“Now the harbour light is calling / This will be our last goodbye / Though the carnival is over / I will love you ’til I die.”
These were the words sung by Judith Durham, the recently departed lead singer of The Seekers, when she performed the band’s 1965 hit The Carnival is Over. Fifty-six years later, the lyrics resonated through Melbourne’s Hamer Hall as the state farewelled one of the nation’s most prolific performers.
Beverley Sheehan sings in honour of her sister at Judith Durham’s state memorial service on Tuesday.Credit:Scott Barbour
Durham died at the age of 79 in Melbourne on August 6 after suffering from a chronic lung disease. Tributes flowed for the performer following her death, culminating in a state memorial service at the Arts Centre’s concert hall on Tuesday evening.
Over 2000 guests – Durham’s family, dignitaries and members of the public – took their seats inside the grand auditorium to the swinging jazz sounds of The Syncopators.
Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly, Bill Armstrong – who founded Melbourne’s Armstrong Studios – and soprano Marina Prior were among those who came to honour the Australian icon at a night filled with musical performances, video tributes and emotional eulogies.
“After talking to Judith, they would somehow feel better about themselves,” said Durham’s nephew, Tony Sheehan, who spoke on behalf of the family.
“Judith was a hugely spiritual person. It was evident in all that she did,” he said. “She faced death as she faced everything: with calm and strength.
“We will miss you, but we are so proud of you,” Sheehan concluded.
Guiding the memorial were masters of ceremony, Brian Nankervis and Julia Zemiro – hosts of SBS music quiz show RocKwiz. Soaring performances by soprano Deborah Cheetham and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra string quartet of Long Time Living Here and the national anthem sung by the Australian Children’s Choir punctuated the evening.
Victorian Governor Linda Dessau said, although she might not have known Durham personally, she, like so many, felt she knew her through her music.
Paul Kelly at Judith Durham’s state memorial service.Credit:Scott Barbour
“Durham and The Seekers have been a part of our lives as far back as I can remember,” she said.
“Like so many other young Australians, I used my savings from pocket money … to buy their albums and singles for my record player, I listened to them on my transistor [radio] at the beach.
“A national treasure, an icon, a trailblazer, a shining star, a pioneering woman … the feeling is: we’ll never find another you.”
Having joined the band in 1963, Durham’s crystalline voice quickly rose to prominence across the folk/pop music scene, receiving the honour of being named Australian of the Year alongside her bandmates just four years after her debut with the group.
Tony Sheehan, Judith Durham’s nephew, speaking at her state memorial service at Hamer Hall.Credit:Scott Barbour
The Seekers went on to produce a string of hits, including The Carnival is Over – which sold more than 90,000 copies a day at its peak – Turn, Turn, Turn and Georgy Girl, which narrowly missed out on an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1967.
The Essendon-born Melburnian parted ways with The Seekers in 1968 to pursue a solo career, releasing albums such as For Christmas with Love and Climb Ev’ry Mountain, continued touring and even wrote the musical Gotta Be Rainbows alongside Ian Austin.
Highlighting the massive popularity of Durham and The Seekers during the ’60s, Wurundjeri elder Aunty Di Kerr said: “we were dancing in the streets thinking we were Georgy Girl. Morningtown, we thought we were on the train to Mornington.”
To celebrate the joy and power in Durham’s music, the memorial featured several live performances including her 2013 solo hit Jelly Bean Blues, performed by Durham’s sister, Beverley Sheehan.
Other Seeker classics were played, such as The Carnival is Over (performed by David Campbell), Colours of My Life (sung by Dami Im), When the Stars Begin to Fall (performed by Vika and Linda Bull), and a video tribute of Morningtown Road by The Wiggles.
The evening fittingly concluded with a special performance of Carry Me – an unreleased song composed by Bruce Woodley with Durham on vocals. The remaining members of The Seekers, Keith Potger, Woodley and Athol Guy, decided to perform it as a special tribute to their departed friend.
As guests filed out of Hamer Hall, the sound of Durham’s powerful voice remained.
One of a kind and lastingly influential, Australia will never find another Judith Durham.
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