The club was founded in October 1954 by the Australian folklorist and performer
John Meredith, together with colleagues from Australia's first revivalist "
bush band"
The Bushwhackers, as a social and teaching club with the aim of popularising the style of bush singing and dancing promoted by the band and encouraging others to form their own performing groups; the band would participate by teaching up-and-coming members songs and giving them instruction on playing bush instruments. An announcement of the proposed formation of the club, in the form of a leaflet available to interested parties, ran as follows: THE BUSH MUSIC CLUB We have been approached by many singers and instrumentalists who wished to join the "Bushwhackers", but we consider that the optimum number for an ensemble such as ours is six. We have been refusing engagements at the rate of three or four a week for several months, not because we want to, but simply for the reasons that we need time to rehearse, we have to work for our living and because we have to get some sleep occasionally. We don’t like disappointing people so we have decided to form a club, where in return for a nominal membership fee we will give away our secrets. The "Bushwhackers" will help you to learn the accordeon, harmonica, bones, bush bass, lager phone and lots more. We will provide the words and music of our songs and show you how we sing them. The inaugural meeting and first rehearsal of the BUSH MUSIC CLUB will take place at the Realist Theatrette, 1st Floor, 188 George Street, on Thursday October 14th, at 7 p.m. sharp. Further details may be had from John Meredith, 5 Henry Street, Lewisham, or from any of the "Bushwhackers". Initial office bearers (all members of the original Bushwhackers band) were Brian Loughlin as chair, Alan Scott as secretary/treasurer, Harry Kay as master of ceremonies and Meredith as "publicity officer" and future editor of the club's planned publications. With Meredith's interest in collecting Australian folksongs, the club's journal "Singabout" was started in 1956 as a route to publish and promote a selection of these songs for singing by others, in addition to being an outlet for newly composed songs on Australian themes. (A Club newsletter, also including song transcriptions, etc., had already started in 1955). While Meredith and his colleagues had
Australian Communist Party affiliations, in reality this manifested itself as a general predisposition to sympathy to the concerns of the Australian working class and not to specific furtherance of official Communist Party objectives, although the American folklorist
John Greenway, reviewing "Singabout" in 1958, lamented that "folksong collecting and publishing [in Australia] today is in the hands of the Communists". Meredith's involvement as an office bearer with the club lasted until at least 1968, where he is listed as assistant editor, having previously been president for 1961 and vice president for 1966. The club rode out the downturn in popular interest in folk music in the 1980s and 1990s; a 1987 review noted that the club at that time had over 400 members. In 2014 the club celebrated its 60th birthday with a series of concerts, new publications and festival performances, and in 2020 was still offering a regular program of bush dances, dance and music workshops, and Irish traditional music, singing, and poetry sessions at a range of Sydney venues. ==Influence==