THE AUSTRALIAN

The Australian has been Australia’s national newspaper since 1964. This folder contains reviews and articles written by Eric Myers and published in The Australian since September, 2015. Text published in the newspaper is reproduced here, with the addition of photographs which may or may not have appeared in The Australian.

OBITUARY: CHRIS QUA 1951-2023

by Eric Myers

The Australian, July 6, 2023

Chris Qua, universally known by his nickname “Smedley” was born in Orange, New South Wales, on November 14, 1951, the son of two schoolteachers Pat and Jack Qua. He died in Sydney on April 30, 2023 at the age of 71. In the late fifties the family, which included Chris’s younger brother Willie, who was born in 1953, relocated to Sydney, and moved into the boys’ grandparents’ place in Ashfield. Documentationist Bill Haesler writes: “The Qua old family home at Ashfield became a unique jazz mecca; home to temporarily homeless musicians, overnight revellers, interstate visitors, countless band rehearsals, band recordings, public holiday celebrations, impromptu jam sessions, musicians’ and family birthdays and soirées well into the 2000s”…