15 Facts About Gary Shearston

Gary Rhett Shearston was an Australian singer-songwriter and Anglican priest.

Gary Shearston was a leading figure of the folk music revival of the 1960s and performed traditional folk songs in an authentic style.

Gary Shearston was the son of former equestrienne Audrey Lilian and local shire councillor James Barclay Shearston.

Gary Shearston left school at age 16 to train as a press correspondent with United Press, while his first show business job was as a puppeteer with the Tintookies, an Australian travelling puppetry troupe.

The company, with Gary Shearston, performed Little Fella Bindi in theatres in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney from August to December 1958.

Gary Shearston worked in hotels and sang at The Folksinger and with the American gospel and blues singer Brother John Sellers.

In 1962 Gary Shearston signed with Leedon Records, which issued his debut single "The Ballad of Thunderbolt" and a three-track extended play, The Man from Snowy River.

Gary Shearston spent four years on the US east coast but was not allowed to perform due to visa restrictions.

In 1972 Gary Shearston returned to England and re-recorded tracks for an album, Dingo.

Gary Shearston returned to Australia in 1989 and later became a cleric in the Anglican Church of Australia in rural New South Wales.

Gary Shearston was ordained a deacon in 1991 and a priest in 1992.

Gary Shearston served as an assistant in Narrandera and Deniliquin.

Gary Shearston was the subject of "Different Drum" segment on ABC-TV's Australian Story "Program 24" broadcast on 6 November 1996.

Gary Shearston died on 1 July 2013, aged 74 years, at Armidale Hospital, New South Wales after having a stroke at his home, "Ayrdrie", near Tenterfield earlier that day.

Gary Shearston was survived by his wife Karen and two children.