What music was performed, heard, and consumed in early colonial New South Wales?

And when music was sung or played, what did it sound like?

How was the sound shaped by place – by Aboriginal Country in its changing seasons – and by spaces – settler living rooms, halls, churches or synagogues, pubs, theatres, streets or parks?

These are some of the questions a group of researchers at the University of Sydney have set out to answer. In an Australian Research Council Discovery Project Hearing the Music of Early NSW 1788-1860, musical practices across Indigenous, classical, popular and folk music traditions have been explored using performance as a tool to unlock sonic histories.

Sydney from the North Shore, 1827,  J. Lycett. State Library of New South Wales

A song once sung by the people of Sydney while fishing at Tubowgule, where the Sydney Opera House now stands, has been revitalised in this project. The melody and lyrics of the song were written down in several colonial records, including those by John Hunter, David Collins and Louis de Freycinet. Collins’ version gave a description of the song’s context:

“Having strolled down to the Point named...