Edward Joseph Egan (born 6 July 1932) is an Australian

folk musician Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

and a former

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

who served as

Administrator of the Northern Territory The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory, Australia. They perform functions similar to those of a state gov ...

from 2003 to 2007.

Early life

Egan was born in

Coburg, Victoria Coburg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Darebin and Merri-bek local government areas. Coburg recorded a population of 26,574 at the 2021 census. Alt ...

, moving to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

in 1949 at the age of 16 in search of work and adventure. In his early career with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs he was mainly in the bush and engaged in jobs such as stockwork and crocodile hunting while employed as a patrol officer and reserve superintendent. Later he was a teacher at bush schools. He was a member of the first National Reconciliation Council. Egan was the sole teacher at the

Newcastle Waters Station Newcastle Waters Station is a pastoral lease between Alice Springs and Darwin, supporting about 45,000 cattle in a notably well-watered area of 10,353 square kilometres. Kerry Packer was once a partner in the station, and sent his son James ...

in 1965 and was stranded at the property for six weeks when the creek

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ed. During this time, no supplies were able to be delivered, so Egan had to hunt for animals such as bush turkey for food. He later returned to the station in 2012 for the book launch of ''Middle of Everywhere'' about life in the area.

Music career

Egan began recording in 1969 with "Drinkers of the Northern Territory" and has released 30 albums, mostly themed around outback life, history and

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. Egan wrote the "Gurindji Blues" in 1969 with

Vincent Lingiari Vincent Lingiari (13 June 1908 or 1919 – 21 January 1988) was an Australian Aboriginal rights activist and member of the Gurindji people. In his early life he started as a stockman at Wave Hill Station, where the Aboriginal workers were g ...

during the

Wave Hill walk-off The Wave Hill walk-off, also known as the Gurindji strike, was a walk-off and strike by 200 Gurindji stockmen, house servants and their families, starting on 23 August 1966 and lasting for seven years. It took place at Wave Hill, a cattle stati ...

. Egan says he was moved to write "Gurindji Blues" after he heard

Peter Nixon Peter James Nixon AO (born 22 March 1928) is a former Australian politician and businessman. He served in the House of Representatives from 1961 to 1983, representing the Division of Gippsland as a member of the National Country Party (NCP). ...

, then Minister for the Interior, say in parliament that if the Gurindji wanted land, they should save up and buy it, like any other Australian. Nixon also gets a mention in the song.

Albums

Charting singles

Books

*1978 ''Outback Holiday'' (also by Mark Egan) *1984 ''The Overlanders Songbook'' *1987 ''The Aboriginals Songbook'' -Faces of Australia Series ASIN B000N7AKU0 *1989 ''Shearers Songbook'' *1991 ''Would I Lie to You? The Goanna Driver and Other Very True Stories'' *1993 ''The Paperboys War Ted Egan An Autobiography'' *1996 ''Justice All Their Own'' *1997 ''Sitdown Up North Ted Egan An Autobiography'' *1997 ''A Drop of Rough Ted'' *1997 ''The Drover's Boy'' *2003 ''The Land Downunder'' *2008 ''Due Inheritance'' *2011 ''Kutju Australia: An Australian Translation of Advance Australia Fair'' *2014 ''The ANZACS 100 Years On: in Story and Song'' *2019 ''Outback Songman: My Life''

Videos

* ''This Land Australia'' series (as presenter, narrator and interviewer) :*''Broome and the Pearl Coast'' :*''Cape York Peninsula: The Vanishing Frontier'' :*''Central Australia: The Eighth Wonder'' :*''Discovering a Rainforest'' :*''Gulf Country: The Road from Mt. Surprise'' :*''Hahndorf and the Barossa: Valleys of Hope'' :*''The Islands of Torres Strait'' :*''Mysterious Australia'' :*''Norfolk Island'' :*''Paddleboats of the Murray River'' :*''Railways of Yesteryear'' :*''Snowy Mountains'' These are available individually and as boxed sets on DVD fro
Flashback Entertainment

Administrator of the Northern Territory

Egan was appointed

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Michael Jeffery Major General Philip Michael Jeffery, (12 December 1937 – 18 December 2020) was a senior Australian Army officer and vice-regal representative. He was the 28th governor of Western Australia from 1993 to 2000, and the 24th governor-general o ...

effective 31 October 2003. He was sworn in on 18 November. On 14 September 2005, he was awarded a one-year extension to his term of office by

Jim Lloyd James Eric Lloyd (born 17 July 1954) is an Australian former politician who served with the Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from the March 1996 election until the November 2007 election, representin ...

, the Federal Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads. This was further extended for another year to serve until 30 October 2007.

Television

Egan has presented and narrated 6 episodes of the 1989 series ''This Land Australia'', a series devoted to iconic Australian people and places. He also wrote and performed the show's theme song of the same name. He has been a co-host of the lifestyle show '' The Great Outdoors''.

Honours

Egan was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in the 1993 Australia Day Honours List for services to the Aboriginal people, and for "an ongoing contribution to the literary heritage of Australia through song and verse".EGAN, Edward Joseph
''It's an Honour'' (Australian Government), 26 January 1993. In 2004, Egan was promoted to an Officer of the Order (AO) as acknowledgement of "the significance of iscontinuing contribution to the community culminating in his being sworn-in as the 18th Administrator of the Northern Territory".EGAN, Edward Joseph
''It's an Honour'' (Australian Government), 25 February 2004. Egan is listed among the " Australia's National Living Treasures" by the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

. Ted was the recipient of the National Folk Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award in April 2015 at NFF's Opening Ceremony in Canberra. Egan performed four songs at the event, including one about pioneering women in Australia.

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the

music of Australia The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, , ''This Land Australia'' , ,

ARIA Award for Best Country Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Country Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indus ...

, , , ,

Australian Roll of Renown

The

Australian Roll of Renown The Australian Roll of Renown was inaugurated bRadio 2TMin 1976. The award honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to Country Music. The award is determin ...

honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to Country Music. It was inaugurated in 1976 and the inductee is announced at the

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

in Tamworth in January. , - , 1995 , Ted Egan , Australian Roll of Renown ,

Country Music Awards of Australia

The

(CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales. The festival is the second bigg ...

, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973. , - , 2000 , "The Drover's Boy" , Video Clip of the Year , , - , 2014 , Ted Egan , Lifetime Achievement Award ,

Tamworth Songwriters Awards

The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the

. They commenced in 1986. (wins only) , - , 1991 , Ted Egan , Songmaker Award , , - , rowspan="2", 2011 , "Queensland Opera" by Ted Egan , Comedy/Novelty Song of the Year , , - , "The Laughing Game" by Ted Egan , Children's Song of the Year , , -

References

External links

Egan's official website

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20050422084019/http://www.nt.gov.au/administrator/biographies/administrator.shtml Official Administrator's site* VIDEO
Egan on the crisis in Indigenous Australia (2009)
o

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egan, Ted 1932 births Living people Public servants from Melbourne Australian folk singers Administrators of the Northern Territory Officers of the Order of Australia Indigenous Australian musicians Musicians from the Northern Territory People from Coburg, Victoria