Darling River Man

by Tony Smith

A tribute to growing up on the banks of the Darling River. Tony is a fifth generation Wentworth local growing up just above the junction of the Murray and Darling.

Composed in 1994.

About the Composer

Tony Smith was born and raised at Balcatherine Station, just outside Wentworth, NSW. He began writing poetry while at school and soon started adding music to it. During the 2021 Tamworth Country Music Festival he won The Most Promising Future Star at the People’s Choice Awards and Bluegrass Song of the Year at the TSA Songwriter Salute Awards. That same year he released his album ‘Stir the Embers.’



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About Melbourne Tune collection

Melbourne Tune Collection records and publishes original folk tunes and songs from around Australia.

I started this project after realising that I barely knew any Australian folk tunes, even though I’ve been playing the fiddle for almost two decades. It wasn’t that Australians weren’t writing tunes, it’s just that there was limited publishing opportunities for them.

I thought maybe if I collect these tunes and put them together, they would have a better chance of getting played. So in early 2019 I set off with my camera and recorder, first around Melbourne, then across Australia.

This site is the result of these travels. Its purpose is to make Australian folk music as accessible as possible and promote the incredible music that’s being written today. I genuinely believe that there’s something special happening in the Melbourne and Australian folk music scenes right now.

I hope you enjoy playing through these tunes as much as I have!

Katherine Oleinikov

Katherine Oleinikov. Photo © 2022 Adam Purcell – Melbourne Ceili Camera