Australian rock ’n’ roll gear: From the pubs to museum collections

Abstract

Abstract In post-Second World War Australia rock n roll music became a significant expression of youth culture, art, rebellion, entertainment and also an area of employment. The technology that enabled the music – particularly the instruments and amplification – required capital investment to obtain it and expertise to maintain it. The leaders of this product market were in the United States and the United Kingdom, and use of this technology required adaptation and substantial capital outlay. Because of voltage compliance issues, scarcity of overseas products and to defray costs, Australian manufacturers and technical experts used the templates created by overseas makers and developed their own products. Two important examples of these are part of the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences: the Wasp amplifier cabinet (used by Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman) and the Maton guitar (used by Harry Vanda of The Easybeats). The Wasp amplifier – along with several other Australian-made amplifiers – developed and survived only in the local rock n roll industry, and were early casualties of globalization. Maton guitars survived and are a significant maker of guitars internationally. The stories of these objects – specifically and more broadly – are examples of artistic and technical, yet also unplanned invention. They are also an important, though not often celebrated, part of why Australian rock music in the 1970s and 1980s was a cultural phenomenon. This article will examine through primary sources and scholarly texts why one product disappeared from the market, while another survived; and where these objects sit in a popular culture museum collection.