Aquarius Festival
Nimbin Aquarius Festival | |
---|---|
Dates | 12 to 23 May 1973 |
Location(s) | Canberra, Nimbin, New South Wales, Australia |
Years active | 1971, 1973 |
Founded by | Johnny Allen and Graeme Dunstan |
The Nimbin Aquarius Festival was a counter-cultural arts and music festival organised by the Australian Union of Students. It was the fourth in a biannual series of festivals, first organised by the National Union of Australian University Students. The first Australian Universities Arts Festival was held in Sydney in 1967, and the second Australian Universities Arts Festival was held in Melbourne in 1969. The third added "Aquarius" to its name and was held in Canberra in 1971.[1] The fourth and last was held in Nimbin, New South Wales in 1973.[2]
The Aquarius Festival aimed to celebrate alternative thinking and
Performers
Performers at the festival included the White Company - an experimental theatre troupe featuring a number of alternative culture artists including Peter Carolan - singer Paul Joseph, Donny McCormack (ex-Nutwood Rug Band), The Larrikins and Ian Farr. Also appearing were Indian street performers the Bauls of Bengal, the South African pianist Dollar Brand (later known as Abdullah Ibrahim), classical-ambient musician Lindsay Bourke,[7] and tightrope walker and unicyclist Philippe Petit, who gained worldwide fame the following year by walking between the rooftops of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center.
Legacy
The festival had a permanent effect on the economy of Nimbin, as many Festival participants decided to remain in the district.
One group pooled resources after the Nimbin Aquarius Festival and bought a then 500-hectare (1,200-acre) property at
Interviews were conducted in 1992 documenting the alternative lifestyle movement of northern NSW in the 1970s, focusing on the town of Nimbin and the 1973 Aquarius Festival. Interviewees discussed how they arrived in Nimbin, their efforts in organising the Aquarius Festival, and the lasting impact the Festival had on the township.[9]
See also
- List of Australian music festivals
- List of historic rock festivals
- List of jam band music festivals
References
- ^ Festivals - Aquarius Festival, Canberra, 1971 MilesAgo. (Retrieved 26 October 2006)
- ^ Festivals - Aquarius Festival, Nimbin, 1973 MilesAgo. (Retrieved 26 October 2006)
- ^ S Sorrensen. "Rainbow Region born from black and white". The Northern Rivers Echo. TAOW Ltd. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
- Fairfax Digital. 14 March 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
- doi:10.5204/mcj.923.
- ^ Carr, Andy (Autumn 2013). "Archives of Aquarius" (PDF). SL Magazine. 6 (1). State Library of New South Wales: 20–21.
- ^ Kimball, Duncan. "The Almanac – 1973". Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions. Archived from the original on 19 March 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Fairfax Digital. 8 February 2004. Archivedfrom the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
- ^ "Richmond-Tweed Oral History Group - Under the Rainbow. Interviews with residents following alternative life styles in the Lismore area, 1992". State Library of New South Wales Catalogue. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
External links
- Nimbin History
- Archival footage of 1973 Nimbin and Festival
- 1971 Aquarius Festival Programme (RMIT University Catalyst Supplement)
- 1973 Aquarius Festival Archival Photos
- Nimbin Good Times: Australia's Aquarius Festival (1973) - video
- GTK (ABC Television) Episode 666 on Nimbin Aquarius Festival - including interviews with locals
- "Under the Rainbow. Interviews with residents following alternative life styles in the Lismore area – Richmond Tweed Oral History Group". Amplify – Rainbow Archives, State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 June 2018.