Forty Degrees South

40 DEGREES SOUTH – 4o°S

Members of 40 Degrees South have maintained a tradition of unaccompanied singing for over three decades. Mostly known for their repertoire of maritime songs and shanties, they also sing songs of Australian colonial history, songs with industrial themes, gospel songs, and traditional chorus songs. Their latest CD – Crossing the Line – features songs of the southern oceans and includes unique gems from ship logs, some contemporary songs, and some old favourites that they’ve taken back to their roots.

Members of 40° S are based in Sydney and perform at folk clubs, festivals and boat shows in NSW and beyond, giving concerts, and themed presentations (see over) and facilitating singing sessions. They’ve enjoyed seeing the young members of the Redfern Shanty Club develop into fine singers, and have joined with them in shanty sessions on board the Tall Ship James Craig, a restored bark in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. The Forties frequently appear at the annual National Folk Festival in Canberra.

Tours

In 2023 and earlier in 2017 the Forties toured in the USA with performances at the Sea Music Festival in Connecticut, Maritime Museums and folk gatherings in the New England area; they also performed at the Old Songs Festival near Albany, NY State. The Albany International Folk’n Shanty Festival in Western Australia in 2022 was another memorable excursion. The Forties had a brief “world tour” in 2013 (Brittany, Holland, England and New Zealand).

Members

The five members of 40° S in order of longevity: Margaret Walters (a solo singer of many fine traditional and contemporary songs, a collaborator for ten years with songwriter, John Warner, and a harmony singer par excellence); Tom Hanson (prodigious collector of sea songs from far-flung places – bass voice to die for, and spinner of Australian yarns); Don Brian (authority on whaling in the southern oceans, Norfolk Island history, and solo singer of traditional Australian songs); Chris Maltby (with a large repertoire of songs, a phenomenal memory and strong social conscience); and Jude Alexander (a lover of harmony, Jude was keen to join Forty Degrees South from the moment she landed in Sydney in January 2022).

They sing in various other groups – Chris and Jude are both in the acapella group, Ecopella; Margaret is in a duo with Christina Mimmocchi called The PerSisters, and Twa Cronies with Kerrie Maguire.