gumtrees bullamakanka rieu coolangatta jacko vey roadie trapeze waltzing emu reputedly fitzroy mime violinist cheek williamson wally gardening mushroom matilda pneumonia footballer dusty irwin scrap backyard satirical tongue andré aboriginal
i want a home among the gum trees
Give Me a Home Among the Gumtrees - wikipedia Give Me a Home Among the Gumtrees Give Me a Home Among the Gumtrees ( or Home Among the Gumtrees ) is a popular Australian song written in 1974 by Wally Johnson and Bob Brown ( aka Captain Rock ) . It was originally performed as a satirical number in Johnson and Brown 's comedy act at the Flying Trapeze Cafe in Fitzroy , Melbourne and was first recorded in 1975 on the Captain Rock album Buried Treasure on Mushroom Records . At that time the Australian Government had decided to scrap God Save the Queen as the national anthem and was running a contest called the Australian National Anthem Quest to find a replacement . The Gumtrees song was Johnson and Brown 's response ( it did not win ) . the bands first roadie with the bands nickname THE EMU. had the cassette tape of capt'rock. and insisted that h.a.t g . was a tune was vey well suited too their sound and from the first night it was performed at the Port o Call . hotel Coolangatta it was a hit for the band In 1982 , the ( although this story is not confirmed by all members of the band ) . They recorded a cover version of Gumtrees , which then became a hit . The song was later recorded by popular Australian country music singer - songwriter John Williamson , thus increasing its popularity ( many mistakenly believe Williamson to be the original composer ) . Bullamakanka made some changes to the lyrics , which were also retained in Williamson 's recording . These tended to water down the original tongue - in - cheek nature of the song . Bullamakanka 's version was later used as the theme song for a popular gardening and lifestyle television program called Burke 's Backyard , which ran on Australian television for 17 years . The program once held a competition for the best school video version of Home Among the Gumtress , and thousands of entries were submitted ; one of the winners was an Aboriginal community school group who sang the song in their own language . Home Among the Gumtress has a set of mime actions accompanying the chorus which are familiar to people throughout Australia , although their exact origins are unknown . The song has become one of the most frequently recorded Australian compositions of all time and is a standard in Australian folk music . A variety of artists have covered it , ranging from bushbands like Paradiddle to international superstar violinist André Rieu , who included it on his 2008 album Waltzing Matilda . John Williamson performed Gumtrees at the 2006 memorial service to commemorate popular Australian wildlife expert and TV personality Steve Irwin ; the program was followed by a worldwide television audience reputedly numbering 300 million viewers . Co-writer Wally Johnson died of pneumonia in 1995 . Bob Brown has continued writing and performing tongue - in - cheek folk songs , which have been covered by artists including John Williamson and folk singer Slim Dusty . One of Brown 's numbers I 'm an Individual was recorded by cult Australian Rules footballer Mark ' Jacko ' Jackson , and became an Australia - wide hit . Brown has also recorded an album of children 's songs called Riding Round on Golf Balls . See also ( edit ) Lyrics of Give Me a Home Among the Gumtrees References ( edit ) Jump up ^ National Australian Archives entry on Australian National Anthem history External links ( edit ) John Williamson performs Gumtrees at Steve Irwin 's memorial ceremony André Rieu performs Australian Medley featuring Gumtrees John Williamson discography Bullamakanka website National Library of Australia Catalogue entry Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Give_Me_a_Home_Among_the_Gumtrees&oldid=861800295 '' Categories : Australian songs John Williamson ( singer ) songs Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 30 September 2018 , at 03 : 23 ( UTC ) . About Wikipedia