MEDIA RELEASE:

JULY 22, 2019

18 Musicians, 9 Venues: Umeewarra Radio and Guitars in Bars bring First Nations music to Downtown Port Augusta.

In what will be a first for the Upper Spencer Gulf, Port Augusta will take part in Adelaide Guitar Festival’s Guitars in Bars, with two days of music from First Nations artists in an event called Umeewarra Downtown.

This coming weekend, with the support of Umbrella Winter City Sounds,Port Augusta will be pulsing with beats as Aboriginal artists perform everything from hip-hop and country to rock and acoustic. This rolling musical feast will serve up some of the region’s best musicians at a range of venues from the classic to the unexpected. 

“This will be an amazing event for the town and we are really pleased to be working with the different venues across Port Augusta to showcase our Aboriginal artists.  This will be the first of many, so we hope people will come out and enjoy this exciting first Guitars in Bars.”Said Umeewarra Media CEO, Vince Coulthard.

“It’s terrific to see the Adelaide Guitar Festival’s Guitars in Bars programme extend into the regions, and the State Government is proud to support Umbrella Winter City Sounds and Umeewarra Radio in putting on these shows in Port Augusta. The whole town is in for a real treat with so much local musical talent taking the stage,” said Minister for Innovation and Skills, David Pisoni.

Umeewarra Downtown is a collaboration between Umeewarra Aboriginal Media that has been running in Port Augusta for over 30 years and Adelaide Festival Centre. Umeewarra Downtown is a part of Adelaide Guitar Festival’s events happening right across South Australia.

“Adelaide Guitar Festival’s collaboration with Umeewarra Aboriginal Media is a highlight of this year’s program, with brilliant First Nations artists taking centre stage playing everything from hip hop to country. We’re so excited we’ve been able to facilitate the creation of Umeewarra Downtown – it promises to be a really special two days in Port Augusta, with gigs across the city showcasing the region’s musical talent.” SaidProducer of Adelaide Guitar Festival, Andrew Dundon

Umeewarra Downtown includes local artists from the region: Stephen Atkinson, Jeanne Miller, Derrick Milera will be travelling from Hawker in the Flinders Ranges to perform on Friday night. Other artists include the famous Robert Champion, 16-year-old Tilly Tjala Thomas and the duo Kuko from the Yorke Peninsular. Adding to the program is singer Letisha Ackland, Nathan May, Jeremy Whiskey, James Butler and Corey Theatre. The program includes a hip-hop workshop at the Port Augusta Youth Centre with Eskatology and an RnB ‘Block Party’ with Port Augusta locals DJ Yalla and MoZzi aka Dre Ngatokorua.

“It really is an all-star cast.” Said Dre Ngatokorua, Umeewarra Radio Broadcaster and DJ.

The artists are performing at the Hotel Augusta, the Hannahville, the Hotel Flinders, the Platform Gallery, Archers Table and West Augusta Football Club, the Port Augusta Yacht Club and an opening event at Umeewarra Media Studios on Jervois Street. All events are free except the ‘Block Party’.

Umeewarra Downtown is presented with the kind support of the State Government through the Music Development Office, Adelaide Festival Centre and Music SA as it features in the Umbrella Winter City Sounds Festival.

For full program and artists’ bio’s please see: 

adelaideguitarfestival.com.au/events/umeewarra-downtown/

#UmeewarraDowntown

#ADLGuitarFest 

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A big thank-you to Senator Malarndirri McCarthy – Northern Territory for hosting the briefing session and inviting us to speak with Labor’s First Nations Caucus Committee.

And a big shout-out to Dot West, Karl Hampton, Jodie Bell, Jenni Enosa, Kaava Watson and Vince Coulthard who were very busy running from meeting to meeting to raise awareness about the importance of our sector within Parliament.

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And CEO of Umeewarra Media, Vince Coulthard, ought to know. He remembers what Port Augusta was like before the station began operating in 1987.

‘Prior to the establishment of the station, Aboriginal people in Port Augusta and Australia wide were getting a lot of bad publicity,’ Vince said.

‘It was about trying to get the message out to the broader community. It wasn’t just about educating the Aboriginal listening audience, but mostly for the non-Aboriginal community. And so we had to look at ways of establishing a radio station that would be interesting to a range of listeners.’

This was done through programs which featured ‘country’ and other music formats into which Aboriginal cultural messages were introduced. As a result, the station appealed to a wide cross-section of Port Augusta and surrounding areas.

Today, that appeal is maintained through programs featuring hip hop music and a Top 40 countdown. Other programs include storytelling, profiles of local Elders and interesting people in the community. There are interviews with specialists on subjects ranging from ear health to skills development for local industries.

‘It is about being creative with radio, about reaching out and providing the audience with what they want, while we deliver the messages we want,’ Vince said.

One important message is about the eye disease, Trachoma. Umeewarra brought health specialists and community Elders together so the message could be delivered in languages other than English. Programs like this help to break down barriers and improve health outcomes.

Umeewarra also helps to ‘close the gap’ in other ways. Its boardroom is available for public use for training workshops and other meetings. JobWatch uses Umeewarra’s broadcasting power to advertise job vacancies.

‘If a company wants to start up a skills development program in civil construction or whatever, they’ll come in, we’ll put them on the radio and they’ll talk about it,’ Vince said.

‘Our listening audience will then pass on that information to whoever. Then people drop by with their resumes and put their names down for those courses.’

‘BHP out of Roxby Downs and other mining companies advertise their training programs through our radio station,’ Vince said.

This type of service highlights the difference between community radio and commercial radio.

‘Commercial radio has a product to sell. We’ve got a product to deliver,’ Vince said.

Umeewarra is supported through sponsorships from interested groups but mainly from direct Australian Government funding.

But that’s not all.

‘A lot of the health and other government programs need promoting so we get them to sponsor a particular program which provides income for us,’ Vince said.

Vince also said that the value of Umeewarra Radio can be summed up by a listener’s comment used to inform a recent Social Return on Investment report [PDF 230KB].

‘People don’t just see it as a radio station. It’s like the heart of the community – like a home for people… It gives people a sense of belonging.’

This story is the first in our Community Broadcaster series. If you would like us to share the story about your community radio station, contact the indigenous.gov.au team.

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In the summer months, to avoid the heat, Aboriginal groups would gather to enjoy the cooling effect of the lake and the nearby waters of what is now called Spencer Gulf.

For Senior Broadcaster, Samantha Lee and her fellow broadcasters, their radio station is also a gathering place.

Over the years, country music legends and rock stars have sat in their studios and shared stories and opinions about life, being on tour and of course, music.

Samantha began in the broadcasting business as a trainee in 2002. Her favourite interview was with the late, Jimmy Little who she met at the Spirit Festival in Adelaide.

‘My parents used to listen to his music so I learned to love him too,’ Samantha said.

‘He was so down to earth and relaxed when we spoke. He engaged me and the audience with stories about how he started singing and writing songs.’

‘He spoke about the importance of Aboriginal and community radio, promoting Aboriginal culture, and sharing the positives of Aboriginal culture through singing, art, dance and events like the Spirit Festival in Adelaide.’

Photos and concert posters of Slim Dusty grace the walls of the office of Vince Coulthard, CEO of Umeewarra Media. Posters of other performers line the walls throughout the building and in the two studios.

The list of singers who have performed in the region, dropped into the studios or been interviewed by Umeewarra include Keith Urban, Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, Kasey Chambers, Casey Donovan, Troy Cassar-Daly, Christine Anu and Archie Roach.

And when they are not in the area, Samantha and the team go to them. Samantha caught up with Jessica Mauboy at the 2013 Spirit Festival in Adelaide.

But it’s not all music. Umeewarra Radio has messages to share on Aboriginal culture, reconciliation and building safe and prosperous communities.

Port Augusta is at the centre of the region that includes three of the largest towns in South Australia. It is also the crossroads of Australia, which means that Umeewarra is ideally placed to spread its message well beyond its radio transmitting range.

Keep an eye out for our coming story about the radio station, its history and achievements since it was founded in 1987.

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NAIDOC Week ran across the country from July 8-15, celebrating the theme ‘Because of her, we can’.

Jam-packed with a record 18 events over five days, Port Augusta’s NAIDOC celebrations introduced three new events – the Seated Corporate Breakfast, the Straight Out Show Colour Run and the Yarn Around the Camp Fire.

Umeewarra Aboriginal Media Radio Producer Gayle Mather described NAIDOC Week as a huge success.

“It was an absolutely fantastic week and we have had nothing but positive feedback about it,” she said.

“The community is really happy and that’s what it’s all about, getting the community involved.”

Traditional events, including the Flag Raising Morning Tea, Elders Luncheon and Pika Wiya Family Day, were all well attended, before a sell-out crowd arrived at Central Oval for the NAIDOC Adult Ball on Friday night to close out the week.

Ms Mather said NAIDOC Week was a great opportunity to recognise the cultural diversity in Port Augusta.

“NAIDOC is about Aboriginal people having a time to showcase and celebrate their cultures,” she said.

“In Port Augusta, with 40 different language groups, we’ve got so much capacity to learn here.

“It’s about the community coming together to share and celebrate all of the Aboriginal cultures in our town.”

Ms Mather said months of preparation went into this year’s NAIDOC celebrations.

“There’s an enormous amount of work with a volunteer team that do a lot of stuff in the background,” she said.

“We really have to thank Port Augusta City Council for their support this year, they really went out of their way to be helpful.”

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