History
There is a comprehensive and fascinating Webxhibition celebrating Twenty Years of Meredith which features all sorts of Histories of Meredith. You can check it out here.
As for how it all started, well…
Meredith is a small town halfway between Geelong and Ballarat, 90 kms due west of Melbourne. A pretty, distinctly rural Victorian town, it goes about its business quietly below the foothills of the Brisbane Ranges. It was once a prosperous, bustling hub for the district, and the stop for the Cobb and Co coaches en route to Ballarat and the goldfields. But a century After The Gold Rush, it was a town like so many others in the country – in slow decline.
One sweltering December afternoon in 1989, local farmer Jack Nolan rode his tractor through disused farmland at the back of his family’s property. This part of the land hadn’t been seen by humans for years – its steep hills and thick vegetation had rendered it unsuitable for grazing. At the end of a typically long day on the land, Jack had decided to go a different way home.
The consistent drone of the diesel engine disturbed the pristine environment. Through the bracken, over the granite, the hazy heat of summer began to play tricks with Jack’s mind. He became dizzy and lost his sense of direction, the foliage became thicker and his trusty tractor started behaving like a spooked Horse. He ploughed through the bush, branches flying as the tractor sped up. With a resounding thump that scared the animal life for miles the flighty Massey-Ferguson stopped. Suddenly a sense of The Other-World overwhelmed him. He became instantly and totally hyper-aware of his surroundings. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and was amazed and exhilarated by what he saw. The heat-haze had cleared, so had the thick bush. Jack was atop a plateau, staring wide-eyed at the most beautiful sight. He had stumbled upon a natural amphitheatre of immense dimensions.
” Hmmmm”, thought Jack. “Build a stage, whack a heap of bands on one weekend, provide free camping and cheap food and there could be a totally independent festival of great live music every year.”
The MEREDITH MUSIC FESTIVAL was born…..
Previous Meredith Music Festival websites can be viewed here:
MMF2009
MMF2008
MMF2007
MMF2006
