Dobe Newton

As part of our commitment to capturing and sharing great Australian music stories, the Australian Music Vault asked some of the country’s most influential trailblazers and unsung heroes to open up about their lives in music.

Dobe Newton OAM has been a passionate advocate for Australian music for the past 50 years. He is best known as The Bushwackers' charismatic front man and co-writer of the anthemic song, ‘I Am Australian’.

Newton joined The Bushwackers in Melbourne in 1973 providing vocals and playing lagerphone, tin whistle and other bush percussion. As a member of The Bushwackers, he rode the international folk revival wave, playing at venues across Melbourne and throughout Europe where he took part in revolutionising the genre as it moved from acoustic to electric.

Since the 1980s, Newton has been a high-profile champion for live music through his work with the WA Music Industry Association, the Victorian Rock Foundation, Melbourne Music Festival, Ausmusic Australia’s Music Week and Music Victoria, where he pioneered the Melbourne Live Music Census. He has also been an active member of music advisory boards including the Australian Music Vault and the Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA), where he was appointed president in 2013.

In 2012, Dobe Newton was awarded the prestigious Order of Australia Medal for his contribution to the arts as a performer and advocate, and in 2021 The Bushwackers were inducted on to the Australiasian Country Music Roll of Renown.

In this interview, Dobe Newton discusses The Bushwackers’ role in the transformation of folk music during the 1970s, his reaction on witnessing one of the very first performances by the Sex Pistols, and his belief in the power of music to rally support for causes you believe in.

Interviewer: Jenny O’Meara

Location: The Pavilion, Arts Centre Melbourne, 2017