2 Proud Aussies Win The Prestigious Chelsea Flower Show

THEY'VE won accolades from Prince Harry, praise from the Queen and plaudits from the public and after nine years of trying a team of Australian horticulturalists last night convinced the judges to win the most prestigious flower show in the world.

"It's a dream come true," exclaimed Phillip Johnson as his garden beat the best from across the globe at the Chelsea Flower Show this year in its milestone 100th year.

For six weeks the garden's designer Johnson, driving force Wes Fleming and a team of 18 volunteers have labored over the largest and most elaborate garden ever attempted, a stunning showcase of an Australian lush gorge complete with giant boulders and a large billabong fed by a series of small waterfalls overlooked by a pine and aluminium studio in the shape of a giant Waratah.

The design while fun also carries a serious message of sustainability, collecting and filtrating rain water from all hard surfaces channeling into two catchments including the central billabong. It also collects run off from neighbouring sites. Solar panels at the rear of the garden ensure the whole site is powered "off the grid".

As well as natural sounds of the Aussie bush, a tape of frog calls, recorded from Johnson's home in Yarra Glen outside Melbourne, can be heard about the site adding to the magic.

The Queen visited the site yesterday. Fleming, from Melbourne and the founder of Australia's ninth garden campaign, was told she had no time to stop but she did and then walked about the site. It was a good omen.

Fleming said he was "dangerously confident" of winning but it was still unbelievable; no other Australian entry has ever won best in show.

"I have dreamed of this moment since I was a little boy growing up on the nursery and mum and dad regaling in tales of Chelsea Flower Show," an emotional Fleming said.

"I've been chasing this honour for my whole adult life so to have been awarded not only the coveted gold medal but Best in Show at the world's most highly regarded event is a moment no words can describe."

Of his meeting with the Queen, Fleming said: "She did more listening than talking but she did say "I believe this is your last garden" and we explained to her the reasons why we couldn't come back and she was quite disappointed," Fleming said.

"It was really quite lovely that the Queen knows about you, it's really quite special. She thought our display this year was lovely and the comments by those about her Majesty was it was a beautiful slice of Australia."

Despite the win, it will be Fleming's and his Trailfinders Australian Garden team's last showing.

"Chelsea is wonderful media and a great event but in all honesty it's like building dolls houses," Fleming said.

"For us it has been about increasing awareness and influencing policy and government about the need for planning, the need for green and better open spaces for environment and have the horticultural industry involved in future planning.

"In 100 or 50 years time it's not going to be accountants telling us how we live and the health of society, it's not going to be lawyers, marketing people or IT people, it will be the horticultural industry that determines the future of our life.

"That might sound trumped up … but we need to get governments and the greater populace generally to recognise that planting trees and creating landscapes is not just for aesthetics."

Source - http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/home-garden/chelsea-flower-show-win-a-dream-come-true-for-aussie-green-thumbs-phillip-johnson-and-wes-fleming/story-fni0dllf-1226647867089

How 5 coins and an 'X' on a map could rewrite our history

Five copper coins and a nearly 70-year-old map with an ''X'' could rewrite Australia's history.
Ian McIntosh, an Australian scientist and professor of anthropology at Indiana University in the US, is planing an expedition in July to revisit the location where five 1000-year-old coins were found in the Northern Territory in 1944.

Seafarers from distant countries landed in Australia much earlier. 

The coins could mean seafarers from distant countries landed in Australia much earlier than is believed.

In 1944, the Wessel Islands - an uninhabited group of islands off Australia's north coast - had become a strategic position to help protect the mainland.

Australian soldier Maurie Isenberg was stationed on one of the islands to man a radar station and spent his spare time fishing on the idyllic beaches. He discovered the handful of coins in the sand.

In 1979, he sent the coins to a museum to get them identified. They proved to be 1000 years old.

Still not fully realising their significance, he marked an old map with an ''X'' where he had found them. The discovery was apparently forgotten until a few months ago.

Professor McIntosh and his team of Australian and American historians, archaeologists, geomorphologists and Aboriginal rangers say the five coins date back to the 900s to 1300s.

They are African coins from the former Kilwa sultanate, now a World Heritage ruin on an island off Tanzania. Kilwa once was a flourishing trade port with links to India in the 13th century to 16th century.

The copper coins were the first coins produced in Sub-Saharan Africa and, according to Professor McIntosh, have only twice been found outside Africa: once in Oman and Mr Isenberg's find.

Archaeologists have long suspected that there may have been early maritime trading routes that linked East Africa, Arabia, India and the Spice Islands, even 1000 years ago. Or the coins could have washed ashore after a shipwreck.

When Mr Isenberg discovered the copper coins, he also found four coins that originated from the Dutch East India Company - with one dating back to 1690.

Professor McIntosh wants to answer some of these mysteries during his planned expedition to the Wessel Islands.

He will also be looking for a secret cave Aboriginal legends refer to. It is supposed to be close to the beach where Mr Isenberg found the coins and is said to be filled with doubloons and weaponry.

Source - http://www.smh.com.au/national/x-marks-the-spot-1000yearold-coins-may-prove-traders-visit-20130519-2junc.html

Uncle Wes changing lives in western Sydney

To 17-year-old Blake Ellis, Aboriginal elder Uncle Wes is the "the biggest role model in Mount Druitt".

Blake Ellis' childhood was hard and as a boy he sought refuge with Uncle Wes and his family.

"I was only young when I was staying with him and spent more time with him than my own family," he said.

As Uncle Wes puts it: "They've got to have someone they can talk to, someone they can depend on."

Wes Marne is 91 and for the past 30 years, he has been an Aboriginal elder in western Sydney.

"I have responsibility for everything, everything whatsoever," he said.

He is an advocate for "his people" at Centrelink, the Department of Housing, Community Services, Juvenile Justice and he is a regular visitor to young Aboriginal men in prison.

"Just to let them know there's somebody here who cares," he said.

"I suppose there's a lot of mongrel things I've done in my time that I could have gone to jail for but no, I'm out here."

Michael Waites, 25, has been in and out of jail "numerous times".

"Ever since I turned 18 I've probably been eight times," he said.

"I've never had that person to put me on the right track."

But a meeting with Uncle Wes when he was in prison had a profound impact.

"That made my day, him coming there," he said.

"I could feel the spirit inside me."

Uncle Wes conducted a smoking ceremony which Mr Waites says "cleared my mind."

"It more or less gave me the strength to get out of jail."

As a child, Wes Marne lived tribally on the banks of a river in southern Queensland.

"I still think my happiest times were when I lived on the river in the old tin camp," he said.

"We didn't have to worry about much at all, we fished and we hunted and we swam."

At the age of 10, his family were moved to a reserve in northern New South Wales.

"I never had much education. I left school when I was 11 and I never started til I was 10."

At 11, Wes Marne went where ever he could find work.

His first job was carrying water to ring barkers.

"I was a water boy. I used to run around giving everyone a drink of water and it was no easy matter, chasing a lot of men though the bush carrying a hessian water bag about, but anyway it was a living," he said.

He went on to be a boxer, losing most of his teeth in the ring, then there was the "back breaking" work at a tannery, a chicken factory and picking and packaging tobacco all over the country.

"A lot of people didn't want to give us work," he said.

"When we got work we were always the last one to be put on and the first one to be put off."

Uncle Wes says he moved to Sydney to give his children a better education.

"I thought my children would be better off, and it was hard from the word go," he said.

He has outlived four of his children. One baby died from cot death, two were killed in a car crash, another drowned.

"You don't have to be Aboriginal to realise it's a hard old world out there, a hard old world," he said.

But Uncle Wes remains committed to helping his people.

"Even in the night, 1.00 or 2.00 in the morning, you get a call; 'Uncle Wes can you come up? my old man is bashing me here'."

When he is not helping out in the community or teaching his culture in schools, detention centres and prisons, Uncle Wes enjoys a yarn with the locals in Mount Druitt Plaza.

He says it is all about doing something for his people

"You can't retire, once you're an elder you can't retire," he said.

Source - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-05/uncle-wes-changing-lives-in-western-sydney/4669032

Building a road out of Afghanistan

Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan: Four young boys, aged perhaps 8, sit by the side of the new road being built by the Australian government through the Mirabad Valley outside Oruzgan province's capital.

An Australian soldier, part of a team that has gone out to inspect the road, asks the kids in Pashto, "Any Taliban around here?"

No, the boys reply with grins all round. "We are the soldiers around here, so there are no Taliban," one of them cries.

The long road out ... the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) on a new road in the Oruzgan province, in Afghanistan. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

This part of the valley, about 10 kilometres to the east of Tarin Kowt, has become relative friendly territory for the Australians. Until 2009, patrols were regularly attacked around here. The fighting ended after Australian special forces drove the Taliban out in a major campaign, allowing the reconstruction effort to begin.

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It is a model in many ways, a good news story. The $10 million road project is going to plan and the locals are mostly happy. Yet the trip outside the wire of the Tarin Kowt multinational base also shows how tough the job remains as Australia prepares to exit by the end of the year and the province prepares to face its own challenges.

The Australians are not building the road themselves but rather paying local contractors, so the work creates local jobs. Captain Daniel Kennedy-Stiff, a member of the Provincial Reconstruction Team – which includes Defence, AusAid and the Department of Foreign Affairs – says the contractors are learning a lot but still need to be scrutinised.

"This is one of the better contractors we have, but they will still try and cut corners if you are not keeping an eye on them," said Captain Kennedy-Stiff.

Hence the inspection, backed up by a convoy of four Bushmaster armoured vehicles and several dozen soldiers. Security remains tight. At each of four stops along a 14 kilometre stretch of the new road the soldiers charged with protecting the team form a perimeter facing outward. They stay in each spot only a few minutes.

Aside from a few elders who complain parts of the road are not wide enough for two trucks to pass, locals sing the new road's praises. An elderly man named Ablul, unusual for the fact he is growing wheat rather than the ubiquitous pink-flowered opium poppies, lavishes thanks on the Australian government.

Australian soldiers from the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), during an operation to inspect a new road in the Oruzgan province, in Afghanistan. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

"In the past, we had problems with the insurgents putting IEDs under the road. It was very dangerous. I myself have a vehicle. It took a lot of time to get anywhere."

Acting head of the PRT, David Windsor, said opening up the road meant farmers growing food crops could get their products to market and would boost people's faith in government, making them less likely to turn to the Taliban.

"You open up that road and it's easier for people to speak to their local representatives, raise their concerns, and start accessing services like health and education, as well as the sheer fact of removing the hassle of a long, bumpy travel time."

Afghan children wave to Australian soldiers along the way through Oruzgan. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Will the benefit last? AusAid have notably opted to keep a 27 kilometre stretch as a gravel road for ease of upkeep – there is no guarantee the Afghan local government will be able to properly maintain bitumen in the years to come.

One of the soldiers on the operation, Corporal Jeremy Martinez, speaks frankly about the risks ahead

.

"The thing we are worried about is that the Taliban will come in and overthrow the government and undo all the good work we've done. That's what we hear speaking to local Afghans," he said. "They know we are leaving."

Source - http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/building-a-road-out-of-afghanistan-20130429-2invr.html#

Surfing Australia Signs Up To Help Tackle Binge Drinking

COOLANGATTA/QLD (17th April, 2013): Surfing Australia is proud to be the latest national sporting organisation to join the Australian Government’s Be the Influence - Tackling Binge Drinking initiative.

Be the Influence - Tackling Binge Drinking is addressing youth binge drinking and the influence of alcohol promotion on young Australians by promoting anti-binge drinking messaging through sport sponsorships.

Under the partnership, Be the Influence -Tackling Binge Drinking is now a major partner of Surfing Australia with ASP World Tour competitors Owen Wright and Sally Fitzgibbons becoming Be the Influence Surfing Ambassadors.

The sponsorship covers Surfing Australia’s six State branches and their 104 events conducted nationwide; and Surfing Australia’s Team Australia program, which sends seven teams to all of the International Surfing Association’s global events.

Surfing Australia CEO, Andrew Stark believes it is an ideal association for both organisations.

“This is a monumental partnership for our sport and will provide a serious boost to our various programs Australia-wide,” said Mr Stark.

“Importantly the powerful anti-binge drinking message that we will promote to our surfing community is something we all believe in.

“The partnership has touch points across our entire organisation from grassroots to elite. We are extremely appreciative of the support and look forward to a fantastic partnership.”

Surfing Australia board member and seven-time World Champion Layne Beachley said the partnership provided an enormous opportunity for the sport of surfing.

“This is a unique sponsorship, aligned with such an important message that can be embraced across all sports,” said Beachley.

“I feel Surfing Australia will provide the perfect platform to deliver the anti-binge drinking message to young Australians.”

Be the Influence will also become one of the major sponsors of the new Australian Boardriders Battle. The national series, to be officially launched in July, will involve Australia’s boardriding clubs in seven State qualifying events and culminating in a national final across two days in March, 2014.

The sponsorship also includes naming rights to two new national events: the Be the Influence Surf Pro, the fourth and final event of the 2013 ASP Australasia Pro Junior Series, from 12th-14th July in NSW; and the Be the Influence Australian SUP and Paddleboard Titles in November. Also, naming rights to State events such as the upcoming Be the Influence Queensland Master’s and Women’s Surfing Series, which commences on May 18.

Be the Influence will be a support sponsor for the Australian Surf Festival and the Australian Junior Surfing Titles.

A total of 15 sports are now part of Be the Influence, including the Football Federation of Australia, Netball Australia, Basketball Australia and Swimming Australia.

Information on Be the Influence - Tackling Binge Drinking can be found at www.tacklingbingedrinking.gov.au. The Be the Influence - Tackling Binge Drinking sponsorship is managed through the Australian National Preventive Health Agency.

Source - http://www.international.to/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8154:surfing-australia-signs-up-to-help-tackle-youth-binge-drinking&catid=98:sports&Itemid=218

Stella winner donates money to other writers

Carrie Tiffany

The inaugural winner of the Stella Prize for Australian women's writing has donated part of her prize money to her fellow finalists.

Melbourne author Carrie Tiffany won the prize for her second novel, Mateship with Birds, which follows the fortunes of a farmer and aged-care nurse in 1950s country Victoria.

The award, named after author Stella Miles Franklin, has been established to promote female writers.

Ms Tiffany donated $10,000 of her $50,000 prize to the other shortlisted authors.

Mateship With Birds

She says they all deserve recognition.

"I read all of the books on the shortlist and a lot of them on the long list and I think they're fantastic and really a gift to our literary culture," she said.

"I think that the Stellas are an opportunity to do things a bit differently and to acknowledge the many, rather than the few.

"It is really difficult to choose a book from a shortlist and I wanted to spread attention across all of those books, rather than just mine."

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-17/tiffany-wins-inaugural-prize-for-women27s-writing/4633958

Checking up on a mate after 72 years

Over scones, sausage rolls and a couple of cold ones, two Diggers who enlisted together in 1941 finally catch up.

by Tim Barlass

Seventy-two years is a long time to spend wondering how your mate is. For some it is more than a lifetime and then it is too late.

But not so for Harry ''Hal'' Wolters and Cecil ''Buff'' Creswick.

The former schoolmates from Penrith High travelled together to the Sydney Showground to enlist on March 3, 1941, during World War II.

A fear of Japanese invasion was mounting and the bombing of Darwin was 11 months away.

Told to go and get written consent because they were under 21, they went to the Captain Cook Hotel, spent two shillings and sixpence on a beer and forged each other's parents' signatures. On April 1, they travelled again to Sydney and became separated.

After so many years, they each came to assume that the other had not made it home from war.
But on the Easter weekend Mr Wolters, now 90, took action to find out what had happened to Mr Creswick, also 90. He placed a small advertisement in The Sydney Morning Herald's RSVP column.

But why now?

Mr Wolters has suffered a series of serious illnesses. The list would make a sizeable contribution to a medical dictionary.

''The Department of Veterans' Affairs has been, excuse me, bloody wonderful,'' he said. ''I just wanted to know if he [Mr Creswick] was still going.''

Mr Wolters had thought about his old friend often over the intervening years. ''We parted in 1941 and we haven't been in contact since,'' he said, adding: ''My wife Dorothy said: 'What are you worried about? You've only got five minutes to live?'''

Last week he was working, as he often does, in his shed when the phone rang.

''The voice said, 'It's Buff Creswick here.' I said, 'Holy, bloody hell.' I was just about dumbstruck.''
On Friday, Mr Creswick left Blacktown and boarded a plane to travel to his old schoolmate's property in Kempsey, north of Port Macquarie. The two nonagenarians embraced, complimented each other on being alive and then, briefly, Mr Wolters was overwhelmed.
Then began the formidable task of catching up.

Mrs Wolters had baked scones and sausage rolls and there were a few cold beers in the fridge.

As they chatted on the verandah, it emerged that they had almost got involved in the same branch of the war effort. Mr Creswick in the 2nd Infantry Battalion was sent to Syria and Beirut but was among the troops brought back to defend Australia. He was then sent to the Kokoda Trail fighting the Japanese in conditions he described as ''horrific''. ''We started out with a strength of 697 fighting men and finished up left with 87. I was one of the lucky ones,'' he said.
But what finally took him away from the fighting was that he became severely ill with malaria.
He was regarded as a useful experiment subject to help in the fight against the disease at the Medical Research Unit based in Cairns.

Mr Wolters ended up at the same place, although probably at a different time. He was also enlisted as a guinea pig but one they wanted to deliberately infect with the disease.
They are planning the next reunion. There's more to discuss.

Source -http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/checking-up-on-a-mate-after-72-years-20130406-2hdn3.html

John Farnham voted Australia's best singer of all time by panel of his peers

NEWS Limited's poll of 100 Australian singers and musicians voting for their favourite Australian voices has created major debate this morning. 
 
John Farnham was voted Australia's best singer of all time - by a panel more than 100 Australian singers and musicians commissioned by News Ltd.

Farnham, 63, thanked his peers for voting him Australia’s finest singer of all time.

"Just to be in the company of the people on that list will do me .. I'm blown away,” Farnham said.
And it appears his fans agree.

"Anyone who has seen John Farnham live will agree with this decision. You may not like the music, but his voice is incredible," Ben Hosking wrote on news.com.au Facebook.

But not all were convinced, cue Sarah Attwood. "Are you kidding me? We have such wonderful artists. Move on from Farnham Australia, he's done & dusted."
Kylie Minogue’s absence from the Top 50 has caused a stir on social media.

“That @kylieminogue isn't in list of top 50 Aussie singers is BS. She's our most successful female artist,” NSW Police Force media officer Troy Deighton tweeted.


AND HERE IS THE LIST

1. John Farnham
HE'S the voice, and it seems his contemporaries do not need to try and understand it, they just accept it. John Farnham has blitzed our poll of Australia's most popular singer as voted by Australian singers.
The result sees Farnham, 63, confirming his status as the singer’s singer.
"John Farnham could sing the phone book and it would sound great," Jimmy Barnes says. "He is shy and unsure of his abilities sometimes but we mere mortals will probably never know this because his voice is so damn good." 

2. Bon Scott

Great voices never die and AC/DC frontman Bon Scott has left an indelible mark on those who saw encountered his, either live or posthumously. "Bon Scott is a total legend," says Lee Kernaghan. "Nobody’s done it better since."
Singers praised Scott for his take no prisoners attitude, authenticity and the fact that his voice - and lyrics - are unmistakable and timeless. Baby Animals singer Suze DeMarchi was also impressed by his stature. "Anyone who was that short and could sing that loud is a winner."
"The weasel on heat was a street poet with his own sound and a sense of humour; qualities I admire," Ross Wilson said."Good rock singing is an art and more difficult than most people imagine. It helped that he had an incredible band to sing with."
Hoodoo Gurus’ singer Dave Faulkner said Scott was a genius. "Bon's combination of cheek, wit and balls made everything he did unforgettable. He was also a brilliant songwriter. Do I really need to say any more about the genius of Bon Scott? We were very lucky to have him."
Melbourne’s Dan Brodie sums Scott up thus "raw, laconic, tough, funny, romantic, lover, fighter...Australian."

3. Tina Arena

Sometimes a voice the country has grown up with gets taken for granted. However Tina Arena’s contemporaries are acutely aware of her gift. Arena, now 45, has been sharing her voice with Australia since she started on Young Talent Time as a seven year old. She remains one of our most successful female singers internationally and is working on a new original album. Delta Goodrem praised Arena’s voice as one of her favorite singers from Australia. "Her voice has strength whilst keeping its feminine warmth to draw you in."
Melbourne singer/songwriter Michael Paynter hailed Arena as "simultaneously the most natural and supernatural female Australian voice ever. She is technically and emotionally perfect, but somehow always has enough of a sniff of imperfection and rawness to make you not only believe every word, but be hanging off them too." Ricki-Lee said she taught herself to sing by listening to Arena’s Don’t Ask album. "I would just sing along over and over and over and try and hit all the notes and nail every run. She has so much control and power but the most important thing for a great singer is showing restraint. Just because you can belt it doesn't mean you have to do it all the time." Missy Higgins says Tina Arena is "one of our best singers ever. She could sing the balls off anyone, and she's miniature." Brian Mannix says Arena has a "tasteful" voice. "She sells the lyrics with her big voice but never over-sings."
Birds of Tokyo frontman says "Tina Arena can sing the s--- out of anything, and do it in four different languages!" Anthony Callea, who has toured with Arena, has an insider’s perspective. "Technically, she is faultless and her tone is unique and warm. I love that she goes against all the 'singers’ rules’ - I’ve seen what she eats and drinks before a gig!"

4. Michael Hutchence

Michael Hutchence.

Another iconic Australian voice sadly only enjoyed in the past, Hutchence was the voice behind our biggest rock band, INXS. The band have struggled to get past his legacy, but behind the headlines and waistlines he has been remembered as one of our finest vocalists by his peers.
"Michael was a sassy rock singer who just oozed sex and style," Daryl Braithwaite said. The Superjesus’ Sarah McLeod was won over by Hutchence’s vocals. "Michael was all about tone and sex. His voice was so alluring, I liked him the best when he sang down low, that’s when he got me." Kids in the Kitchen frontman Scott Carne toured with INXS in the '80s. "He was the Lizard King of the '80s," Carne recalls. "A cool performer and a great singer live, so much passion in his voice. And a chick magnet to boot."
Suze DeMarchi liked Hutchence’s style. "He had a beautiful tone and knew his way around a song. You could hear the sentiment in his voice when he sang. All round rock god." Musician Phil Ceberano points to more beyond just his swagger. "He was an international rock star but a great white soul/rock singer in his own right." Michael Paynter said Hutchence was the "ultimate frontman". "Not only was he arguably the sexiest voice to ever leave these shores Michael Hutchence personified what it meant to become the song."

5. Jimmy Barnes

We’ve had Farnsey, now comes Barnsey. He has been praised for his passion as well as his trademark power. "He has always been able to make a song start really powerful and take it where no man has dared to go," country star Troy Cassar-Daley said. "His voice volume is legendary and
 has always been a yardstick as far as rock n roll singers go, just try and keep up with him and you will lose!"
Daryl Braithwaite points out it’s not just pub rock. "Jimmy has one of the best rock voices in Australia but he has a lovely softer voice as well." Sarah McLeod hinted at some envy at Barnes’ range. "Not only does Jimmy have a great blues feel he can really wail, he hits really high notes, even as a girl it’s hard to reach where Jimmy can go!"
The final word to his son, David Campbell. "Especially in the Chisel years he had the pure high tones of a classic soul singer. Have a close listen to Choir Girl again. Or the feel of isolation to ironic rage in Four Walls. Masterful stuff."

6. Guy Sebastian

The youngest singer in the Top 10, Guy Sebastian has made a major impression since winning the inaugural Australian Idol ten years ago. Sebastian has relied on his talent to silence an endless string of haters and his vocal and songwriting skills have now seen credibility added to his truckload of record sales. Delta Goodrem calls Sebastian’s voice "phenomenal". "He can do anything and everything with his instrument," she says.
His work at introducing soul music to a younger generation has not gone unnoticed either. "The guy is a Memphis soul singer in a pop star's body," Michael Paynter says. "He has amazing vocal chops," says Andrew Da Silva.
"When you hear Guy's voice you know it's him," Australia's Got Talent star Jack Vidgen says. "It's just so distinct. I grew up loving all of his ballads and remember voting for him on Australian Idol when I was six years old!" Missy Higgins has been won over by Sebastian. "Holy crap Guy's voice is awesome. I'm pretty sure he can sing 18 notes in half a second. Some seriously fine tonsils there."
Mental as Anything’s Greedy Smith says Sebastian is just starting to come into his own. "He’s getting even better because he’s writing for his own voice now." And Grinspoon frontman Phil Jamieson sums it by saying "he is undeniable. He never f---s up."

7. Renee Geyer

Melbourne soul queen Renee Geyer was a must-pick for her contemporaries. "As BB King once said about her, 'That girl sings her ass off’," recalls Dave Faulkner. "Renee added class and guts to Australian music in equal measure. Her Ready to Deal album is a masterpiece."
Missy Higgins’ said Geyer’s singing voice cannot be touched. "She has the gravelly, smokey, torn-apart voice of a woman who has seen it all, and then some." Bachelor Girl’s Tania Doko said Geyer’s soul is immeasurable. "She’s real and wears it all on her sleeve, you’re almost cold blooded if you’re not moved by THAT voice."
Kate Ceberano compared Geyer’s voice to a freak of nature. "Listening to her sing like Sister Rosetta and James Brown all at once is really mindblowing!" Jimmy Barnes remembers seeing Renee in his youth and the impact her voice had. "She was a young girl and I was a young man. The difference between us was that even at that tender age Renee had found the direct route between her heart her soul and her voice while I was fumbling in the dark waiting for a sign. I got a sign, a sign that said to me that what I was trying to do would be difficult and painful but if I could speak from my heart and not my ego it would be worth it. That sign was in the form of Renee Geyer."

8. Sia Furler

Sia Furler.

Ironically Adelaide’s Sia Furler is more popular now that she’s effectively retired from live performances and being a popstar. Now writing for A-list pop stars like Rihanna and Kylie, Furler’s guide vocals on Titanium were so impressive dance producer David Guetta kept her on the track rather than Mary J Blige. However Sia’s history stretches back to funk and soul acts in Adelaide, through to work with UK act Zero 7 and her own quirky pop career. "She has power, bite and fun," Ella Hooper says. "Real freshness, attitude and believability - they’re game-changing attributes for the (dance) genre she’s in."
"She has such power and versatility in her voice," Delta Goodrem says. Damien Leith said "She’s an incredible songwriter and an electrifying vocalist."
Ricki-Lee said her favorite Sia song is her ballad Breathe Me. "She has such an unusual voice and its really commands attention and cuts right through you to the heart and you feel every single word she sings." Suze DeMarchi is a longtime Sia follower. "She just sings with unfaltering conviction. She is kind of unparralled. I love her."
9. Chrissie Amphlett

Dave Faulkner of the Hoodoo Gurus calls "the divine Miss A" a musical force of nature. And the Divinyls frontwoman has many fans among her peers. "Chrissie is a massive influence on me with her delicious blend of rock, melancholy, and breathy, gravel tones - I believe her every word," says Tania Doko. Icehouse’s Iva Davies, who has recorded with Amphlett, points to her impact on the local music scene from the early '80s onwards. "Chrissy dared to go where no other female Australian rock singer had every gone before. She was challenging, and confronting, as well as a brassy rock and roll lady."
Ella Hooper, who fronted Killing Heidi, was one of the many Australian singers inspired by Amphlett’s trail blazing. "Like a purring kitten that might bite your finger off, Chrissy has snap, crackle and pop! An electric and electrifying voice, oodles of sass and ability, but she never over-sings which I love." Kate Ceberano picked Amphlett as her all-time favorite singer/songwriter/artist. "She exemplifies what it means to be a complete story. Bold, courageous, sexy and powerful! What a combo." And as Phil Jamieson pinpoints "that venom – brilliant!"

10. Neil and Tim Finn

No stranger to being claimed as Australian, Neil and Finn have spread much of their musical DNA around local studios and stages. However while their songwriting is regularly honoured, the Finn’s contemporaries talk in hushed tones about his voice. "Neil and Tim Finn’s harmonies on the Woodface album are incredible," Evermore’s Jon Hume says. Megan Washington opts for Tim Finn by a whisker. "Tim is one of my favourite singers on the planet, not just in Australia. He has a fragility and sincerity in his voice that I could listen to forever."
Russell Morris points out Neil has "plaintive appeal - very Beatleish." Ross Wilson is impressed with their long careers. "With their melodies, harmonies, brilliant songs and execution, together and apart they changed the pop landcape round these here parts. Neil seems like the happy bro but an examination of their themes and lyrics reveals a lotta Dirty Creatures residing in both houses." Brian Mannix opts for Neil Finn saying "everything just sounds so effortless for him."
Angie Hart says "I believe anything Neil wants to sing to me. Warm and confident. A singer from the heart."

11. Daniel Johns

Thrust into the spotlight as an angsty teenager fronting Silverchair, Daniel Johns has bloomed before our eyes - and ears. His contemporaries are impressed with the different shades to his distinctive voice. "I love how Daniel can sing in every area of his voice be it rocking out in full throttle or tapping into his falsetto," Delta Goodrem says. "His talent is one of a kind."
Daryl Braithwaite is a fan. "Daniel’s voice has a distinctive timbre," Daryl says. Rapper Seth Sentry was inspired by early Silverchair. "Daniel just keeps re-inventing himself. Tomorrow is my go-to guitar riff at parties." Kasey Chambers chose Johns as one of her favorites. "In my eyes the greatest Australian singers of all time are not necessarily always the most technically perfect singers but ones who sing from a place of pure heart and soul that I cannot help but be inspired by."
Birds of Tokyo’s Ian Kenny says Johns is a hero of his. "He’s just getting better and better."

12. The Bee Gees

Another we’ll claim as our own, most people couldn’t separate the three brothers, with sadly only one still standing. "Wonderful voices on their own but why choose one when you can have all three," Angus McDonald of Sneaky Sound System says. "Incredible songwriters to boot." Ross Wilson points to what’s known as blood harmonies in the business. "They had that sibling sound and you can't beat that when it comes to harmonising. Amazingly the three brothers had unique individual voices too."
"Not since the Beach Boys have harmonies taken over the world," David Campbell notes. "And like Brian Wilson, Barry Gibb’s melodies made the songs timeless."

13. Stevie Wright 

Stevie was the voice, heart and soul of the Easybeats in the '60s, before forging a solo career. "It was the levels of his voice and the distances it could travel, just in Evie parts 1,2 & 3 alone which make him one of the best for me," says David Campbell. Hoodoo Gurus frontman Dave Faulkner cites Wright and the Easybeats as a major inspiration.
"They were the first Australian rock band to capture the attention of the world at large. Paul McCartney famously heard Friday On My Mind on his car radio and he immediately pulled over and phoned the BBC demanding that they play it again (which they did). Stevie's voice was a crucial part of the musical landscape when I was growing up in the '60s. The Easybeats made us proud then and they still do." Phil Ceberano thinks Wright’s appeal is simple. "Just play Friday on My Mind. Enough said."

14. Paul Kelly

Paul Kelly.

Sometimes the best voices aren’t always technically perfect. Ella Hooper says Paul Kelly has "a slightly honky, charmingly nasal delivery" which creates "an utterly believable, warm and wise tone." Longtime Paul Kelly fan Missy Higgins says his voice is so distinctive you’d recognise it anywhere."It's like a wood-wind instrument with the Aussie accent," she says.
Something For Kate’s Paul Dempsey points to Kelly’s comforting voice. "Paul's singing voice is so sparing and simple, it's like the voice of an old friend. It immediately puts you at ease so you can just relax and take in what's being shared/told/related…" Kate Ceberano compared Kelly’s voice to Woodie Guthrie and Bob Dylan in capturing the soul of Australia. "He makes honest observations of everyday conditions. Powerful stuff."
Angie Hart notes "Paul was born to tell stories. He is talking to you, while he's singing."

15. Vanessa Amorosi

Vanessa Amorosi

The local industry loves the Melbourne singer/songwriter who has grown up in public. "One day Vanessa will find an unbelievable song to match her unbelievable voice," Daryl Braithwaite says.
" She has one of the greatest rock chick voices of our time," Anthony Callea said. "Every time I hear Vanessa sing, her power, range and control blows me away. This chick does not need auto-tune."
Ricki-Lee is another Amorosi fan. "Her range on record is ridiculous but she’s even better live." Jack Vidgen is a big fan of her power ballads. "Her voice and power just astounds me," he says. "Vanessa has one of the best female voices in the world," says Shannon Noll.
"Vanessa’s vocals are effortless and her tone and vibrato perfect," Troy Cassar-Daley says. "She can do the Janice Joplin thing which is great but when she sings soft she has a vulnerable quality in there that kills me every time."
16. Jessica Mauboy

Just 23, Mauboy’s seized the attention of Australia since being discovered on Australian Idol in 2006. As well as an endless string of singles on radio, she’s now expanding into movies with The Sapphires taking her from singing modern R&B to retro soul. It seems her talents have not gone unnoticed among her peers. "This sister girl can wipe the floor with most singers on this planet," Cassar-Daley says. "She proved it before Idol when I saw her at Tamworth one year, her work on The Sapphires showed another soulful side to her already multi-layered voice. She is going to be one to watch internationally."
"She has a beautiful soul voice with effortless ease," says Andrew Da Silva. "I love the way she does her riffs and vocal runs and try and love trying to emulate them," fan Jack Vidgen notes. Tim Campbell points to her "incredible" R&B instincts. "Even at her most exhausted - and she works a ridiculous amount - she can still tear a song a new one!"
17. Nick Cave

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds will tour Australia.

Melbourne’s darkest musical export is hailed for his songwriting, but he has many of his peers gushing about his vocals. "Nick Cave has resonance and gravitas. An almost thespian like tragi-comic delivery of the lyrics," Ella Hooper says. "He just has such a distinct and interesting voice," says Brooke Addamo, aka Owl Eyes.

18. Connie Mitchell (Sneaky Sound System)

First getting attention in rock band Primary, Mitchell had a musical second wind as the singer in dance act Sneaky Sound System. Her voice is so powerful Kanye West has used her on several of his records - she’s singing the title on his hit Flashing Lights. "Connie is an incredible singer," X Factor winner Samantha Jade says. "So creative and out of the box."
Tania Doko says she learns from Mitchell’s diversity. "She experiments vocally, can do anything with her voice. She has that insatiable, modern X factor sound that travels globally." Ella Hooper is also a disciple. "She’s a powerhouse. A wild woman with a wild voice to match. Spunky and huge in scope, her voice can growl and soar - and blow your hair back." Her Sneaky bandmate Angus McDonald knows her talents well. "She is the best female in the business. I've found it very hard to work with anyone else because she is just so damn good."

19. Katie Noonan

First seducing the nation as the singer in George, Noonan has embarked on an interesting career path, from jazz to occasional collisions with pop charts. "Right from the beginning she has stamped 'class' on her career," Icehouse’s Iva Davies says of Noonan. "Very few people achieve the control, range and dynamic supported be flawless technique, and among the pantheon of female singers she could easily claim a place next to the great Joni Mitchell in that regard."
Michael Paynter said Noonan has one of the best jazz voices Australia has ever produced. "Her voice is as smooth as it is ethereally resonant." Or as Damien Leith points out, "She has the voice of an angel."
Kate Ceberano said Noonan has her dream voice. "Katie is like the voice I have in my dreams. Soaring and no note too impossible to reach. She makes something so difficult seem so easy. Her voice is the sound of wonder to me."

20. Gurrumul

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunipingu arrived with minimum fuss but maximum impact in 2008. Singing about his culture in his own tongue, he’s stunned audiences across the world. "Listening to Gurrumul sing is a spiritual experience," Missy Higgins says. "He is transcendent."
"Gurrumul definitely has one of the most natural and unique voices I’ve ever heard," Damien Leith notes. "Warm and soulful, it touches right to the core."

21. Suze De Marchi

Suze de Marchi.

The frontwoman of the Baby Animals was tagged as one of the toughest female voice this country has produced by many singers polled. "She wails," Ella Hooper says. "Raw, warm, strong and super sexy."
The Superjesus’ Sarah McLeod notes "Suze has got great feel and rock tone and that’s what it’s all about, feel and tone."

22. Daryl Braithwaite

Hoodoo Gurus’ frontman Dave Faulkner says in the '70s he was always a Sherbet fan over their rivals Skyhooks due to Daryl Braithwaite’s voice. "Atmospheric while still approachable," adds Greedy Smith of Mental as Anything. "Daryl’s voice is technically flawless with a killer falsetto."

23. Sarah Blasko

Blasko’s voice has been pinpointed as immediately distinct, with many admiring they way she’s steered her career from day one. "Sarah has a beautiful voice that comes out of her with total class, control and composure," Paul Dempsey of Something For Kate says.

24. Iva Davies

After putting Icehouse on hold for many years, their frontman Iva Davies has reminded many of his vocal prowess. "Iva has the ultimate brooding 80's pop voice," Michael Paynter says. "That stark, uncomplicated simplicity requires so much control and maturity. He can communicate so much by doing seemingly so little."

25. Ian Moss

The 'other' voice from Cold Chisel wasn’t missed by his peers. "Ian was the ‘other’ voice in Cold Chisel but when he sang he always elevated the band to further heights," Iva Davies says. Meanwhile that ‘other’ voice, Jimmy Barnes, says Moss’ voice, like his guitar work, comes straight from his soul with no filter. "Sometmes I believe those signs I saw scattered through the Chisel audience saying 'Mossy is God'," Barnes adds.
26. Doug Parkinson

One of the biggest voices in the country, and also one of the most popular among his peers, who are quick to note Parkinson has lost none of his power. "His voice is so rich and recognisable and beautiful," says Daryl Braithwaite. "A voice so big and so soulful can’t be ignored," notes Russell Morris.

27. Glenn Shorrock

The voice, heart and soul of Little River Band, who Greedy Smith accurately notes has "a voice like runny honey".
"He still sounds great," says Ross Wilson. "His range and delivery put him on the world charts but he understands how to handle a harmony. Believe me, a lot of lead vocalists are crap when it comes to doing harmonies."

28. Darren Hayes

His voice helped propel Savage Garden to the top of the US charts. Twice. "His voice has such engaging textures you believe every word he sings," Delta Goodrem notes. Brian Mannix pointed out Hayes’ "unlimited" range. "I was amazed at how he sang live and then bastard jumps up another octave!"
Anthony Callea is another fan. "His voice is sensitive, honest and draws you in in a very unique way."

29. Colin Hay

Kate Ceberano says the former Men at Work singer has transformed into more than just a vocalist. "He’s like a bard these days, wise and full of rock and roll road stories," she says. Connie Mitchell of Sneaky Sound System admires his "immaculate phrasing" and says "When I hear (Men at Work’s) Overkill gosh my heart skips."
Suze DeMarchi says "the man has an iron voice box. I reckon he could sing through a tsunami."

30. Gotye

The world may have only discovered Gotye, aka Wally deBacker, in the last year but his haunting voice and attention to detail have made him many fans among Australian singers for the past decade. "He sings so high and what a songwriter," Daryl Braithwaite says.
"Touring with Wally has made me even more in awe of him because his voice is seriously every bit as good live as it is on the recordings," Missy Higgins says.

31. Dan Sultan

Dan Sultan.

A singer/songwriter poised to make his commercial breakthrough, Sultan is already well respected as one of our most emotive singers. "His voice made so many people cry on first listen (myself included) that it should come with a warning," Ella Hooper says. "Stunningly rich and then uproarious, Dan has it all."
Missy Higgins loves the "rough around the edges, sexy rockabilly quality to his voice."

32. Kate Ceberano

Another singer plying her trade since a teenager, Kate Ceberano has impressed with her diversity. Brother Phil notes "there are very few singers in this country that are as talented as singers across the Soul/Pop, Disco, Musical Theatre and Jazz Genres than Kate." Ricki-Lee Coulter fell in love with her voice at a young age. "She is such an amazing entertainer and on stage she is so sensual and joyous, I could listen to her sing all day, her voice is like velvet."

33. Russell Morris

So much more than just The Real Thing, Russell Morris was a regular feature in the voting. "His voice has a lovely vulnerable quality and can really soar," remarks Dan Brodie. "He was one of the purest voices in the business," Ross Wilson says.
"He’s a great songwriter too and when he sings his so-called oldies they sound fresh and contemporary. His latest album Sharkmouth has cracked the ARIA Top 30 and, once again, he's carving out new territory."

34. Gerry Humphries (The Loved Ones)

The Loved Ones were not Australia’s most prolific bands, but frontman Gerry Humphries certainly left his mark vocally. Iva Davies said his band Icehouse tried to cover their songs several times, but struggled to match his vocal styles. "Gerry was immediately recognisable, and unlike any other voice I’d heard," Davies says.
Dave Faulkner says Humphries is "the greatest punk rock singer to come out of Australia, making only one album with The Loved Ones and then goodbye!"

35. Johnny O'Keefe

JOK launched Australian rock and roll. "He sang everything like his life depended on it," Dave Faulkner says. Ross Wilson says O’Keefe’s voice is often underrated. "I like him because he has his own sound and it really connects emotionally due to his sincerity about his mission. He really believed in what he was doing."

36. Olivia Newton-John

Another singer whose talents are often underrated, ONJ just lobbed behind JOK. "Olivia sings with such warmth and love while she tells stories through song, it’s no wonder the whole world will forever be in love with her magic," Delta Goodrem says.
"That sound, the warmth from such a high singer," David Campbell says. "Seducing every teenage boy and man with her sound even to this day."

37. Slim Dusty

As Lee Kernaghan notes simply, Slim Dusty is "the king of country." Troy Cassar-Daley agrees. "He is simply the voice of Australia and that’s a fact. He is the King of all Country singers here in Australia and to me the father of country music. When Slim sang the whole of Australia listened!"

38. Stephen Cummings

From ground-breaking work with the Sports to a long and interesting solo career, Stephen Cummings was regularly picked as one of our most intriguing and engaging vocalists by his peers. "His voice is so relaxed and loose," Angie Hart says. "Such a beautiful, natural tone, with an edge."

39. Ross Wilson

From Daddy Cool to Mondo Rock to his solo career, Ross Wilson is a man who still loves music, and it shows. "Ross has music as his pulse," Jimmy Barnes notes. "He hears it in every bit of this life he loves. He wants not only to share it but to bring it out of whoever he comes close to. He see's the rhythm in us all and wants to let it find it's way to our hearts and eventually to our feet. His voice can purr like a cat or growl like a caged beast. I think the beast inside is only happy when he is making music."

40. Bernard Fanning

Once the voice of Powderfinger, Bernard Fanning made Australian rock vocals a little more passionate. "His voice has such an amazing open and warm tone you just want to sing along with him," says Delta Goodrem. Brian Mannix says if Russell Morris has the most unique voice in Australia, Bernard Fanning is a close second. "Sincerity, tenderness and rocking, he’s got it all. And he sounds a bit like Russell Morris."

41. Adalita

Adalita.

The unmistakable voice behind Magic Dirt, and now a solo career, Adalita has many fans among our industry - several in Grinspoon. "She’s passionate and uncompromising," Grinspoon’s Phil Jamieson says. His bandmate Joe Hansen adds "Ads can roar or purr but she’s always a super powerful presence on stage. I think captivating is the word."

42. Judith Durham

43. Marc Hunter

44. Kasey Chambers

45. Joe Camilleri

46. Steve Kilbey

47. Keith Urban

48. Daniel Merriweather

49. Billy Thorpe
50. Jon Stevens

51. Tex Perkins
52. Kylie Minogue
53. Peter Allen
54. Dale Ryder (Boom Crash Opera)
55. Jack Jones
56. Tim Rogers
57. Peter Garrett
58. Jimmy Little
59. Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun)
60. Dame Joan Sutherland
61. Archie Roach
62. Dougie Mandagi (the Temper Trap)
63. Shirley Strachan (Skyhooks)
64. David McComb (The Triffids)
65. Smokey Dawson
66. Chris Cheney (The Living End)
67. Nic Cester (Jet)
68. Gareth Liddiard (the Drones)
69. Kav Temperly (Eskimo Joe)
70. Diesel
71. Lior
72. Glenn Richards (Augie March)
73. Rowland S Howard
74. Rick Price
75. Spencer P Jones
76. Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon)
77. Ian Rilen
78. Mark Seymour
79 Lisa Gerrard
80. Robert Forster (Go-Betweens)
81. Missy Higgins
82. James Reyne
83. John Toogood (Shihad)
84. Anthony Callea
85. Grant McLennan (Go Betweens)
86. Wendy Stapleton
87. Dave Faulkner (Hoodoo Gurus)
88. Matt Walker
89. Max Merritt
90. Ed Kuepper
91. Quan Yeomans (Regurgitator)
92. Abby Dobson
93. Sally Seltmann
94. Anthony Warlow
95. Ian Kenny (Birds of Tokyo)
96. Bertie Blackman
97. Ella Hooper
98. Wendy Saddington
99. Jeremy Oxley (Sunnyboys)
100. Christine Anu 

Source - http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/john-farnham-voted-australias-best-singer-of-all-time-by-panel-of-his-peers/story-e6frfn09-1226610268921