Fahey Collection

The Fahey Collection showcases Warren Fahey’s work as an entrepreneur, musician, writer, and folklorist from 1967 to 1998. It includes personal papers and a rich collection of recordings capturing Australian folk music, traditions, and stories from his travels across regional New South Wales and Queensland.

Performing arts

Key items in the collection

This collection hosts a range of formats, including:

The original Fahey Collection includes 79 tape recordings. Fifty-nine were made by Fahey in 1973 during travels across New South Wales and Queensland, where he recorded folk musicians, retired miners, drovers, teamsters, stockmen, farmers, bagmen, and others. These recordings feature folk songs, dance music, folklore, customs, beliefs, children’s games, riddles, and contemporary songs and poems. Most were recorded in regional centres like Bathurst, Lithgow, Forbes, Glen Innes, Grafton, Toowoomba, Maryborough, and Townsville.

The remaining 20 tapes include radio programs produced by Fahey, recordings by other collectors such as Bob Michell, Wendy Lowenstein, and Shirley Andrews, and some unidentified material.

The papers document Fahey’s work as an entrepreneur, musician, and writer from 1967 to 1998. They include correspondence, contracts, scripts, reviews, programs, photographs, newspaper clippings, catalogues, posters, leaflets, newsletters, songbooks, sheet music, magazines, tickets, and other printed materials.

The collection focuses on Fahey’s performances with his band, The Larrikins, his involvement in the Australian folk revival, his work as a folklore collector, and his role in Larrikin Entertainment. It also contains materials related to Wattle Recordings (1955–77).

About Warren Fahey

Early years and passion for folk music

Born in Sydney in 1946, Warren Fahey grew up in a musical family and developed a love for folk music during his school years. He performed in Sydney pubs, joined the Sydney Bush Music Club, and became the Executive Officer of the New South Wales Folk Federation. In 1970, he organised the first Port Jackson Folk Festival and later co-founded the Australian Folklore Unit. In 1973, he spent 10 months traveling across eastern Australia recording traditional songs and folklore.

Music business and creative projects

Fahey opened Folkways Music, a specialist music shop, in 1973 and launched Larrikin Records a year later. Larrikin Records produced nearly 500 albums, featuring a wide range of Australian music, including folk, jazz, country, classical, and Indigenous music. Notable artists included Robyn Archer, Eric Bogle, and Kev Carmody. Fahey sold Folkways in 1993 and Larrikin Records in 1995, but continued performing and writing. He created several major programs for ABC Radio, including Great Australian Legends and The Song Carriers, and directed the annual Larrikin Festival of Music.

Recent work and writing

In recent years, Fahey has worked as Deputy Manager of the Festival Mushroom Group and founded Planet Productions. In 2004, he began recording Sydney’s folklore and expanded his research and writing. His books explore Australian culture and history, including titles like:

Background to the collection

In 1974, with support from The Ian Potter Foundation, the Library purchased Fahey's collection of folkloric recordings. In 2004, he donated his personal papers through the Cultural Gifts Program, and the Library acquired his Larrikin Record Library. Since then, Fahey has donated numerous field recordings from the 1970s, along with a few recent oral history interviews.

Fahey’s original folkloric recordings are part of the Oral History Collection. They are catalogued both at the collection level and individually. An index and transcripts for some recordings, compiled by Fahey, is available in the Oral History Branch. Tapes received from Fahey in 2004–05 remain unprocessed, except for a few 2005 interviews and his recordings of folk singer Sally Sloane.

Fahey’s personal papers are held in the Manuscripts Collection. Use the finding aid.

This guide was prepared using these references:

Australian Folklore Unit website: www.warrenfahey.com.au
Robert Smith, Swinging the Swag: Warren Fahey A.M. Today, Fair Dinkum, Australian Folklore, no. 20, November 2005, pp. 27–34.