At present, I have access to lots of newspaper cuttings plus some articles from the music press for the period from 1966. The window 1969 – 1971 is full of rich pickings.

The Rebels (with Glyn Mason as lead singer, in the position vacated by Larry Morris) arrived in Australia late March 1969. Earlier that month they had reached the No.1 spot on the NZ Music Charts with ‘My Son John’. They chose Melbourne as their base & early on lived at the George Hotel in St Kilda.

The La De Da’s had been in Australia for a few years & were in the process of establishing themselves as one of the tops acts in the country. Max Merritt (see photo below) & the

Meteors had developed a huge following. They had been based in Melbourne  since 1967.

The Castaways, who had arrived as Peter Nelson & the Castaways were still working in Sydney. The Avengers (Wellington) who in Australia were known as the NZ Avengers (see photo below) had lots of work (including a 4-week season in Perth) & didn’t want to leave Australia.

Mantra (who before they left NZ had been Le Frame) were here. Compulsion (which had grown out of Sounds Unlimited) had moved base from Melbourne to Sydney. Leo de Castro arrived. Allison Durbin moved south to have Melbourne as her base.

The Dave Miller Set were here; as were the Cleves (formerly the Clevedonaires); Simple Image; the Hi-Revving Tongues; and Retaliation. Human Instinct arrived in 1971 after a stint in the UK.

As the sub-title for this blog suggests, Kiwi musicians were in many Australian bands. Drummer Trevor Courtenay (ex-Chants) was in Camp-act otherwise known as Campact. Johnny Dick (ex-Max Merritt & the Meteors) was in Doug Parkinson In Focus. Pete Williams was in supergroup Groove, as was Brian Peacock. Groove won the 1968 Battle of the Sounds contest and the following year took their prize-winning trip to the UK. Charlie Tumahi was in Aesop’s Fables in 1970, then Melbourne band Healing Force for a time before moving to Chain in 1971. Gus Fenwick and Mal Logan were also in Healing Force. Doug Rowe from Palmerston North was in Flying Circus, while Mike Rudd (ex-Chants) was in Party Machine. But by 1969 the days for Party Machine were drawing to a close allowing Mike to consider just what he would do next.

NB: Photo credits for Max Merritt and for the Avengers – John Newhill. The Rebels photo is from the John Williams’ collection.