HE WAS one of Ballarat’s most loved musicians.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sadly on Monday, the face behind the Ballaarat song, Frank Callahan, died doing what he loved – playing music.
Mr Callahan was Ballarat’s one-man band.
If you didn’t recognise him from the Ballaarat song (scroll down to see video), you were bound to have seen him perform at the Ballarat Market on a Sunday morning.
Music was his life and he was more than happy to share his passion with everyone in Ballarat – something he did right up until his final days at Hailey House Hostel at the age of 87.
He died on Monday morning after suffering a heart attack.
Mr Callahan’s five children and much of Ballarat will always remember him as the enthusiastic musician with a kind heart.
“He used to play at the market every Sunday. I remember him talking to the young kids who were fascinated to hear someone play live music,” Mr Callahan’s son, Jim, said.
“Even in his 70s and 80s he would say ‘I’m off to play some music at the old people’s homes’. He loved to put his own music together.
“He was proud of his music and we’re proud of him.”
FRANK's BALLAARAT SONG:
At just 10-years-old, Mr Callahan picked up his first instrument, a violin.
More than 70 years later and he added the piano, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, guitar, bass and drums to his repertoire.
He attended St Patrick’s College and his son still remembers it was no surprise to hear him sing the school’s war cry into retirement, despite leaving the books behind early to join the post office as a messenger boy.
And even when working he still found time to perform music on the job. “He was a postmaster all over Victoria ... he still played music at the Post Office and sold CDs over the counter,” Jim said.
Between 2006 and 2008, Mr Callahan’s version of the Ballaarat song was played on repeat at Central Square’s Armstrong Street South entrance in a bid to stop troublemakers from loitering outside the shopping centre.
Retirement in 1982 also didn’t stop Mr Callahan, who released his 13th album on his 80th birthday.
But at the end of the day he was a caring father and a genuinely well-loved member of the community who made a big impression in more than one way.
A funeral service will be held at noon on Friday at St Patrick’s Cathedral.
alicia.thomas@fairfaxmedia.com.au