‘Don’t Call Wagga Wagga Wagga’
The Show

90 minutes of, songs, laughs and memories with Jim Haynes and Greg Hooper. Jim sings, jokes and yarns his way through a swag of original Aussie Humour, Verse and Song accompanied by multiple Mo Award winning pianist/arranger, Greg Hooper.

The two veterans will then take you on nostalgic trip through some of Jim’s favourite classic songs by his favourite songwriters. You will know every one of them!

All bookings for show and talks contact:

Helena Heidenreich Harbourside Media heidenreichh191@gmail.com … or send an email enquiry to Jim via this website.

– – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – –

Jim’s Talks

SONG AND VERSE

S1 How Songs Work – This presentation explains what songwriters do and how songs work. Jim uses examples to show how different song forms are put together and how such a powerful art form has such simple rules and structures.

S2 The Life and Songs of Yip Harburg – the migrant Jewish boy who grew up in poverty – and went on the write ‘April in Paris’, ‘Brother, Can You Spare a Dime’, ‘Lydia the Tattooed Lady’ (Groucho Marx’s theme song), ‘Over the Rainbow’ and ALL the songs in the Wizard of OZ and Finian’s Rainbow!

V1 How Poetry Works – From medieval curses to Shakespeare, Coleridge, Kipling and modern lyrical works, Jim performs and explains how poetry has been used over the ages.

V2 The Bulletin & Australian Popular Rhymed Verse – The fascinating and highly entertaining history of our rhymed verse heritage, Jim’s search for forgotten poets, the Bulletin Magazine’s place in our history and the tradition of verse as entertainment and an expression of patriotism.

V3 The Times and Rhymes of Henry Lawson – Jim tells the remarkable story of Henry Lawson’s tragic life and shows us why he is regarded as the most AUSTRALIAN of all verse writers, using Henry’s own verse to showcase his humour, observations of life and love of Australia.

V4 The Secret Life of Banjo Paterson –Banjo Paterson had a crippled right arm, rode winners at Rosehill, was involved a scandalous romance that ended his 6-year engagement, enlisted in WW 1 at the age of 52 and became a major. Jim explains these things (and many more) and performs a selection of verse.

V5 The Wit and Wisdom of C J Dennis ‘The People’s Poet’– Jim recites the works of this wonderful poet who wrote over 2000 poems as well as the biggest selling book in Australian history – and talks about his life and times.

– – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – –

AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

H1 Australia’s Unbelievable True Stories & Things You Thought You Knew – Jim looks at the truth behind some of our most commonly believed Aussie myths and shares some of Australia’s oddest and most amazing true stories.

H2 Sydney’s Unbelievable True Stories – Some fascinating, surprising, and often amusing, true stories about the history of the city of Sydney. The history you may not know. Remarkable characters, colonial mischief, attempted assassinations!

H3 The ANZAC Convoy & What Happened at Gallipoli? – Jim tells the story of the ANZAC Convoy and the Battle of Cocos Island and explains the reason for the Gallipoli Campaign, its geography and progress and Australia’s role in the campaign.

H4 The Discovery of Australia – A tale of intrigue, Papal decrees, international rivalry and corporate greed. In 1522, a century before the Dutch arrived; did the Portuguese Captain Cristavao de Mendonca charted the east coast of Australia from Cape York to Warrnambool? Was a copy of his map was on the Endeavour. Why did the Dutch never claim New Holland?

H5 Matthew Flinders – The Boy Who Read Robinson Crusoeand Named Our Land – The amazing true story of a village lad who ran away to sea and lived more adventures than we can dream of in his short life. A man who died almost forgotten by the British but never forgotten by the people living in the land he charted and named. Tales of war at sea, shipwrecks, intrigue and a love story for the ages!

H6 Girt By Sea and Ringed By Menace – How many Australians know that 28 Japanese submarines patrolled our east coast and sank over fifty ships? Or that the mother submarines that carried the 50 tonne so-called ‘midget’ subs were 120 metres long with crews of 100 men? Or that a German U-Boat visited the Coorong, east of Adelaide, in 1944, and German raiders laid mines along our east coast and operated off our west coast sinking dozens of ships, as well as HMAS Sydney? Find out what the wartime censors never told us in this frightening and enlightening presentation.

H7 Great Furphies of Australian History – Learn the truth behind the legends of James Cook and Ned Kelly.Australians have been told, and believe, a lot of nonsense about these two men, and many other things.

– – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – –

AUSTRALIAN ART HISTORY

A1 Seeing Sydney Harbour – The artistic depiction of ‘the finest harbour in the world’ from 1788 to the present is an enlightening journey through the history of art genres, the harbour itself, the city of Sydney and the artists who were drawn to it: convicts, naval men, soldiers, surveyors, scientists and artists both famous and forgotten. Over 200 images help show you why the harbour has fascinated artists from convict amateurs to Conrad Martens, Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts, Roland Wakelin, Brett Whitely, Ken Done and many more.

A2 Sydney Harbour seen by Women Artists– fascinating stories of the many wonderful women, some famous and some forgotten, who have painted Sydney Harbour – from 1870 to the present day. With 175 visual images showing their work in various artistic styles.

A3 The Life and Art of Norman Lindsay (and His Siblings) – Five of the ten Lindsay children became renowned artists. Jim discusses the life and art of an amazing Australian ‘workaholic’ who gave Australia a sense of aesthetic and ‘culture’. Lindsay was a major influence on artists and writers and shocked the wowsers and narrow minded. His artistic output makes you tired, just to contemplate!

(These are longer talks with more images)

– – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – –

HORSE RACING

R1 Tales of The Turf – Jim shares some gems from his collection of stories, jokes, anecdotes and verse about the champions, characters and history of horseracing, a sport that captures the true Aussie spirit and reflects our national identity. The rorts and ring-ins, humour and romance of the racetrack.

R2 The Cup is More Than a Horse Race – The history of the Melbourne Cup is the story of a truly national day of celebration, Australia’s greatest race, and our obsession with horse racing and gambling. It is a story of bitter interstate rivalry, inspirational events and champions, tragedies and amazing scams and cons that helped shape our unique national character and culture. Only Anzac Day stands equal to ‘The Cup’ as a truly Australian national celebration.

– – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – –

All bookings for show and talks contact:

Helena Heidenreich Harbourside Media heidenreichh191@gmail.com … or send an email enquiry to Jim via this website.

All bookings for show and talks contact:

Helena Heidenreich Harbourside Media heidenreichh191@gmail.com … or send an email enquiry to Jim via this website.