A prophet without honour in his own country

It took a long time for our home church to accept Donga Dan's Derelict Band. I guess the concept was too radical. Maybe the quality of the music wasn't always the best in the early days but gee people had fun when we played! Our church held regular coffee shops that were a draw for young people from across Sydney. The formats varied but there was usually at least one musical act. In 1974 it was called Drift Inn (how sixties is that!). One of the band's early performances was at Drift Inn. The attitude of some of the church youth group to the band can be summed up in the flyer produced for the event. It proudly exclaimed "Donga Dan, Derelict Band - a night you'll want to forget!"

Within three years Drift Inn had become Salt Mine and the young people who wrote the original flyer were singing as part of our backup band. They had hooked into the fun and become band devotees who accompanied us to many performances. Our greatest local triumph was the Big Nite Out held on 11 December 1976. What a riot that was - music, fun, drag queens and a full Goon Show recitation, complete with crazy sound effects!

The old Caringbah Gospel Chapel is gone now, demolished to make way for home unit blocks, but the good memories and the love remain. It was a good place to make a start.