By Chris Murray et al.
Probably the most exotic ‘flower’ in Lord Howe’s vibrant 1960s entertainment scene was Tradewind’s guest house and night club, which offered live cabaret and dancing twice a week. The guest house itself was licensed for 14 visitors (Signal 6/1/65 P.3) and, like all Island lodges of the day, had its own restaurant. Although later described as “a very successful guesthouse” (Jim Whistler, Signal Back Page 29/8/96) its outstanding feature was its musical ‘combo’ or band. This was led by Jim Redhead on jazz guitar, his wife Sheila as lead singer, and supported by a variety of imported and local performers. One of the songs composed for the Tradewinds show even made it onto Sydney radio 2KY.
The Redheads were an English couple, and a few details of their earlier lives are recorded in an article in the Daily Express as reported in the Signal (16/9/64 P.2) as follows:
“For as long as Jim Redhead could remember his dream was life on a tropical island. Redhead remembers ‘In 1947 I decided to work my way around the world. I got as far as Switzerland and then the need for work permits stopped me. I went back to England where I met Sheila and in 1948 we emigrated and were married in Sydney.’ For ten years they worked hard and saved. Jim earned extra money playing the guitar in Sydney coffee bars. They invested their small capital in Lord Howe Island, sharing the initial expenses of the guesthouse with two friends…the other backers pulled out of the project in 1960.”
The four original Tradewinds partners: Jim & Sheila Redhead (Top/left) and Dennis & Leonie Mercier (Bottom/right) (Photos Courtesy LHI Historical Society)
The property purchased by Jim and Sheila in April, 1960, had been the home of Toge and Maude Payten, and the “other backers” were an English couple, Dennis and Leonie Mercier, the parents of three young daughters – Sarah, Suzanne and Andrea. Although the Tradewinds partnership dissolved in July, 1962 (Signal 18/7/62 P.3), a special farewell function was held for the Merciers at the Bowling Club. In a letter to Jim Whistler they said, “It came as a complete surprise that we should be honoured in this way…our memories of the Island and its kind and friendly folk are something we shall always have.” (Signal 29/8/62 P.6)
With the Mercier’s departure, however, the Tradewinds cabaret really started to hum. Jim and Sheila were joined by others including Harry and Chloe Ackers, Ken Bonzer and Susie Woods, Peter Marlowe and Kevin Wyborn, and the icing on the cake was the arrival of a baby grand piano in April, 1965. (Signal 7/4/65 P.5)
So, how did the Tradewind’s cabaret originate and what did it offer? David Murray, drummer with the group in the early 1960s, recalls its earliest origins whilst Daphne Nichols and Sydney columnist, “Andrea” (Dorothy Gordon Jenner), experienced the venue as its patrons. Tradewinds night club was regularly packed with locals and visitors and was later described as “the liveliest night spot on the Island” (Signal 29/8/96 P.12)
David Murray
“It started off one New Year’s Eve, or a day or two before New Year’s Eve… On the Island at that time there was an excellent jazz guitarist called Jim Redhead; there was one of the DCA staff who played the saxophone, Harold Saywell; and I was working the percussion in a very primitive manner, but still working the percussion and singing the odd song to entertain people. Well, it was a great success for one night.
David Murray (arrowed far right) with tea chest base at the Tradewinds cabaret. (Photo courtesy LHI Historical Society)
It seemed to be so popular we decided we would approach…Alan Williams who was the proprietor of Somerset guest house and who had built a roomy restaurant on his property that was the ‘Sarong’. Anyhow, we approached Alan and he said he would allow us to use his premises. He would cater for the peoples’ drinks and suppers and things like that, and we’d provide the music and attract the mob. Well, this went on for six months with a good house every Sunday night once per week…
Jim [Redhead] was an insatiable musician, and a very good musician too, and he and his wife, Sheila, and a couple of their friends, Denis Mercier and his wife, they had a small guest lodge called ‘Tradewinds’. So, mostly to entertain their friends, and to have a night of music once and sometimes twice a week, they would have a nightclub operating at their lodge which, from memory, didn’t cost anything to go to. You’d just come by invitation, and you could talk and listen to music, and you could dance and whatever else. And this was very entertaining and, at its height, a very sophisticated operation…
[Eventually] Harold had moved to a different place, but Jim had gotten two people over from the mainland: a bloke called Ken Bonzer who played the piano ‘bonza’; and, also a trombone player, Peter Marlowe. That, with jazz guitar, you could imagine could make quite a stir and startle the muttonbirds for miles around!…
The two Jims perform at Tradewinds: Jim Redhead (left) on jazz guitar and Jim Dorman (right), whose specialty included tribute songs to Louis Armstrong like “Hello Dolly” and “When the Saints Come Marching In”. (Photo Courtesy of LHI Historical Society).
The vocalists were Jim Redhead, who had a very nice voice (the sort classified as a ‘crooner’); his wife, Sheila, used to sing and she did have a very good voice. She also did a couple of mimes with Jim, and then I used to do a bit of singing…. Oh yes! Jim and Sheila did a mime which we may all remember was first propagated by Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren called ‘Doctor I’m in Trouble’, and they both mimed it through beautifully, and it was always a great success to hear them.
Carl Dignam would sometimes sing a song for us…His father, Phillip Dignam, if Phillip was in the right mood…had a tenor voice, and we’d get him to sing a song or two. Sometimes he would say for us The Man From Snowy River which he did with great passion and verve. Frank Ransom had a baritone voice…Jenny Kirby, she had a pretty voice and she’d sing Golden Ribbons for her Hair. Maybe 10, 20 or 30 [would turn up], as many as you could pack in the place, and there was plenty of space to pack them in, and they were very, very entertaining evenings.”
From time to time, Tradewinds also hosted celebrity musicians (Left to Right): Jim Redhead on guitar, Digby Richards on piano, Jim Dorman on drums & Terry Wilson on tea chest base. ‘Dig’ Richards was the first Australian pop star to record an LP album, and one of his early singles made it to number 8 on the Australian “charts”. (Photo Courtesy of LHI Historical Society).
Andrea
Sydney radio compare and columnist, Dorothy Gordon Jenner (better known as “Andrea”), visited Lord Howe in the early 1960s, and wrote a short travelogue for the Sydney press, including a review of the venue:
“Trade winds is an off-beat inn and unique, as it presents a cabaret twice a week. This astonishing hidey-hole is run by the Redheads, man and wife, and friend Harry who sports long hair, a beard, one gold earring and bracelets AND loads of sex appeal. Mrs Redhead is Sheila…some sheila. Her balding hubby leads the combo on guitar, the Pommie pianist is Ted Bonzer, while a pseudo-Tahitian is brassy on the trombone. Tradewinds, [is] atmospheric and enticing…”
From time to time, Tradewinds also hosted celebrity musicians (Left to Right): Jim Redhead on guitar, Digby Richards on piano, Jim Dorman on drums & Terry Wilson on tea chest base. ‘Dig’ Richards was the first Australian pop star to record an LP album, and one of his early singles made it to number 8 on the Australian “charts”. (Photo Courtesy of LHI Historical Society)
Daphne Nichols
“…Jim and Sheila Redhead converted part of their house into a restaurant/cabaret and Tradewinds nightclub was born. Complete with a la-carte menu, liquor license and its own band, it soon became a favourite venue for both tourists and locals. Trade Winds cabaret had its own band featuring Jim Redhead, David Murray, Jim Dorman, Ken Bonzer and Peter Marlowe. Sheila Redhead (part owner/resident singer), in shimmering sexy outfits, was the Island’s answer to Shirley Bassey! Her rendition of “Let’s Fall In Love” was always applauded…”Let’s Do It – Even Lord Howe
Island Mutton Birds Do It – Let’s Fall In Love”. From time-to-time other locals performed there including Terry Wilson and Neil Woolnough. Cheryl Gwalter who, while home on holidays from nursing, was Trade Winds’ and probably the world’s only blonde hula girl!” (Daphne Nichols – taken from a personal memoir and Restaurants of Yesteryear – Signal 4/11/16 P.21 )
Social Semaphore from the Signal
Jim Whistler, owner, editor and author of the Signal, was a micro-observer of the Island social scene and always meticulously recorded entertainment events in his news coverage. The following information – identified by date of publication in the Signal – indicates the substantial part Tradewinds played in the ‘60s and early ‘70s social scene. Although the Tradewinds entries in the Signal are so numerous it would be impossible to list them all, some examples are given below:
Even children loved Tradewinds – if they were allowed to stay up that late! Chris Murray (arrowed) with Tradewinds crew circa 1963. (Photo courtesy LHI Historical Society)
Support for Other Organisations
At other venues The Tradewinds’ troupe often performed at fund-raisers for local causes:
Regarding entertainment in the public hall: In 1964… “The variety show held in the Hall…was one of the most successful ever held here…The parents & Citizens Association will benefit to the extent of £40-14-9d as a result of door takings, sale of supper and several donations… artists included the Tradewinds Cabaret (Jim & Sheila Redhead, David Murray, Peter Kendall and Jim Dorman)…” (22/4/64 P.5); In 1965… “A cabaret type entertainment at the Public Hall…proved to be a great success. Besides providing entertainment for 150 people, the evening raised more than £70 for the recently formed Physical Education Group…Artists included the Tradewinds cabaret stars…” (24/3/65 P.6) In 1965… At a Valentine’s Day ball in the public hall in 1967 $150 was raised for the Tourist Promotion Committee. “Music was supplied by Tradewinds and the P & C Orchestra” (22/2/67 P.6). (The T.P.C. was the forerunner of the LHI Tourism Association.)
Even children loved Tradewinds – if they were allowed to stay up that late! Chris Murray (arrowed) with Tradewinds crew circa 1963. (Photo courtesy LHI Historical Society)
Tourist Promotion
When a group of 17 travel agents visited the Island in 1969, “…the agents…were given the opportunity to experience a barbecue at North Bay, a trip in the coral viewing boat, a fishing trip, a visit to a Bowling Club dance and ‘Tradewinds’…” (22/10/69 P.4).
Tradewinds Hosted Special Functions
The venue was often selected for special events: “It is expected that $500 will be forwarded to N.S.W. Guide Dogs for the Blind Association as a result of fund raising effort…[including] an evening at Tradewinds…”(4/2/70 P.11); “A Le Toa Championship Presentation is planned …at Tradewinds, and will take the form of a smorgasbord and dance.” (10/8/70 P.5).
The Tradewinds troupe were phenomenal entertainers, but also somewhat eccentric.
This grainy Super 8 footage (captured by Albert King) shows Ken Bonzer, complete with Mexican sombrero, serenading Tradewinds’ dairy cow, “Vacola”!
Sporting Prowess. The lodge regularly fielded a team for the Discovery Day Sports and often performed well in the teams’ event (22/2/67 P1.) Jim Redhead, himself, was an avid golfer and Tradewinds supplied a trophy for the annual golfing championships (18/7/96 P.6). The Signal also noted the occasional appearance of a Tradewinds’ team at tennis competitions.
The Winds of Change at Tradewinds
Although the restaurant and cabaret flourished, there were stresses and strains on the relationships of those involved: Chloe and Harry Ackers separated with Chloe departing for Norfolk Island; Ken Bonzer (pianist) and his partner, Susie Wood, separated, and Susie married Kevin Wyborn in 1965 (6/10/65 P.3); Jim and Sheila separated, and in 1968 Sheila married Harry Ackers. (22/2/13 P.2). This ‘churn’ inevitably prompted some local witticism: the original property – Toge and Maude Payten’s place – was said to have morphed into ‘Peyton Place’ (29/8/96 Back Page) and, in 1965, a prankster changed the entrance sign from Tradewinds to ‘Tradewives’. (Daphne Nichols, Restaurants of Yesteryear, 4/11/16 P.21)
The property was eventually subdivided with Harry and Sheila becoming proprietors of the self-contained accommodation which they renamed “Ebbtide Apartments”. Jim Redhead retained the old Payten home but, in 1970, sold the lease to Michael and Ann Bloomfield (Signal 12/3/70 P.3), a couple who had arrived to work on Lord Howe in 1968. Jim, however, continued to reside in a cottage on their property.
Mike and Ann kept the restaurant and dancefloor operating for some years. Indeed, in 1971, when the Tourist Promotion Committee was asked to compile two counter books with “pictures of Island scenes and activities for use in the NSW Government Tourist Bureau in Sydney and Melbourne” it broadcast an urgent appeal for “all types of pictures….in particular pictures of: The view from Mt Gower, people fishing from a boat…people fishing off the jetty, dancing at Tradewinds and the Bowling Club…” (Signal 19/4/71 P.4) Tradewinds also seemed to be a favourite venue for the Aquatic Club’s presentation nights and Christmas parties in the early ‘70s – the years when sailing was particularly popular. (Signal 22/11/73 P.2)
Live music continued to be provided by Jim Redhead, but the heyday of the Tradewinds cabaret, with its band and multiple performers, had passed. The restaurant closed around 1976 (Signal 24/4/97 P.5) and the Bloomfields left the Island in 1996, with the Signal again reporting that “Tradewinds has now been acquired by Janelle, daughter of Gower and Thelma Wilson.” (29/8/96 Back Page)
Jim Redhead probably had the longest performing career of any of the Tradewinds troupe. When he died after a long illness (25/10/87) a tribute to him in the Signal included the following words: “Jim was born in England in 1918. During World War II he served with the British Army in the Armoured Tank Corps in North Africa and Sicily but towards the end, after narrowly escaping death when a tank he had alighted from was blown apart, he joined the Entertainment Corps and spent the remainder of the war entertaining troops in Cairo. On his return to England Jim became a professional ice skater, appearing in several shows in London…In 1951 he migrated to Australia where he…married Sheila Smith and in 1960 came to Lord Howe where they acquired ‘Trade Winds’ guest lodge which included a successful restaurant cabaret. Jim and Sheila were fine entertainers in the cabaret and at many Island concerts and other social functions.”
During the 1960s, an early 70’s Tradewinds was a vibrant – if somewhat zany – social hub where Island people and visitors all came together for good music, food, dancing and entertainment. While other venues, like Larhonette, offered wonderful live local entertainment, it was the combination of professional performances given by Jim and Sheila Redhead, Ken Bonzer and Peter Marlowe, backed up by a cast of talented local singers and musicians, which made Tradewinds so special. The constant repetition of signature songs like “Let’s fall in Love”, and mimed skits like “Doctor I’m in trouble…”, just endeared the patrons even more to the cabaret. Lord Howe has never seen anything quite like it before or since, giving as it did, “Many hours of enjoyable entertainment to tourists and residents alike.” (Signal 29/8/96 The Back Page)
Postscript: Tradewinds Makes it onto 2KY
Interestingly, during its heyday in the 1960s, the Tradewinds music troupe not only performed music, they composed it. The Signal (26/9/62) reported the following: “A song, composed by Airlines of N.S.W. Lord Howe Island Agent David Murray [Tradewinds’ drummer] and sung by Sheila Redhead to accompaniment by Jim Redhead, Celia Skeggs and Harold Saywell, has been regularly featured on [Sydney] Station 2KY lately.
The words of the song are:
Lord Howe Island South Pacific
Coral island lovely to see Palm trees swaying
My heart saying
That’s the island in the sun for me.
Lord Howe Island South Pacific
Mighty mountains down to the sea
Friendly faces
Warm Embraces
Lord Howe Island is the island for me.
My heart takes a sky ride
I see on an ebb tide
A lei floating into the shore.
Two eyes warm and tender
Two arms sweet surrender
A memory is it, or a dream so exquisite.
Lord Howe Island South Pacific
I’ll return there one day and see
I’ll catch a trade wind
Or a seaplane
Lord Howe Island is the Island for me”.