Indigenous graduate masters the art of the gumleaf

Uncle Herb Patten studied the history of gumleaf music for his Master of Art from RMIT.

Koori Elder, artist and gumleaf musician Uncle Herb Patten has graduated from RMIT University this month with a Master of Arts by Research.

Uncle Herb studied the history of gumleaf music in Australia for his Masters, as part of the Koori Cohort of postgraduate researchers at RMIT’s School of Education.

“Gumleaf bands were very popular from the 1920s to the 1940s,” he said.

“You’d get five and 10-piece bands, all gumleaf musicians, playing and harmonising together during those days and many individual players as well.

“It’s a part of Australian history that most people don’t know anything about.”

A renowned artist whose work has been bought by the National Gallery of Victoria, Uncle Herb shot to national stardom earlier this year after making it to the Grand Final of the television show Australia’s Got Talent with his extraordinary gumleaf playing.

He created a number of multimedia artefacts and resources for his Masters, revealing the richness of his cultural heritage through music, digital story telling, poetry and artwork.

As part of his studies, Uncle Herb improvised on the gumleaf with musicians from various genres, including jazz and country.

“When I was at school in the 1950s, there was no encouragement for us to pursue academic studies so it’s very rewarding finishing my Masters – I never thought I’d ever have the opportunity to do anything like it,” he said.

Uncle Herb, a Senior Koori Elder of the Gunnai-Kurnai tribes of East Gippsland, plans to continue his research and work towards a PhD on the history of the gumleaf and its playing technique.

His supervisor, Koori Cohort Co-ordinator Dr Laura Brearley, described the work Uncle Herb created for his Masters as “rigorous, creative, informative and engaging”.

“Uncle Herb tells stories of what it means to be an Aboriginal Elder in the 21st century,” Dr Brearley said.

“His experience and the experiences of his people are revealed through his music, his digital storytelling, his poetry and his artwork.

“Through his research, Uncle Herb builds bridges across cultures – it’s a new form of creative reconciliation.”

The Koori Cohort was established at RMIT to develop a high-profile generation of Indigenous researchers and educators to help protect, restore and revitalise Indigenous culture.

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