happy. After the Succulent Cafe had successfully fulfilled our city slicker caffeine demands, we decided to mosey on over to 'The Prev' and check out our accommodation. The Preventorium is a beautiful old turn-of-the-century building with huge truck pointed red brick walls and high ornate ceilings. Its timber floors creek a tune of hundreds of stories lost forever in its maze of rooms and halls. Built in 1928 for asthmatic children, it was run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart and one can almost hear the whispers of the many hundreds of children that must have played in its sanctuary over its 75 years of operation.

Located right at the bottom of the hill from which the town was named by explorer, CC Hunt in 1864, it's a large granite outcrop and the only one as far as the eye can see. It would be easy to assume it was some type of sacred place to the First Nation, as the name "Kellerberrin" is loosely based on what was probably a rough, early English accented, version of the Aboriginal word for ant hill "Keela." I must just take a quick moment to thank the lovely owners of the Prev, an ex-farming couple that have basically single handily been responsible for saving what is a historical monument. They bought the old dilapidated building, about 8 years ago and have restored it, with what can only be described as, loving pride. Its long verandas are a delightfully relaxing environment. But best of all is their warm service, I will not forget the huge and never-ending breakfast they served us on a giant table set for royal court, like a scene from the Victorian age. They fed us all over four hours the morning after the concert, as the team woke periodically. Each served steaming hot coffee, bacon and farm fresh eggs. It was a labour of love.


Ivy, Zoe, Bec and Michelle made up the some of the CANWA contingent from Perth and when they arrived around midday and we shot into town to meet for lunch. Rob pulled into town at the same time along with Tony in my other car, bringing my number one diva and the hip hop star; Ulla Shay and Byte MC. With the full team here now we decided to bombard the Hotel, and so the local motel kitchen had to deal with an order for nearly 20 people at once, and I think we nearly caused his chef to have a nervous breakdown. It's probably the biggest order he has ever had. We nearly starved to death waiting for it, but it was great chance for the two teams to meet up. CANWA is a big organisation and we got to meet with some of the local representatives, Ross and Grace from the Narrogin office, and later we met Rebecca, Carrie and Naomi from the Kellerberrin CANWA office. It was all very impressively organised which left us free to just concentrate on performing, a novelty for my team and a thus quite a stressless operation. Obviously well planned and much anticipated the location was ideal. The road opposite the pub, Ripper St, named after one of the pioneering pastoralists, was shut off, and so the stage would perform from the street corner facing into the main mall. A small 'Street Cars' show was setup, bouncy castles for the kids and the whole main street became a fate for stalls and raffles and choirs and other performances. It was quaint and fine. A thing of great value to be a part of, like a homemade meal, intimate and personal, served with love.


It was a night of value, several live acts including Gina Williams on stage with the great Guy Ghouse! The real show stopper was the Urban Youth Effect, with an amazing ensemble of breakdance and hip hop moves, choreography steps and jumps, the enthusiasm was infectious and their skills enviable. There is one photo with three dancers upside down in the air simultaneously, it's just mind blowing. They work shopped with the audience and everyone was involved. CANWA put on a huge BBQ, pumped up blow-up bean bags in the street, rolled out fake grass on the curbs, lined the road with timber vinyl and just about recreated the whole street. Monica and Michelle from the Perth office brought up their kids too, and the girls made it a great night with their infectious determination and obvious love for this hidden and mostly forgotten world, the world of wheat and toil. As the street light on the corner of Great Eastern Hwy and Ripper Road shone down on our little stage, I contemplated the diversity of our nation, only hours from here 1.2 million people are crowded into a city, most, I would guess, have never heard of Kellerberrin, and when I look around me, not a sign of that foreign world is evident, we might as well be a million miles away. The brilliance of the stars, the empty flat land and the old post office, all talk of something else, of a time gone by, a time when wheat and sheep where the backbone of our economy.


A time when living in the country meant great sacrifice, and I wondered what Mr Dale thought in 1830 when he reached here from York, a rock in endless field. I pondered on those first settlers in the late 1800s who built these shops and dragged the material here for their homes on horse and cart. Then a giant semi trailer passing by our stage snapped me back to Kellerberrin and the now.


The highlight of the night for me was meeting Uncle Tom Haden, the Elder here, and then later Wayne Yarren, who had come across from Quairading with his band members. Wayne got up before us, for the second last set of the night, and sang "I am, You are, We are Australian," which was the perfect addition to the night, and set the stage for sharing and reconciliation all round. They only wanted to play four songs but we could have had them go all night, Wayne's wife sang harmonies and really killed it.

A friend of mine Dennis, had driven up from Perth to see us play. I happen to know he was an accomplished singer in his day and he sang for many a choir. So I called him up to close the night with his solo version of Danny Boy, however Emily jumped up with her viola and added a haunting harmony. There, standing on the back of the truck, under a lone street lamp, singing at the top of his lungs, his deep baritone ringing out into still country night, I will never forget that picture, as a giant triple trailer tuck passed through town, tearing down the Great Eastern Hwy only about 4 metres from our stage. My eyes locked with the driver for a fraction of a second, and I am not sure who was more surprised, him seeing a concert in the middle of a deserted wheat town in the middle of the night, or a disconcerted Dennis, who appeared to be lip syncing for a few seconds while his song was drowned out by the thunderous truck passing by. The contrast was perfect and I am sure you could only see such a spectacle in an Australian country town.


It turns out that I have some connection to this dusty little part of the word, in fact my cousin was conceived here while my mother's younger sister taught in the local school, 39 years ago. I am not sure if that gives me any credibility as far as being Kellerberrinian goes, however, what I can say is that it was a pleasure to take a little stroll back in time to the quaint and pretty world that is our Wheatbelt. For us of the DFT team, remote locations and long dusty roads are our specialty, but this event marks a new and exciting collaboration. Rural towns fall by our wayside in multitudes, during the long miles we travel into remote Indigenous communities, and so it is with great relish that we grabbed the chance to participate in a rural town event. It is with even greater relish that we were able to enjoy it as a participant, and that my performers where all paid to be performers, which is the way it should be. Hiring Ulla Shay and Bryte MC and Gina Williams is, as far as i see it, an investment in the social capital of our country. So, I say with great sincerity, "Thank you CANWA." Yours is the long but worthy road, and we hope to share it with you many times again. I would like to particularly make a very special and warm thank you to Ivy Penny, for making this happen. When we first met you told me we would work together and you are were true to your word. In a world of much uncertainly, that, I think, is worth more than gold.