Australian square dancing heritage and memorabilia

On this page you can enjoy some unique Australian square dance memorabilia, primarily from the 1950's BOOM era.

On the right is showcased the work of Callers in Australia during the 1950's boom, featuring Eddie Carol, Joe Lewis, Bill McGrath, Irene Hewitt, Leonard Hurst, Wally Cook, Jack Murphy, Graham Rigby, Ron Whyte, Les Schroeder and Gary Cohen. Also featured are some bands of the boom playing 'music only' - including Don Harper & his Square Dance Band and the Jim Gussett Sextet.

Jim taught many Callers during the Boom - a bit later in life this included an enthusiastic Ken Hooke, who turned out to be an excellent caller and an especially good teacher, as well as 'fun' entertainer. Ken continues to call dances in Warrnambool, Victoria.

Also, below is a rare recording of American Lloyd Shaw - known as Dr Lloyd 'Pappy' Shaw - who built upon the foundation laid by Henry Ford, to become the catalyst to the birth of the 1930's square dance movement in the USA, which underpinned the post-war square dancing boom.

HISTORICAL ARTICLES
Pdf Format

Anyone wishing to learn more about Australia's many wonderful square dance Callers, look no further than Graham Rigby's excellent book 'Great Australian Square Dance Callers - Over Half A Century' - order it from your local book stores.

Below are brief square dance articles of historical interest - written by Jim, Graham Rigby, People Magazine (1953), Jack Murphy and Jeff Seidel:

Boom! Where Did It Come From?
by Jim Vickers-Willis

Kings of Melbourne's Golden Era: 1950-1953
by Graham Rigby

Square Dancing As A Sport
People Magazine article on Jim Vickers-Willis
(Vol. 4, No. 11, July 29, 1953)

Square Dancing - How It All Started in Australia
by Jack Murphy

History of the Australian Callers Federation (ACF)
by Jeff Seidel

Please note - we've tried to avoid copyright problems on this site by gaining permissions where possible, and acknowledging authors - any suspected breach is totally unintended and we'd be pleased to remove any item of concern.

If you have Australian square dance memorabilia (recordings, photos, film) that you're happy for us to feature on this site, please do not hesitate to eMail Us Here - future generations of square dancers will surely appreciate this legacy.

Some heritage materials showcasing the work of Australia's most well known square dance Caller, Jim Vickers-Willis, is available at History - Jim. Don't miss it - the audio recordings are vintage entertainment.

We are constantly reviewing other online square dance resources, and are providing links to the best we find HERE.

The music used by Jim and the other heritage callers on this site are traditional square dance tunes. Today's callers someitmes use less traditional tunes, with some interesting results. Here is an example:

The Devil Went Down To Georgia

Enjoy!