05 Jan Lake Macquarie fan donates a lifetime of collecting Slim
Lake Macquarie country music enthusiast Steve Pandel has generously donated a massive collection of music memorabilia to the Slim Dusty Centre in Slim’s hometown of Kempsey, NSW.
A removal truck, whose services were donated by Mr Kingsley Mundey of International Art Services, arrived at the Centre carrying the collection, which Mr Pandel helped unload so the task of cataloguing the thousands of items can begin. Golden Chain’s Powerhouse Motel in Kempsey donated his accommodation in support of the much anticipated Mid North Coast initiative.
“I have no idea how many individual pieces there are but it is tons’ worth, that’s the easiest way to look at it.” Mr Pandel said. “It is not only Slim Dusty in all formats, it also has a lot of other Australian country music artists and American music as well. I used to say I was collecting for myself as well as for Kempsey.”
Thousands of records, cassettes, CD’s, magazines, press clippings, including “A Guitar And Hat Box Set” and other items are just some of the treasure trove that comprise just a portion of Mr Pandel’s total collection.
Slim’s lifelong partner, and Chair of the Slim Dusty Foundation, Joy McKean, spoke of the value to the Centre and future generations, of the Pandel collection. “Steve Pandel’s donation of his huge collection will form the basis of the archives to be held at the Slim Dusty Centre for future research and reference. Researchers and writers and historians of country music will have access to a huge trove of information. It is an invaluable resource for the Slim Dusty Centre, and Steve is to be congratulated upon his generosity and foresight in donating this archival treasure to us.”
Mr Pandel is a long-time friend of the Kirkpatrick family attending countless Slim performances and gaining access to some special collector’s items. He also has a close connection to the Slim Dusty Foundation and is a frequent visitor to events at the Centre.
“Slim’s music is all about stories of Australia. If you knew all the songs you would know everything on Australian history. Slim’s diction was always perfect and one could hear the lyrics of each song clearly. Slim, Joy and their family always gave me pleasure listening to their songs – they could always relate to the common man.” said Mr Pandel. “My collecting started out as something to do, but it ended up filling in an enormous gap in my life that gave me great enjoyment. I did have a value on the collection in the early years, but as it grew I started counting in tons.”