Photo courtesy of Pittwater Online News
In 1898 Johs Richter trademarked both the Coo-ee and Kookaburra name for mouth organs. Seydel took over the name of Kookaburra and produced them and in 1910 they trademarked the name Coo-ee for mundharmonikas. We know one exists (just beyond coo-ee) as the owner, the editor of the Pittwater Online News, has one. It appeared in an article on Albert’s and their Boomerang mouth organs. There was no accompanying information relating to the picture of the Coo-ee mouth organ. Pittwater Online News were kind enough to give us permission to use the photo, but HRR couldn’t obtain any further information or photographs. Hunter’s On The Hill sold them alongside other Seydel mouth organs in 1900 while Sutton’s in Melbourne had them on the shelves amongst other brands, which included Hohner’s Young Australia in 1926.
Coo-ee was taken from the indigenous Dharug word ‘guu-wii’ meaning ‘come here’. The indigenous locals used this call for communication over long distances. In our strine ‘not within cooee’ is understood as someone being a long way away – out of range of a cooee call.
Jimmi Carr from the Blue Mountains has dropped a cracker single Chemical Rain. A fine little ditty that bops along with Matt Vassallo’s harp. Josh Teskey (Vox & Harp) and Ash Grunwald (Guitar) have teamed up for a well produced acoustic blues album titled Push The Blues Away – six originals and a couple of classics. Check out Thinking Bout Myself. The chemistry works to a tea. I know there’s Gillian Welch fans out there and her third Lost Songs release for 2020 has hit all good (Bandcamp) and bad record stores. If I Ain’t Going To Heaven has some tasty harp and you should give Peace In The Valley a chance.
Having been in a fairly rigid lockdown for some months the opportunities to research and put pen to paper were plentiful. This has resulted in some articles being put on the back burner. So December is Crackajack month with a post each week relating to Allan’s Crackajack mouth organ. First of the month (NAWFOS #12) will be Jack’s Tango followed shortly after with A Crackajack Story (a detailed look at the Crackajack mouth organ in Australia), next Tommy & the Gulliver and finishing with Crackajack Cold Case.
Hope you can join Jack and yours truly? Ch EssDawg
Refer to home page in relation to the reproduction of original material.
Harmonica Riff Raff 