KATH MUSIC CONVERGES

Chris and Sheila Kath are well known musicians who regularly perform for the Mary Valley Rattler passengers at the Amamoor and Dagun Stations.

Their unique musical journeys started internationally in different countries and finally converged in Australia.

In 1991, on a winter holiday at Thredbo Ski Resort, Chris and Sheila met and fell in love.

In the hotel where they stayed, there was a guitar which they took turns playing and sang together on their very first meeting.

The first time Chris visited Sheila’s home he had Simon and Garfunkel’s The Boxer playing in his car. When Sheila opened the door to welcome him, she also had a cassette of The Boxer playing in her living room. They had a common love of music.

Both Chris and Sheila originally came from families of significance in small communities with rural backgrounds.

Sheila grew up in Scotland in a tiny village called Campsie Glen north of Glasgow. From her bedroom in Glenmill House, Sheila could hear the waterfall which ran the mill for the family laundry.

Chris was born in Bavaria, Germany in an area bordering Switzerland and Austria. Both of his parents originated in Prussia in north-eastern Germany.

Sheila’s mother came from a musical family. A large part of the family's Saturday night entertainment comprised one hour of Scottish country dancing in the lounge. She was also in the school choir.

Progressing to train as a primary school teacher, Sheila learnt to play the recorder in her first year of training, the melodica in her second year, and the guitar in her third year.

She graduated as a teacher in 1972 and taught until her retirement in 2016. Sheila’s signature teaching style included her guitar and a philosophy that everything seemed easier to learn if it was learnt through music.

Chris’ mother played the piano every day, with a piano being part of the home furniture. Besides the piano, classical music records were often played. German “Schlager” (pop music) were very rarely listened to.

All the Kath family developed an interest in music, playing various instruments. Regarded as a normal part of family life, the family sang together most evenings. Chris, the youngest of nine children, was three when the family emigrated.

For the Kath family’s first couple of years in Australia they lived in a migrant town near Albury, then had time in Canberra until Chris’ father took the family to a share-farm near Nambour. During this time, in an effort to find some Australian folk music for the family to listen to, Chris’ mother bought some Slim Dusty and Chad Morgan records which the boys immediately loved.

Chris could sing Slim Dusty and Chad Morgan songs before he could speak English.

The family music fluctuated between classical and Australian country music. Chris only started listening to pop music when he travelled to Gympie South Primary School on the school bus.

Around 2015, Sheila attended the Wood and Music Festival at the AICM (Australian Institute of Country Music) in Gympie. She had just been given a ukulele by Chris.

Chris is a member of Gympie Country Music Club and he is a much-loved concert performer on the fourth Saturday of each month.

They can both be found playing music and singing at the Dagun Station Saturday afternoon. Sheila is also part of a quartet of like-minded musicians whose main focus is to learn new skills on a variety of instruments. She was recently given a mandolin by Chris.

Today, a large part of Chris and Sheila’s home and social lives include music. They enjoy inviting other musicians, friends and family to soirees at their home in the Mary Valley where food and acoustic music are enjoyed in abundance.

Kindly contributed by Meridy Scott