Ruby Hunter
Tributes to Ruby from the AAO
On Wednesday 17th February at 8.20 pm Ruby Hunter passed away at her home in south west Victoria.
Since 2005 the AAO has had the great honour of collaborating with Ruby and Archie Roach on live music events ‘Ruby’s Story’ and ‘Passion: Adaptations of JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion’, also on the cd ‘Ruby’. Ruby also joined us on a tour of ‘Crossing Roper Bar’ through the Kimberley and in her company we were welcomed onto other people’s country and invited to drink from their waterholes.
For Ruby’s Story, at the invitation of our artistic director, Paul Grabowsky, Ruby and Archie wrote a suite of songs which traced their lives from early childhood to present day; indeed one of Ruby’s most memorable songs describes how she was born beside the Murray during a flood and how her grandfather rubbed her in ashes and held her up the moon; a powerful insight into a world Ruby knew very well but was removed from so abruptly and painfully. When she sang Down City Streets in the rehearsals for the first show at the Sydney Opera House with her soulful, plaintiff voice everyone was reduced to tears as were many who later saw Ruby’s Story as it toured around Australia.
Ruby and Archie travelled with the AAO to Ngukurr on the Roper River in south east Arnhem Land in 2005 and sang those songs for the people in that remote indigenous community who are now among our closest friends. We travelled together to Mexico City where the people even if they didn’t understand the words, felt their power and rose to their feet to show their solidarity.
At the beginning of every concert Ruby invited us to walk with her as she took us on a journey; Ruby your journey has added so much to our lives and we can never forget you.
A Message from Paul Grabowsky
With the passing of Ruby Hunter, Australia has lost one of its truly great, and unique, voices. Her sound nursed somewhere at its heart a moan, a lament, which came from a deep place, a place outside of particularities of space and time, but a singularity, nonetheless. Occasionally I was reminded of Nina Simone, but more often it evoked the red earth of the interior, a vibration, a hum, an undulation on a distant horizon line. Like all great voices, it could be turned to many uses: the determination of a woman on the way up from nowhere in ‘Down City Streets’, the patience and wisdom of an elder singing ‘No Justice’ to the tune of a Bach chorale, the mother of us all when she sang her glorious childrens' songs to rapt audiences across the Kimberley.
Sitting by the banks of the Murray, in Njarrendjeri country late one afternoon, Ruby Hunter talked about her land and her people. ‘This was our land’, she said ‘And they took it all way from us’. She cried quietly, and Archie Roach, her life partner, consoled her as he always did with the words ‘It’s alright, mum’. The simple, unaffected way they expressed their love underplayed the epic journey that each of them had made; in fact, they had recently reclaimed some of that land, having bought a house in Monash, near Berri in South Australia’s Riverland. Ruby’s way of relating her story of descent and re-emergence, the very core of the Stolen Generation, was so devoid of rancor as to be more healing than a thousand apologies.
I have traveled widely with Ruby, both in the company of Archie, and without his reassuring gravitas, and have had many opportunities to observe Ruby’s special way with people. When on stage in her remarkable feather headdress, she seemed ten feet tall – strange, when you consider how little of her there was. She was powerful, but carried her power lightly.
What is greatness in music? It is a distillation of all of life’s imponderables into sounds which articulate, in time – that dimension over which we have least control – the beauty and sadness of life’s river. Ruby was born in a billabong on the Murray, once a proud and great river, and she a junction of proud and great nations: Ngarrindjerri, Kukatha, Pitjantjatjara. Somehow she blended all of these tributaries into her voice, creating a seamless bond between the past and present, and thereby projecting a clear way forward. Her lesson was gentle, but profound. That she possessed greatness is beyond doubt.
It was the river that brought us together in the first instance. Ruby sat silently on a couch in the house she shared with Archie and their family in suburban Reservoir. It was early in 2003. She could appear inscrutable, like a zen koan; she was mulling over a question I had put to Archie. He almost always deferred to her, pretty much on everything, but this was a particularly important issue. I had asked them to create a work in song and story about the river, and my initiation into the beauties and intricacies of aboriginal culture was about to begin. “Oh, yeah…..”, she finally said with her trademark upward inflection “That could be ok.”
What resulted was a revelation. After consulting widely with her family and elders, permissions were given to tell stories that in some cases were new even to Ruby, of her birth, her abduction, her foster families (lovingly recalled), her meeting Archie, and the road back to family and happiness. At the first performance of ‘Ruby’s story’ at the Sydney Opera House in June 2004, there was a release of emotion such as I had never experienced in my life as a musician. Ruby’s voice, rising out of the deep well of her life, flowed like the rich, muddy water of her birthing place. I felt so proud to be sharing the stage with these great Australians, and Ruby’s courage in sharing her story with such grace, dignity and humor changed many people’s lives.
Like many Australians, I have had to contend with a surname that challenges many, particularly those of Anglo-Saxon heritage. For Ruby, I was ‘Mr Bragowski’. The way she said it, like everything else she said, was music to my ears. Now nobody will call me that any more. That is a personal absence for me, but for this country, hers is a great absence, indeed.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy Ruby, it’s time. Her recorded legacy lives on, and if being Australian is an idea that holds significance for you, her voice will remind you of the rare and singular beauty of this old, old land.
Messages from members of the AAO
This is such sad news. I feel incredibly lucky to have known Ruby and heard her sing. Her easy pride and great sense of fun were infectious, and her extraordinary voice gave such meaning and depth to everything that she sang. She has been a shining light for me. I can’t imagine what Archie must be feeling. Alister Spence, piano AAO
I along with everyone else am thinking of Archie and Ruby and what incredibly inspiring people they both are, and will continue to be for anyone who was fortunate enough to meet them or hear their music and stories. Erkki Veltheim, viola and violin AAO
Ruby embodied everything that is a celebration of life. It’s hard to sit in front of a computer screen and try to express the sense of loss I feel at her passing. I can’t begin to imagine how Archie must feel, but I’m sure that with Ruby’s spirit living on in his memory he will find strength. I feel so privileged to have played with Ruby and to have been touched by her warm, witty, honest, courageous and compassionate spirit. She wrote great songs, she sang with a depth of spirit very few performers ever achieve. Always. That was just a given with Ruby. Probably more than anyone I’ve ever met, she showed me how wonderful it is for women to support each other. She would gather the women who were performing in Ruby’s Story before we went on stage and inspire a sense of “prideness” (as she liked to call it) in us. She would always make us have a good laugh, often about the men, but always with great love and respect in her heart. I came away from any time spent with Ruby with renewed strength and confidence. Ruby was great fun to be around. She was also a very deep and enlightened soul. One day a few of us were chatting in the bandroom, the usual sort of catch up banter…"What have you been doing? Gigs here….there…. blah blah blah….. car broke down….took the dog to the vet….. etc etc" I ask Ruby “What have you been doing” Answer: “I’ve been enjoying the tranquillity of my mind.” I will really miss her. I send my deepest sympathy to Archie and all of Ruby’s family. Sandy Evans, saxophones AAO
It has been such a privilege to work with Ruby over the years. She demonstrated such generosity, respect and wonderment in her interactions with others, and in her sharing of such a special story – Ruby’s Story. She had the ability to convey such deep sentiment and understanding, standing with such grace, singing with such grunt, and telling stories with humour. She was a true queen. Today I played Daisy Chains, String games and Knucklebones with my kids. They too remember Ruby as the beautiful princess with a feathered crown. May the rivers continue to flow, may we continue to respect one another, may we remember to be proud of who we are. With deepest sympathies to Archie and family. Dr. Vanessa Tomlinson, percussion AAO
I feel today as if a huge reservoir of love has drained away – and we will each now have to work very hard to fill it again. Helen Symon S.C, Board of Directors AAO
The passing of the sweet, joyous and extremely talented Ruby Hunter has been a very sad moment in time for me. I can sincerely express here with all my heart that I was extremely blessed to have taken part in so many wonderful performances and social occasions with her, alongside the always-loyal partner and thoroughly inspirational Archie Roach. I have many fond memories of Ruby; visiting the pyramids in Teotihuacan in Mexico City, where the height of the ‘Pyramid of the Sun’ left Ruby a little anxious and so decided to just wait and ‘wave’ every now and then, as a group of us climbed to the pinnacle; accompanying her and Archie shopping in Kuala Lumpur, as she bought an item for every member of their family while Archie patiently sat on the steps; Ruby sitting on my cajon (Peruvian wooden box) playing some ‘groovy rhythmic patterns’ while on a break in the recording studio; her charismatic stage presence, unique, sharing her remarkable stories and music with the audience while we, listened, played, and were always, always captivated by her charm. Her contribution to the musical Australian landscape has been outstanding. I will miss her presence enormously.
My deepest condolences to Archie and the entire family. Much love and respect. Alex Pertout, percussion AAO
Guest artists
