Elsie Lange
George and Beryl Duncan will be memorialised for their service to the Sunbury Pop Festival.
The couple gave permission for their property to be used as the site for the festival from 1972 to 1975, which was instrumental in establishing a festival which would become the blueprint for Australian live music events in the future.
Beryl died in 1988, and George in 1990, but their legacy will be memorialised with a plaque, to be erected at the end of Duncans Lane in Diggers Rest, adjacent to the existing Billy Thorpe plaque.
At a council meeting on Monday, August 22, councillor Jack Medcraft said the Duncans called the donation of their property a “gift to the youth of Australia”.
“Even though it was technically in Diggers Rest, the festival put the Sunbury region on the map for a whole generation,” Cr Medcraft said.
“The Sunbury Music Festival also provided the template for some of the next generation Australian music festivals like the Big Day Out, Splendour in the Grass and Meredith.
“It couldn’t have happened without George and Beryl Duncan.”
Cr Medcraft said he had fond memories of attending the festival, as many still do.
“I’m sure that some of the offspring in Sunbury today are remnants of that happy time,” Cr Medcraft said.
“There was dirt and lines and the beating sun, but the music was just fantastic, with some real idols of the era – Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Spectrum, Madder Lake, and even Queen.”
In a report to council, officers estimated the cost of the plaque would be approximately $15,000.
Fellow Jacksons Creek Ward councillor Jarrod Bell said the pop festivals had been “emblematic” of the Sunbury community, and the plaque was only fitting.
“I know many in the community … would be very excited to see that we’re continuing to celebrate in this anniversary year of the pop festivals,” Cr Bell said.
“We’re continuing to celebrate and mark the important contributions of each of those who put the event together.”
