In 1968 the “9th Australian National Square & Round Dance Convention” was held at the “Police Boy’s Club” in Newcastle, N.S.W., over a long weekend in June.  The Monday of this W/E is a National Holiday each year, and celebrates the “Queen’s Birthday”.

 

During early planning stages, the Organizing Committee decided that a unique form of promotion would be to produce an advertising “Dance record” which could be sent to all the Square Dance clubs throughout Australia & New Zealand.   Callers would be asked to play the record during a club night to promote the up-coming Convention.   In addition to this, the Organizing Committee thought that Dancers attending the Convention in June 1968 might like to purchase copies of the record to keep as a souvenir of the event.

 

Instrumentals for this promotional record (“Engine #9”  &  “Auld Lang Syne”) were recorded by Brian’s local “B-bar-H dance band”.

 

This form of promotion proved to be very successful, and was repeated five years later in 1973, when the Newcastle Region once again hosted the premier Square-Dance-event-of-the-year, the “14th Australian National Square & Round Dance Convention”.   This time it was staged over the Easter Weekend at the Newcastle University.

 

For the 14th National promotional record, American Record Producers were approached, and kindly granted permission for their instrumentals to be used in the production.   “World Of Our Own” – Wagon Wheel 401, and “Waltzing Matilda” – Top 25002.

 

Young Brian Hotchkies was asked on both occasions (1968 & 1973) to record the vocals.