Interview Transcript from Illawarra Stories Wollongong City Libraries Oral History Project – Maree Miller

Interviewer: Jennifer Macey

Interview date: Unknown

Jennifer:  Can you please say your name and where you’re from, and, um, yeah, anything else if you like, or…

Maree:  Hi, oh okay, I’m Maree Miller. I’m from Kurrajong in the lower Blue Mountains in Sydney. Ah, been coming to Illawarra since it started here in, ah, Bulli, in the Showground and always just come originally as a family, paying patron. Ah, now we do a little bit of work, um, with generators, my husband, so but we’ve been here every year since, ’bout 13 years, I think.

Jennifer:  Wow. And so why do you keep coming back?

Maree:  I just love it. It’s just, it’s really family, family friendly. Ah, had our five kids, brought them up and they really loved it. Enjoyed the, it’s always safe. It’s, it’s just a fun place to be.

Jennifer:  And now your kids are bringing their kids?

Maree:  Well, we’re bringing the grandkids. [laughs] Our oldest is in Grafton and yeah, so we’ve got the grandkid here and she’s having fun and doesn’t want to go and wants to come every year. So, we just finally thought, oh we’ve had a couple of years without children and thinking, oh, this is great, don’t have to bring the whole camping stuff, but yet again, grandkids come along and that’s what happens. [laughter] Yeah, so, but it’s all great, you know. And she’s having a wonderful time, absolute wonderful time, she’s even, um, scoring a bit of money, she’s making some bracelets and yeah, well, you know it’s all in the spirit of, um, a good festival.

Jennifer:  So, you come from, so you’re not even local, you’re actually from the Blue Mountains. So, what, what, have you been to the Blue Mountains Festival, like what’s the difference between this one and that one? I mean, I don’t want you to say anything disparaging, but like…

Maree:  We actually work in the Blue Mountains as well. And we’ve looked at the Blue Mountains Festival a lot, year after year. We love the artists, but there’s, there’s no camping. Honestly Illawarra, we can come, we camp. We are on the same grounds, there are local shops, we can go to the beach. And yeah honestly, that’s what is the seller for Illawarra compared to what Blue Mountains is. There’s no real camping area.

Jennifer:  Right. So, it’s the camping is the big attraction for you. Why is that?

Maree:  Well, I guess that you’re in one location, you know. You can have a few drinks, enjoy yourself, you’re here. Yeah, it’s just easy, very easy.

Jennifer:  And have you always liked folk music?

Maree:  No, no [laughs]. Well, I grew up in a very musical family. Ah, my, my brother, he’s, he’s played here, so, um, I, I grew up with music, but traditionally I’m not really folky. I like the, um, the variety that they have at the Folk Festival, it’s, it’s, it’s not just folk. I’d say it’s very much not folk. There’s a lot of variety in, in the bands.

Jennifer:  Like what?

Maree:  Oh, everything from young, you know, something that someone young would enjoy to, to, you know, I was watching these, um, belly dancers today, y’know, and I thought, oh, Grandmas belly dancing, that sounds great! [laughs] Anyway, yeah, so it’s all about, it’s a, it’s an experience that everyone can enjoy.

Jennifer:  And, and so what does like a, what does a, like a normal day at the folk? ‘Cos I’m sure that after 13 years you’ve established a bit of a routine. So, what does a normal day look like for you?

Maree:  Yeah, years ago I used to study the, you know, line up and listen and go, oh yeah, they sound good. These days it’s just, you know, we just come and just go and see whatever bands. And some of the times we’ve seen them before so we just, you know, but there’s always something new, something refreshing. Yeah, it’s fantastic, really. Every year we just go, oh God camping again. And every year we do it ‘cos it’s just so much fun, and we go back going, yep, that was worth it, let’s do it again.

Jennifer:  So, you get up in the morning, you have breakfast here or do you cook it back at camp?

Maree:  Sometimes like when we had our five kids here of course we have to – we were always on a budget. And that was another thing about being at festivals, like it was a cheap camping experience with, if you got kids, and you know there’s always something interactive that we can do. So sometimes now if it’s just my husband and I, we’ll just go to the, you know, stores and buy our food. But yeah, but there’s still the option where you can have a cheap camping experience with so much more. I guess that’s my, that’s the thing that you’re not just camping, it’s just so interactive. Stuff is happening all the time.

Jennifer:  Yeah, and so you’re completely immersed in it too.

Maree:  Absolutely. And you just, every year you come and there’s something different. It’s yeah, it’s just a wonderful experience.

Jennifer:  And can you, like have you got any highlights like getting washed out of your tent?

Maree:  Every year! We either get, every year at Illawarra it rains and that’s sort of something interactive about being at Bulli, ‘cos it does. Like we’re in a really dry part of the earth and when you come here, you’re blessed with rain and you just live. And you, every year you come with something different, because you, you change what you need, and, and that’s the beauty of camping, which you do if you camp anyway. But yeah, it’s good. We love it.

Jennifer:  So, when did you get started, um, helping out with the volunteering? So, what specifically do you do, and when did that start?

Maree:  Oh, well my husband, he works for a, um, a generator company. But, you know, even before that we were buying tickets and coming anyway, so he just volunteers, he helps out whenever we can. And yeah, so we’re just on site.

Jennifer:  And doing what?

Maree:  And just helping out with the generators and making sure the electricity and things happen. But, you know, at the end of the day, we just do that because we like to be here basically. You know that’s not a work-related thing, it’s just something that we enjoy to do.

Jennifer:  Um, and so many, many… Oh, yeah, can you tell me the story about the greyhounds?

Maree:  Oh, our first year when we came here, we were looking at camping and, um, the greyhounds were still running. And there was like people in the, down in the grandstand just betting and we couldn’t camp on the oval. It was like oh wow, okay. And then on the Friday night the greyhounds raced and it was like oh, in between this festival. So that was very interesting. So, I think it’s, it’s taken a long time for Illawarra, like the folk people, to come at the Showground. But it’s a great venue, it’s got the Grevillea Park, honestly, it’s got the facilities, the toilet facilities. I think it’s a great venue, um, and I hope that it continues for years to come. But yeah, we did meet the greyhounds, very different to a, to a festival, but anyway. [laughs]

Jennifer:  Oh, you mean the greyhound patrons?

Maree:  Yes, you know and they were bettin’ out in the greyhounds were running around, and we were all sitting here waiting for a music festival to happen. So, but yeah, I think that was their first year and they’ve certainly come a long way since then.

Jennifer:  And where’s your favourite place to camp? Do you camp up there or down here?

Maree:  We usually camp on the oval. Yep, this is the first year that we camped the first night and then we, we go out and, you know, get out, we go to the beach the next morning. Thursday night was a bit of a nightmare with the, the storm and everything, so we couldn’t get out on the Friday. But, you know, we managed, the people were great, they let us go out but we just stayed out on the, on the driveway. So got our supplies and it was all easy, yeah. They came with nothing but was able to still get out. You know people are so great with helping people out with whatever they need.

Jennifer:  What do you mean?

Maree:  Well, we couldn’t, they were saying, oh once you, you couldn’t get out to start with because yeah, because.

Jennifer:  The cars?

Maree:  Yeah, ‘cos it was, the cars were chewing up the, the Showground so badly. And they said, oh just let it dry out, so you know they worked with us. And we kept saying, “Oh I’ve got my grandkid here, I’ve got no…” And ‘cos it poured rain she didn’t even have a jumper. We did get out to get some supplies and, and they were great. They just said, “Okay take your car out”, and we just took it gently and it was all good. And yeah, they work with us and that’s all good.

Jennifer:  Do you feel like there is a bit more of a community feel at this particular folk festival like…?

Maree:  We’ve done a lot of festivals over the last 17 years. We’ve done Peats Ridge, we do Byron Blues every year. This has definitely got a, a family feel that’s, it’s fantastic. We, it keeps us back, coming back every time, every time.

Jennifer:  And for many more years?

Maree:  Absolutely. Well, looks like I’m going to have the grandchildren from now on. But yeah, you know, it’s all good. It’s great, we enjoy it.

Jennifer:  Thank you very much. Thank you very much for your time.

Maree:  Thank you. It was great.