Millers Point Songbook

Millers Point Songbook is a play performed in the Garrison Church during May, and it tracks the lives and stories of the people of Millers Point, Sydney, and the history of Sydney itself.

In words and music, the characters of Millers Point come to life. Residents from Colonial times to the present are portrayed, including Captain Grimes and Mary Underwood; Lieutenant Dawes and Patyegarang; Nita McCrae and Jack Mundey; and Myra and the residents of Sirius. The famous, the infamous, the colourful, and the ordinary residents of Millers Point are brought to life in the Millers Point Songbook.

In the telling of this story, the history of Australia's formation on the east coast is also conveyed, in particular the changing economic conditions of Sydney, first through whaling, then wool, then property. Music and lyrics have been written by Joanna Weinberg, as well as the direction.

Weinberg says: "One of the most interesting things about writing the Millers Point Songbook is that I didn't grow up with this history. It was all new to me, so I was coming at this with great curiosity and no 'cultural cringe.' Millers Point is a new name, coined during the early Colonial period and I have tried to acknowledge that by writing the opening song, 'Every Sunbed hides a Ghost.' When I arrived in this country, I was shocked to see how little Aboriginal history was reflected in public places. That is changing somewhat now, and, while those are not my stories to tell, 'Every Sunbed' is a way of acknowledging the lost First Nations souls of the area before it was 'named.' In many of the history books I read, information about women and their roles in the neighbourhood was scant or simply absent. I have tried to address this by writing as many songs as possible from a female perspective."

Millers Point Songbook features 24 songs that track the history of Sydney's colonial settlement in Millers Point, and its impact on the nation.