National Library of Australia

 

FROM THE MODEL FOLKLORE PROJECT OF THE FINDLEY AREA OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Access conditions: Open for research; permission needed for public use

John Marshall is a secondary school principal in New South Wales and is also an American-trained and experienced folklorist. His field-work in Australia includes some children's folklore. The recording at Finley High School of children's folk beliefs and where they learned them is a rare picture of children as apprentices in learning adult folkways.

Selected excerpt from this collection

The following are some examples of the Finley High School children's folk beliefs about weather.

Girl 13 years old, lives in Finley.
I learned these from my Nanna who learned it from her mother:
- If the Milky Way is running north and south, it's going to rain soon.
- If you drop a knife a gentleman visitor is coming.
- A big circle round the moon is stormy weather. Three frosts and a rain.
- A big circle round the moon, count the stars in it; that's how many days it's going to rain.

Girl 13 years old, lives in Berrigan.
I learned this one from my Dad who learned it from his Pop:
- When the sun sets red it will be a scorcher the next day.
I learned this from Marnie who learned it from her father:
- When a kookaburra laughs at midnight it will rain the next day.
I learned from Pop who learned it from his father:
- When the wind blows towards you, the fish will be biting. When the wind blows away from you, the fish will not be biting.

Children's folklore items found in this collection

TRC 1714. View record

Model Folklore Project. Class 5BN at Finley Primary School, New South Wales. Children's rhymes and games recorded in 1984.

TRC 1716. View record

Model Folklore Project. 7C English class at Finley High School, New South Wales. Folk beliefs and where children learned them. Recorded 19-20 November 1984.
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