Hearing the Call: Music and Social History on Lord Howe Island. By Philip Hayward. (Lord Howe Island Arts Council, 2002. Pp. 129, ISBN 0-9750576-0-X, pbk)

Lord Howe Island is located in the Pacific Ocean 570 km east of Australia. Found uninhabited when first discovered by the British in 1788, the small island enjoyed a population of about 350 residents in 2000. In this short monograph Philip Hayward provides an historical overview of the musical life of the island (chapters 1 and 2) before considering a selection of island songs in greater detail (chapter 3). Published by the Lord Howe Island Arts Council (LHIAC), this project began with a recording of Island music (April and June 2001) for a CD that would raise funds for the LHIAC (Songs of Lord Howe Island, no details of distribution given). Further collaboration between the LHIAC and the Department of Contemporary Music Studies at Macquarie University (DCMS) led to the research and production of the current monograph, with additional research and interviews undertaken in June 2002 (by Rebecca Coyle) and October 2002 (by Philip Hayward). The monograph, therefore, is the result of a collaborative effort undertaken during a concentrated period of intense interviews and research into a variety of historical sources, rather than the product of a prolonged period of field research. The result is an interesting glimpse of an island community engaged in an ongoing conversation with the numerous musical styles and genres it has encountered over the years. Chapter 1, “The First Century”, establishes a pattern of maritime life and musical exchange following the first known period of settlement by eight New Zealanders who lived on the island from 1834 to 1841. During this early period of the 1840s to 1860s, the Island’s contact with the outside world depended on visiting whaling and trading ships. Allen Isaac Mosely is identified as a former whaler who settled on the Island in 1843 and became its first known resident musician, helping to entertain ship’s crews when they called to port. Although details of repertoire are lost, Hayward refers to more recent sources to suggest access to both British-American and African-American songs. The author then turns to an account of the Island’s history, first published in 1938 by one of its early school teachers, for some idea of the range of repertoire which may have been known in the following years which were marked by the arrival of the first piano in 1880. Hayward traces the origins of a number of songs to establish links with a wider repertoire, including folk songs, popular songs originating from the U.S. minstrel tradition and English/British patriotic songs. In so doing, he frames Island repertoire and life within a broader international network of relationships involving individuals, events, and specific vessels. By the early twentieth century, with a population of around seventy, the Island’s musical life revolved around public dances, formally organized schooling, a renewed contact with shipping (and the international music scene), and the beginning of organized tourism. Given the small size and population of the Island, it is not surprising that its musical life revolved around a number of key individuals and venues. By the end of the chapter the musical life of the Island has grown to include lively dances for as many as seventy-five tourists and a 1935 film featuring the first original song to be associated with the Island; so too has Hayward’s seamless narrative spawned a somewhat confusing array of names and personalities to dot the musical horizon. Although no doubt unproblematic to Island readers, the visitor would benefit from some form of genealogy and map to assist with the navigation. Chapter 2, “Post-War Music”, explores a period of increasingly diversified musical life on the Island. This is largely …