A bundle of sheet music, nearly 50 pieces , from the collection of a popular West Australian radio personality, Hugh P. Hay, active in the l930s and l940s, has been acquired by this blog . In the above covers the one bottom left displays his name in handwriting and also embossed form , the latter with a Leederville, Perth , address . There is also the trade seal of Musgrove's, music store , Perth , founded 1922, still operating today .
Australian actor Errol Flynn is shown with Olivia De Havilland in a Warner Brothers movie. The photograph on the bottom right cover, captioned " Sunbeams" Panto Kiddies , was almost certainly from the December 23 ,1924 Sunbeams Pantomime staged at Sydney's Haymarket Theatre ,broadcast over 2FC, the words and music for Hitch Your Waggon to a Sunbeam by Henry Hayes and Billy Edwards, who the year earlier had composed The Ginger Meggs - Australia's famous cartoon character- tune, The Sunbeams Song for the Forty Thieves Pantomime .
Hay may have worked in radio in NSW as several pieces bear the trade stamps of Sydney music stores , one F.E.Field in the Strand Arcade . Each piece of music has a sticker on the cover which appears to have been part of an alphabetical catalogue , the letter indicating the first letter of the song or music title , the year of copyright underneath . Most are professional copies , not for sale. One piece is printed by the renowned Coles Book Arcade, Melbourne .
These other covers include a photograph of King George Vl singing the l938 Neath the Spreading Chestnut Tree at a boys camp, with instructions on how to dance the song with stick figures . The Tommy Trinder sheet music is stamped in various places : The People's Printing & Publishing Company of Western Australia . RADIO 6KY STATION COPY. Manager .
The find was discussed with avid researchers Zanita and Gary Davies, of Magnetic Island , who are working on a major exhibit to mark the Anzac centenary in the Magnetic Island History and Craft Centre . This blog has contributed a piece of trench art found in Adelaide and ephemera , including a piece of sheet music from the Hay collection to the exhibition . Sharp-eyed Zanita it was who spotted the hard to see embossed Hugh P. Hay name and Leederville, WA address , unnoticed by this feeble eyed person . She quickly Googled Hay and came up with two interesting news items . The first, dated August 30,l939, in the West Australian newspaper, said Hugh Hay of stations 6AM and 6PM would conduct a community concert at Guildford Town Hall under the auspices of Toc H to raise funds for a fortnight's camp for orphan boys and lads from poor families.A well known radio comedian and saxophonist ,Dave Howard, would be among the artists .
In the same paper, August 28,1942, it announced Hugh Hay of 6KY , assisted by well known Perth radio artists , would conduct a community concert in the Mount Lawley parish hall in aid of the 2/32nd Battalion AIF Welfare Association .
