Hidden history found
In a new series of Who Do You Think You Are?, Myf Warhurst looks into her family tree for the first time. The famed music journalist and TV presenter tells Siobhan Duck what she learned in the process
I hope that I’ve made the path a little easier for the young women or the disadvantaged who come after me. My ancestors had so many barriers to success, or even to living a fair life, that I owe them to make sure I used my position wisely.
Nature or nurture? It’s the age-old question. But thanks to the latest season of Who Do You Think You Are?
Myf Warhurst now has pretty strong evidence that her love of music is in the genes.
For a long time, Warhurst had assumed that her passion for pop, punk and all the parts in between was a result of an idyllic childhood spent in rural Victoria.
There, Warhurst grew up surrounded by music thanks to three older brothers who had a vast collection of records for her to rifle through by stealth. Sunday nights, she laughs, were spent watching Countdown rather than 60 Minutes. And her earliest memory is creeping into the lounge to lip synch and dance to ABBA when no one was watching.
But when the Spicks and Specks panellist was able to properly examine her family tree for the first time with the help of the expert Who Do You Think You Are? historians and genealogists, she discovered she hails from a long line of music lovers and performers that includes a Gold Rush vaudevillian and 1960s popstar April Byron.
“Look, I’m no scientist, but I reckon there might be something in the blood, because it’s a pretty strong line that’s come from both sides of the family and it’s still making itself known to this day,” she laughs.
“I’ve always adored the show, because family histories are so fascinating, and there were a lot of things that our family didn’t know about our ancestors. Mostly because the stories were buried, considered shameful at the time. Thankfully times have changed, and I feel honoured and privileged to give my ancestors a voice, when they were denied theirs.”
Warhurst’s grandmother, Ruby, was adopted and so, the presenter knew very little about her biological family’s history before WDYTYA?. In examining old records and documents, the historians pieced together the heartbreaking story of her great-grandmother Maud; an impoverished young woman forced to give up several children.
Although, as a long-time fan of the series, she has seen other celebrities embark on this journey, Warhurst wasn’t prepared for the “emotional impact” of hearing about the hardships of her own forebears.
“I really was surprised, and probably overwhelmed, because I wasn’t expecting my greatgrandmother’s story to be such a difficult one,” Warhurst says.
“I had no idea of the trauma that she must have experienced, being sent into a life of servitude at such a young age, as her story was not known in our family given my grandmother was adopted on the basis of a handshake.”
Warhurst is looking forward to sharing some of what she learned on the show with her parents and brothers when her episode airs, although she’s warned them that it “won’t be an easy ride.”
She’s excited too that investigating her history has opened doors to new relatives in the present day as well. Through the program, she made contact with Byron’s US-based family and she is eager to help them tell the singer’s remarkable story.
“So many women’s stories in Australian music have been ignored, and April’s was pretty incredible,” she says of the chart-topping singer and onetime star of The Go Show!.
Aside from unearthing new relatives, another perk of filming Who Do You Think You Are? for Warhurst was that it enabled her to briefly escape from Melbourne’s gruelling lockdowns.
Like many Melburnians, Warhurst found all sorts of novel ways to cope with being locked up in the house 24/7 for weeks on end.
“I went through so many phases,” she explains.
“First lockdown, I cooked and ate and drank. Second long-longlockdown, I baked sourdough but gave up the booze and started exercising. There was enough lockdown to try whatever you could. I was also very fortunate to be able to film this episode of
WDYTYA? (TV was considered essential work) which meant I was able to travel through Victoria (obeying lockdown rules of course) and do this. It made the experience even more special.”
Of course, now that the lockdowns are over and the borders have reopened, Warhurst has been free to roam much further afield, jetting off to Italy to fulfil her Eurovision hosting duties.
“It was absolutely brilliant to fly on a plane, to earth myself on the other side of the world, to eat pasta in Italy and to remember how much travel opens the mind and inspires new ideas,” she enthuses.
“And Eurovision came with such a feeling of excitement and renewed enthusiasm too. I couldn’t help but be swept away with the joy of it all.”
Warhurst and comedian
Joel Creasey have been hosting Eurovision coverage for five years now. She loves every second of the glitzy and slightly daggy affair, apart from being constantly asked why Australia is in it.
“It’s been many years now, just enjoy it!” she exclaims with mock frustration, before adding that she’d love to see Casey Donovan or Kylie Minogue representing the nation in 2023.
Now back on home soil, Warhurst’s next big performance is getting the band back together for another season of Spicks and Specks.
Any initial nerves she had about whether people would embrace the reboot as they had done the original have now been allayed and she can just enjoy doing what she does best: showcasing her remarkable knowledge of anything and everything to do with music.
She’s also squeezing in time to pen her memoirs, but admits her memory is pretty terrible and that she has begun to wish she’d kept a diary.
If she had, that would certainly make it easier for her ancestors to one day find out more about who Warhurst really was for any future episodes of Who Do You Think
You Are?
Unfortunately, Warhurst confesses her social media accounts don’t give too much away either apart from the odd post about work. So, when asked what she’d want her legacy to be, she smiles:
“Oooh, that’s a hard one,” she muses.
“I hope that I’ve made the path a little easier for the young women or the disadvantaged who come after me. My ancestors had so many barriers to success, or even to living a fair life, that I owe them to make sure I used my position wisely, and forge new ground to help those who come after. And to give people a lot of joy along the way. If I can share some joy, then the job’s done, isn’t it?”
Who Do You Think You Are? Tuesday, 7.30pm, SBS and streaming, SBS On Demand. Catch Myf’s episode on June 28.