Gabo Island in Three Songs — Colin Dixon Musical Trilogy

“Gabo Island has always fascinated me. It sits only a short distance off the coast from Mallacoota, close enough to feel familiar, but far enough away to have developed a history and character of its own. The more I looked into the island, the more I realised there was not one story there, but many.”

Originally written and published on coota.au, these three songs explore three distinct facets of Gabo: the wild waters that everything must cross, the pathways worn over generations into grass and stone, and the enduring granite monument that outlives the names of the men who raised it.

Part 01

Everything Swims to Gabo

The Channel & The Wild Crossings

Australian indie folk blues

The Story Behind the Song

The idea was simple: almost everything seems to find a way across that strip of water between the mainland and the island. Cattle were once swum across, kangaroos and deer have made the crossing, shearwaters return from huge migrations across the Pacific, little penguins come ashore after fishing, fur seals lie out on the rocks, and whales and dolphins pass by offshore.

Historical Context: Set against drone aerial footage of Gabo Island, capturing the exposure of the island sitting out in the Southern Ocean and the narrow channel separating it from Telegraph Point.

Instrumentation

• Upright bass
• Brushed drums
• Piano
• Slide guitar
• Horns

Watch on YouTube →

Part 02

The Road Home

Tracks Left in Granite & Grass

Celtic Australian folk in 6/8

The Story Behind the Song

Gabo has been grazed by cattle for many decades, and the old paths through the tussock and scrub became part of the landscape. Those same paths are now used by wildlife as well. It is a song about the tracks left behind and the way one generation of animals, people, and work leaves something useful for the next.

Historical Context: Reflects the pastoral era of Gabo Island, where lightkeeper families kept milking cows and sheep, leaving persistent walking pads that now serve penguins, wallabies, and island visitors.

Instrumentation

• DADGAD acoustic guitar
• Bouzouki
• Low whistle
• Fiddle
• Bodhrán

Watch on YouTube →

Part 03

The Stone Remembers

The Granite Tower & The Men Who Built It

Epic narrative Australian folk ballad

The Story Behind the Song

After the tragic wreck of the steamship Monumental City near Tullaberga Island in 1853, a temporary wooden light was erected, but the permanent granite lighthouse came later. Work on the tower began in the early 1860s, and the new light was first lit in 1862. The builder, Robert Huckson, lost a considerable amount of money on the contract and went bankrupt, while the men doing the work dealt with poor provisions, hard conditions, and relentless Tasman Sea weather.

Historical Context: “People disappear, records get lost, names fade from ledgers, but the stone remains. Every block in that lighthouse was shaped and placed by somebody, and more than 160 years later their work is still standing above the sea.”

Instrumentation

• Acoustic guitar
• Low whistle
• Fiddle
• Bouzouki
• Bass
• Bodhrán

Watch on YouTube →

Editorial Attribution: Gabo Island in Three Songs by Colin Dixon was first published on coota.au. Drone cinematography, musical composition, and performance by Colin Dixon. All rights reserved.