Ted Egan

Egan was born in Coburg, Victoria, and was educated at Parade College. He moved to the Northern Territory in 1949 at the age of 16 in search of work and adventure. In his early career with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs he was mainly in the bush and engaged in jobs such as stockwork and crocodile hunting while employed as a patrol officer and reserve superintendent. Later he was a teacher at bush schools. He was a member of the first National Reconciliation Council.

Egan was the sole teacher at the Newcastle Waters Station in 1965 and was stranded at the property for six weeks when the creek flooded. During this time, no supplies were able to be delivered, so Egan had to hunt for animals such as bush turkey for food. He later returned to the station in 2012 for the book launch of Middle of Everywhere about life in the area.{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2012-05-08/six-weeks-stranded-with-nothing-but-bush-turkeys/6165596|title=Six weeks stranded with nothing but bush turkeys for dinner|last=Schubert|first=Steven|date=8 May 2012|accessdate=4 January 2013|publisher=ABC Rural|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522073835/http://www.abc.net.au/rural/nt/content/201205/s3498147.htm|archive-date=22 May 2012|url-status=live}}

Egan began recording in 1969 with "Drinkers of the Northern Territory" and has released 30 albums, mostly themed around outback life, history and Aboriginal people.{{cite web | title=I have been writing and recording songs, filming and writing about the Australian people | website=Ted Egan | url=http://www.tedegan.com.au/bio.htm | access-date=11 August 2020}}

Egan wrote the "Gurindji Blues" in 1969 with Vincent Lingiari during the Wave Hill walk-off. Egan says he was moved to write "Gurindji Blues" after he heard Peter Nixon, then Minister for the Interior, say in parliament that if the Gurindji wanted land, they should save up and buy it, like any other Australian. Nixon also gets a mention in the song.{{cite web | title=Song for the Gurindji | website=Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/news-and-events/blog/song-gurindji| first=Blake |last=Singley|date= 10 August 2016| access-date=11 August 2020}}

• 1978 Outback Holiday (also by Mark Egan) {{ISBN|0-7295-0040-3}}
• 1979 A Drop of Rough Ted {{ISBN|0-9595744-0-9}}
• 1984 The Overlanders Songbook {{ISBN|0-909104-74-3}}
• 1987 The Aboriginals Songbook -Faces of Australia Series ASIN B000N7AKU0
• 1989 Shearers Songbook {{ISBN|0-909104-75-1}}
• 1991 Would I Lie to You? The Goanna Driver and Other Very True Stories {{ISBN|0-670-90460-0}}
• 1993 The Paperboys War Ted Egan An Autobiography {{ISBN|1-875703-08-X}}
• 1996 Justice All Their Own {{ISBN|0522846939}}
• 1997 Sitdown Up North Ted Egan An Autobiography {{ISBN|1-875703-23-3}}
• 1997 The Drover's Boy {{ISBN|0-85091-840-5}}
• 2003 The Land Downunder {{ISBN|0-9545726-0-2}}
• 2008 Due Inheritance {{ISBN|0-7295-0040-3}}
• 2011 Kutju Australia: An Australian Translation of Advance Australia Fair {{ISBN|9780980861921}}
• 2014 The ANZACS 100 Years On: in Story and Song {{ISBN|9780987381156}}
• 2019 Outback Songman: My Life {{ISBN|9781760871437}}

• This Land Australia series (as presenter, narrator and interviewer)

:*Broome and the Pearl Coast

:*Cape York Peninsula: The Vanishing Frontier

:*Central Australia: The Eighth Wonder

:*Discovering a Rainforest

:*Gulf Country: The Road from Mt. Surprise

:*Hahndorf and the Barossa: Valleys of Hope

:*The Islands of Torres Strait

:*Mysterious Australia

:*Norfolk Island

:*Paddleboats of the Murray River

:*Railways of Yesteryear

:*Snowy Mountains

These are available individually and as boxed sets on DVD from [http://www.flashbackentertainment.com/searched.asp?type=dvd&genre=Ted%20Egan Flashback Entertainment].

Egan was appointed Administrator of the Northern Territory by Governor-General Michael Jeffery effective 31 October 2003.{{Cite news|last=Barker|first=Anne|date=1 October 2003|title=Ted Egan appointed Administrator of the Northern Territory|work=PM|publisher=Radio National|url=https://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2003/s958027.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511171512/https://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2003/s958027.htm|archive-date=11 May 2017}} He was sworn in on 18 November.{{Cite news|last=Churchman|first=Fiona|date=18 November 2003|title=Singer, author, bush legend and now ... Administrator Ted Egan|publisher=ABC Local Radio|url=http://www.abc.net.au/nt/stories/s991976.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110102648/http://www.abc.net.au/nt/stories/s991976.htm|archive-date=10 November 2012}}

On 14 September 2005, he was awarded a one-year extension to his term of office by Jim Lloyd, the Federal Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads.[http://www.ministers.dotars.gov.au/jl/releases/2005/september/l98_2005.htm Reappiontment Of Northern Territory Administrator, 2005] This was further extended for another year to serve until 30 October 2007.[http://www.ministers.dotars.gov.au/jl/releases/2006/October/L135_2006.htm Reappointment Of Northern Territory Administrator, 2006]

Egan has presented and narrated 6 episodes of the 1989 series This Land Australia, a series devoted to iconic Australian people and places. He also wrote and performed the show's theme song of the same name.{{Cite web|url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/this-land-australia-series-1-1989/14577/|title=This Land Australia series 1 (1989) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia|website=www.screenaustralia.gov.au|access-date=2019-10-26}} He has been a co-host of the lifestyle show The Great Outdoors.[http://www.tedegan.com.au/default.htm Ted Egan - I have been writing and recording songs, filming and writing about the Australian people]

Egan was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1993 Australia Day Honours List for services to the Aboriginal people, and for "an ongoing contribution to the literary heritage of Australia through song and verse".[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/873578 EGAN, Edward Joseph], It's an Honour (Australian Government), 26 January 1993.

In 2004, Egan was promoted to an Officer of the Order (AO) as acknowledgement of "the significance of [his] continuing contribution to the community culminating in his being sworn-in as the 18th Administrator of the Northern Territory".[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1056735 EGAN, Edward Joseph], It's an Honour (Australian Government), 25 February 2004.

Egan is listed among the "Australia's National Living Treasures" by the National Trust of Australia.[https://web.archive.org/web/20060516032038/http://www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/about/treasureslist.pdf National Trust Living Treasures], National Trust of Australia.

Ted was the recipient of the National Folk Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award in April 2015 at NFF's Opening Ceremony in Canberra. Egan performed four songs at the event, including one about pioneering women in Australia.

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

{{awards table}}

! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

|-

| 1990 || This Land Australia || Best Country Album || {{nom}} || ARIA Award previous winners. {{cite web|url=http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/award/Best-Country-Album|title=ARIA Awards Best Country Album|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)|access-date=9 April 2022}}

{{end}}

The Australian Roll of Renown honours Australian and New Zealander musicians who have shaped the music industry by making a significant and lasting contribution to Country Music. It was inaugurated in 1976 and the inductee is announced at the Country Music Awards of Australia in Tamworth in January.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcmf.com.au/roll-of-renown |title=Roll of Renown |publisher=Tamworth Country Music Festival|accessdate=29 October 2020}}

{{awards table}}

|-

| 1995

| Ted Egan

| Australian Roll of Renown

| {{yes2|inductee}}

{{end}}

The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.{{cite web|url=https://www.country.com.au/awards/past-award-winners|title=Past Award Winners|accessdate=2 November 2020}}

{{awards table}}

|-

| 2000

| "The Drover's Boy"

| Video Clip of the Year

| {{won}}

|-

| 2014

| Ted Egan

| Lifetime Achievement Award

| {{yes2|awarded}}

{{end}}

The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. They commenced in 1986.{{cite web|url=https://www.tsaonline.com.au/song-competition/|title=Tamworth Songwriters Association|website=Tamworth Songwriters Association Online|access-date=23 March 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tsaonline.com.au/past-winners/|title=Tamworth Songwriters Association Past Winners|website=Tamworth Songwriters Association Online|access-date=23 March 2022}}

{{awards table}} (wins only)

|-

| 1991

| Ted Egan

| Songmaker Award

| {{yes2|awarded}}

|-

|rowspan="2"| 2011

| "Queensland Opera" by Ted Egan

| Comedy/Novelty Song of the Year

| {{won}}

|-

| "The Laughing Game" by Ted Egan

| Children's Song of the Year

| {{won}}

|-

{{end}}

{{reflist|2}}

• [http://www.tedegan.com.au/ Egan's official website]
• [http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1167093.htm Television interview with Egan (ABC's Enough Rope, August 2004)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050422084019/http://www.nt.gov.au/administrator/biographies/administrator.shtml Official Administrator's site]
• VIDEO: [http://www.abc.net.au/tv/fora/stories/2009/05/22/2578226.htm Egan on the crisis in Indigenous Australia (2009)] on [http://www.abc.net.au/tv/fora/default.htm ABC Fora]

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{{succession box | before=John Anictomatis | title=Administrator of the Northern Territory | years=2003–2007 | after=Tom Pauling}}

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Category:1932 births

Category:Living people

Category:Public servants from Melbourne

Category:Australian folk singers

Category:Administrators of the Northern Territory

Category:Officers of the Order of Australia

Category:Indigenous Australian musicians

Category:Musicians from the Northern Territory

Category:People from Coburg, Victoria