Club Obi Wan

This is from the APWA newsgroup

Hi all...
it is with the deepest regret that I write this note ,
I've just got news that Ron Edwards has passed away...
we are in shock & deeply saddened by this news ... I'm really lost for
words right now .. but will keep you posted on funeral details etc,
just as soon as we know ...
" It really is in our hands now Ron , we will miss you terribly .. and
will do all we can to keep the 'dream' alive"

Kerri & Chris

Ron's books and knowledge in every aspect of the art were invaluable. If it was not for Ron, I would have never made any whips. I would have stopped and given up. But his encouragement on the phone, and wisdom in his books allowed me, and many other people who would never be involved in this craft to get involved in something special, and he did this from across and ocean. He truly is a whipmaking legend, and will be greatly missed.

I thought the whipmaking community here would want to know.

Thanks Mola.... this is huge and sad news.

Very sad news indeed. Im always admired his contribution to the documentation of bushcraft in general, and of course it was his books that first started me off braiding. A great loss.

This is very sad news as well as huge loss to both the whip making world and to Australia’s bushman heritage. Over the years his work has inspired and taught countless whip makers and craftsmen.

My sincere condolences to the Edwards family and friends.

Dan

Hi All
Thanks Mola for posting this I tried last night but the server was down for repair ...
This is a great loss, Ron will be missed dearly by all who have read his books ...He is a legend in plaiting cirles all over the world and there would not be a whipmaker or plaiter alive that hasn't gleaned some info from his writings ,he leaves behind a huge legacy of knowledge that can be shared for generations to come .

The APWA will continue and the easter meeting held at Stanthorpe will go ahead as planned and we need as many members of the APWA to attend, as this meeting will decide the future of the Assc.. I am unsure as to the newsletter/journal at the moment but will keep you all posted as these things come to hand ...

Thanks to all for your kind words we will all miss him

Regards
Chris & Kerri Barr

...and this was his definitive classic work.


My regret I never followed through on him autographing it for me.

I have his book and it is very helpfull for learning whipmaking. Sorry to hear the sad news.

That is a shame. Reminds me of the moment I heard Fritz had passed... Edwards is in my thoughts tonight...

My condolences to his family.

I have learned quite a bit from his book and would never have been able to make my own whip without it, truly a great loss.

Hi Everyone
Thanks to all for thier kind words ....Kerri and I will be attending the funeral on Saturday ....
We have been asked to say a few words on behalf of the APWA and will be Quoting the messages that have been posted on the various forums that we know of and personal emails that we have received over the last few days ...
Just thought that we would let you guys know that your messages of respect and sympathies will be passed on to Ron's family and Friends .

Thank you

Sincerely
Chris & Kerri Barr

In all seriousness...we have done a synchronous crack(s) in honor of fallen brethren. The last significant one was right after 9/11. I believe we lost a member in NYC on 9/11. I am sure the forum members here would be up to it, given that we at least know the day of the funeral/memorial. A volley of 21 cracks using an Aussie Stock Whip would be most appropriate.

In all seriousness...we have done a synchronous crack(s) in honor of fallen brethren. The last significant one was right after 9/11. I believe we lost a member in NYC on 9/11. I am sure the forum members here would be up to it, given that we at least know the day of the funeral/memorial. A volley of 21 cracks using an Aussie Stock Whip would be most appropriate.

Thanks Sergei this sounds like a great idea
We will be sure to let Anne know that this show of respect is happening across the world .....
Sincerely
Chris Barr

Hey all,
just thought I'd let you know that this is the time of the funeral.. This time exactly .. in 2 days ... might help with any time differences .
Cheers
Kerri

I am sad to hear about the loss, I did not know Mr. Edwards personally but I wouldn't be where I am today with my whipmaking if it wasn't for him and his teachings, he will be missed.

Sincerely,
Nick Ammann

I am very displeased for this sad news. This is a sad loss for the world of leather craft.
My sincere condolences.
Giovanni Celeste

I got to talk with Ron on the phone once, and I remember he spoke very highly of Chris Barr's work. He also mentioned David Morgan, and said something like (jokingly) "You're really better off to buy our books than to buy our whips." I took that to mean maybe you could find better whipmakers than him or David, but you couldn't find better authors when it comes to whips and leather braiding.

It's sad that he passed away, though his memory will go on as his books help to educate and inspire future leather workers.

I'll do my 21 volleys tomorrow.

-Adam

January 11th, for those that want to, a 21 volley salute followed with a coachman's crack towards the sky in honour of Ron Edwards - a fair dinkum Aussie. A toast with a can of Fosters - for those that are legal.

Chris & Kerri: If you could pass the word along that his contributions were noticed here in the States. His creation of the Australian Plaiters and Whipmakers Association, along with his many journals really helped to legitimize and improve the skills of this craft.

And please take a picture of the gathering tomorrow. It's history!

I found this obit on Ron Edwards:

Ron Edwards died on Saturday 5th January, after a long illness.

It would be hard to do justice to Ron. He was of course one of the pioneers of the Australian folk song revival, and publisher of over 300 books ranging the whole spectrum of folkish things from songs, yarns, a detailed index of Australian song published and recorded song, a folk magazine (Northern Folk) or two (he stood in as editor of Tradition for while, a journal (Australian Folklore Society Journal 1984-2007), 10 volumes of books on bush craft and much more.

Ron published the most comprehensive collection of Australian songs, The Big Book of Australian Folk Song, in 1976 with over 300 songs and about two inches thick. The book like most of his work was beautifully illustrated ... Ron was and an artist ... he drew old style bush tools and home made gates, saddles and whips, knots and mudbricks, Chinese medicinal herbs and Aboriginal rock art. He was major collector of Australian folk song and peoples stories and yarns and also of Torres Strait Island songs. He wrote children's books too.

My first meeting with Ron didn't actually happen! I was driving round Australian in 1968 and called into to see him at Holloways Beach in Cairns and he wasn't there so I signed the visitors book. For more than half a century, his Rams Skull Press has kept publishing and you can visit it online at http://www.ramsskullpress.com/

It was posted here:
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?thread ... messages=9

Interesting part of Ron I didn't know about.

Hi All,
sorry we hadn't already done this , however , it was a 24hr non stop drive for us to get up here & we had to leave asap.

Ron's funeral is on tomorrow which is the 12/1/08
@ 10.30am ( our Aust EST time)

We will be passing on your tribute , at the funeral , that this 21 crack salute is occuring to honour Ron & all he's done . We are one of only 5 speakers their tomorrow & the task at hand is a little overwhelming . We now have approx 6 pages of tributes , from all over the whipcracking & making world ... I find this a humbling honour to be representative of so many , world wide .... will do our best to keep it together + get through all the material we have .

Thanks for all you have done , for all your well wishes for the family & words of respect for our dearly departed "Ron" ...
he would have been overwhelmed I think & honoured to have touched & helped so many ... his efforts to be appreciated for generations to come .

yours sincerely
Kerri & Chris

G'day ya'll,
well Chris & I made it home from our 3000km trip , only just though , more than half the state is in flood , the far north, where Ron's funeral was held , experiencing the start of a fantastic wet season ,hence, they were cutting the highway behind us as we headed for home & if we'd left an hour or so later .. would still be up north now !

hmm.. what can I tell you ...

Ron arrived on the back of a horse drawn carriage,in a gorgeous cask , his family walking behind the carriage down to the crematorium ... With the lush , green , tropical rainforest + mountains of Atherton behind him , waterfalls everywhere ... the grounds were stunning , and peaceful . There was an overwhelming echo of sadness , but one also of appreciation & thanks for all he had done in his lifetime . . . . for us , but not only us ,his family, the folklore association & the art world . Ron was a practising Buddhist , the ceremony, I think he would have been pleased with. It was a smaller + more personal - which was really nice , all of us 4 speakers saying pretty much the same thing .. talking about His incredible dedication , passion , his humour , his incredible talents for numerous things & how much he enriched our lives .... a true gentleman with very humble ways .... it was an honour to call him friend :*)
It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do - my part of the Eulogy contained messages from this group & others, as you posted them , plus more from his Aussie mates ... trying to express regret/sadness, sympathies, appreciation & thanks on such a level , that the 'scale' of this loss is recognised, appreciated + understood , is , well , just plain Tough . I tried my hardest to keep my own personal loss + emotions 'at bay' ... but found this to be too big'a challenge .. . I managed to get through it all , with many stops for 'recomposure' with the help of plenty of tissues ... I feel now, after Anne, Lee , Ray & friends reassured me that it was very moving + thanked me ( on behalf of you ) for all your kind words . They were extremely touched by the 21 crack salute, that I explained was taking place .. so Thankyou all for your thoughts , your kind words & by honouring him in such a great way . The family is very grateful ... as are we ... he was a **True Australian National Treasure** , that we are all so very lucky to have been blessed with.
The entire congregation followed the family in a single file line, each of us dropping rose petals , around & on his casket ... it was beautiful + very moving, as the fresh, coloured petals floated down upon him . Inside they had photo's of him , working tirelessly on different projects, at gatherings , with family .... his paintings hung around us , paintings of stockmen, horses & cattle , there & also at the wake . . . It was held at the Rainforest Resort, set amongst the lush tropical rainforest, stone pools & waterfalls ... there were many more people here to pay there respects .
It was an incredibly humbling + sad time , also a huge honour to be able to represent thousands of plaiters, braiders, + leatherworkers from around the world, to bid farewell to our treasured Ron....
we charged our glasses + said good - bye , leaving with a heavy heart .. but also with a feeling of sincere thanks & gratitude that he had preserved our traditional arts & crafts for generations to come .

bye for now guys
Kerri

Thanks Kerri for the update. It sounds like Ron got a proper ceremony befitting his contributions in Oz and the rest of the world. I just did a search on "Ron Edwards" in the bullwhip section here. Lots and lots of hits of Ron Edwards being quoted from his book on the basics of knots and platting.

Kerri, Thank you so much for keeping us all posted on these events and for letting us know how the memorial services went.

As sad as something like this is, It sounds like a very fitting and meaningful tribute to a True Blue Australian. I for one am grateful that you and Chris where able to include our well wishes and thoughts in your eulogy to Ron, although many of us couldn’t be there in person, we where there in sprit. Thank you for that...

All the best.

Dan

Chris or Kerri,
Any word on what is going to happen to APWA? Is anyone going to step up to ensure the association will live on?

Gday y'all

in the present ~ the last journal to come from ramskull has been posted, the material - from members - that is still there, to go to print , is coming along with everything else, to be passed over to the new editor/s of the journal . There is a lot of concern starting to build over here , with some of the 'ol' guys' worrying that the association is going to fold ...
NOT SO .. never will..... there's too many things Ron ensured were in place .... our meeting is in roughly 6 weeks @ stanthorpe , where the new committee will be nominated & voted in , as will the editor .


The future - will be strong - regardless of who's holding the reins :*)

Ron & I had many discussions about this time & as far as I can see , thus far , there's no need for concern or alarm .. there's way too many of us that treasure what has already been written in the history books , to let it slip by the wayside . There's a couple of our elders who are worthy of taking the reins , who knew Ron very well .... and understand what his vision was ...

so for mine , its all ok ... I'm just looking forward to being inside the shed down south, where the depth of wisdom under one roof, becomes overwhelming , the poetry ( all recited mind you ) roll's... all night long.. beside the camp fire, along with songs + yarns about the "good old days' ... the rum's cold & the company couldn't get better .

will keep you posted with details of the new committee etc .. but as I said, tisn't till Easter .

on a more personal note , I got the most touching letter from Anne last week, where she mentions how much your messages meant ....along with the crackin' sallute ... the family were touched + very appreciative of your efforts .. so good on you guys ... great stuff :*)

take care + keep 'em crackin'

Kerri

Great response... I wouldn't expected less... as sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, you can count on the Aussie spirits always being up.