Coloured Stone is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the T ...

band whose members originate from the

Koonibba Mission Koonibba is a locality and an associated Aboriginal community in South Australia located about northwest of the state capital of Adelaide and about northwest of the municipal seat in Ceduna and north of the Eyre Highway. The settlement ...

, west of Ceduna,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. The band performs using guitar, bass, drums, and Aboriginal instruments – didjeridu, bundawuthada (gong stone) and

clap sticks Clapsticks, also spelt clap sticks and also known as bilma, bimli, clappers, musicstick or just stick, are a traditional Australian Aboriginal instrument. They serve to maintain rhythm in voice chants, often as part of an Aboriginal ceremony ...

– to play traditional music. "Mouydjengara" is a whale- dreaming song of the

Mirning people The Mirning, also known as the Ngandatha, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands lay on the coastal region of the Great Australian Bight extending from Western Australia into south-west South Australia. Name ''Mirniŋ'' was ...

Background and members

The original Coloured Stone band members were three brothers,

Bunna Lawrie Coloured Stone is an Aboriginal Australian band whose members originate from the Koonibba Mission, west of Ceduna, South Australia. The band performs using guitar, bass, drums, and Aboriginal instruments – didjeridu, bundawuthada (gong st ...

(drums,

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

, songwriter), and Neil Coaby (

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

and backing vocals) and Mackie Coaby (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

and backing vocals), and their nephew, Bruce (aka Bunny) Mundy (

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

and backing vocals). All are from the community of Koonibba, South Australia. Lawrie is a member and respected elder of the

Mirning The Mirning, also known as the Ngandatha, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands lay on the coastal region of the Great Australian Bight extending from Western Australia into south-west South Australia. Name ''Mirniŋ'' was ...

people coastal

Nullarbor The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of , 'no', and , 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its ...

region in South Australia. He is known as a whale-dreamer, songman, medicine man and storyteller. He is Coloured Stone's founding member and chief songwriter. The band's single, "Black Boy" was a success when first released in 1984. It became the number one song in Fiji, and sold 120,000 copies. The lyrics included the line "Black boy, black boy, the colour of your skin is your pride and joy", which was a somewhat revolutionary sentiment for Aboriginal people in the 1980s. Lawrie's son, Jason Scott, played guitar, bass, drums and didgeridoo for Coloured Stone from the age of 13 years. His first major gig was "Rock Against Racism" in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

. Scott has also performed at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century archit ...

and he toured the US in 1994 with the Wirrangu Band as part of a cultural exchange program. With his band Desert Sea, Scott released an album in 2002 titled ''From the Desert to the Sea''. The current members of Coloured Stone are: Lawrie (vocals, rhythm guitar, didgeridoo, gong stone), Selwyn Burns (lead guitar, vocals), Peter Hood (drums), Cee Cee Honeybee (backing vocals) and guest musicians (bass guitarist, didgeridoo player, keyboard player.

Support for Aboriginal causes

Peter Dawson reported on Coloured Stone's April 1998 outdoor gig; the first day Wild Water opened for Coloured Stone and Regurgitator at Brown's Mart Community Arts Centre, to an enthusiastic audience, both black and white, which danced til three in the morning. On the third day the band went to Jabiru, Northern Territory, to play at the Sports and Social Club. At dawn on day four, Coloured Stone travelled to Jabiluka to play on a makeshift stage in support of the

Mirrar The Bininj are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Arnhem land in the Northern Territory. The sub-groups of Bininj are sometimes referred to by the various language dialects spoken in the region, that is, the group of dialects known as Bi ...

people's protest blockade of the road to a

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weakly ...

mine on Mirrar land. From March to August 2001, Lawrie and fellow Aboriginal musician Barry Cedric took part in a songwriting workshop for Aboriginal youth at Yarrabah. The young people learned to play musical instruments, compose a song and set it to music. At the end, six youths went to Cairns to record their song, "One Fire", in a recording studio.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Awards and recognition

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. Coloured Stone has one ARIA Award and been nominated for three, as follows: , - ,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

, '' Human Love'' ,

ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Indigenous Release was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1987 through to 1998. Originally titled Best Indigenous Record in 1987. It was renamed Best Aboriginal/Islander Release in ...

, , - ,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

, ''Wild Desert Rose'' ,

ARIA Award for Best Cover Art The ARIA Music Award for Best Cover Art, is an award presented within the Artisan Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by the Aus ...

, , - ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, ''Crazy Mind'' , ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release , , - ,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, ''Inma Juju'' , ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release , , -

Deadly Awards

The

Deadly Awards The Deadly Awards, commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The event was held from 1995 to 2013. Description T ...

, (commonly known simply as The Deadlys), was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. It ran from 1995 to 2013 , - ,

Deadly Awards 1999 Winners of The Deadlys Awards 1999, the awards were an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. Music *Excellence in Film or Theatrical Score: Tiddas (band), ...

, Coloured Stone , Outstanding Contribution to Aboriginal Music , , -

Don Banks Music Award

The Don Banks Music Award was established in 1984 to publicly honour a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia. It was founded by the

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...

in honour of

Don Banks Donald Oscar Banks (25 October 19235 September 1980) was an Australian composer of concert, jazz, and commercial music. Early life and education Jazz was Banks' earliest and strongest musical influence. He learned the saxophone as a boy in Aust ...

, Australian composer, performer and the first chair of its music board. , - , 2000 , Bunna Lawrie , Don Banks Music Award , , -

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. ! , - ,

Music Victoria Awards of 2014 The Music Victoria Awards of 2014 are the ninth Annual Music Victoria Awards and consist of a series of awards, presented in October and November 2014. The Genre awards were awarded on 16 October 2014 in The Age building, while the public voted, ...

, ''Dance to the Sun' , Best Global or Reggae Album , , , -

National Indigenous Music Awards

The

National Indigenous Music Awards The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMA), also known as the NT Indigenous Music Awards from 2004 to 2008, are music awards presented to recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians in ...

recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. It commenced in 2004. , - , 2011 , Coloured Stone , Hall of Fame , , -

Other awards

The band has also been recognised in many other ways: *1978:

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

's 3rd National Aboriginal Country Music Festival Talent (

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

) – First Prize for Best Band *1978: Perth's 3rd National Aboriginal Country Music Festival Talent – Best Original Song for "Dancing in the Moonlight" *1995: Brian Syron Scholarship Award (Australia) – Contribution to Aboriginal music *2012: National NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award (Australia) to Bunna Lawrie

References

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control ARIA Award winners Indigenous Australian musical groups South Australian musical groups