Mills Sisters

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For the Northern Territory group of the same name, see Mills Sisters (Northern Territory).

Mills Sisters
OriginTorres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia
GenresFolk, blues, reggae
Years active1950s – 1996
MembersCessa Mills
Ina Mills
Rita Mills

The Mills Sisters, formerly known as the Singing Grandmas, were a group of three sisters from Torres Strait Islands, Rita Mills and twins Cessa and Ina.

Early life[edit]

Ina and Cessa, who were twins, were born in 1927,[1] and Rita in 1934, on Naghir Island in the Torres Strait.[2] They have Torres Strait Islander heritage, including a great-grandmother of the Kaurareg people (the traditional owners of Possession Island, aka Bedanug), and a grandfather from Samoa. Ina married an Indonesian man from Timor.[1]

Their married names were Cessa Nakata, Ina Titasey, and Rita Fell-Tyrell.[3]

Career[edit]

All three sang and Rita played guitar, Cessa the ukulele and Ina the tambourine.[4]

Formerly known as the Singing Grandmas,[1] the group started singing in the 1950s,[5] with their first public appearances in pubs on Thursday Island,[6] and in the 1980s started to tour outside the Torres Strait.[5] They performed at the Brisbane Expo in 1988, the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland,[6] around Australia, and in the early 1990s toured England, France and New Zealand.[1] They also performed all over the Pacific[7]

Their version of "TI Blues" (a song written by Seaman Dan) has been called "a signature tune for the Torres Strait".[8] In 1995 they released an album, Frangipani Land.[1]

Cessa and Ina retired in 1995[6][3] or 1996 and Rita continued on a solo career,[9] until retiring in 2001,[10] and she died in 2004.[11][12]

Musical styles and languages[edit]

The Mills Sisters had a repertoire of over 200 songs, which ranged from Torres Strait Island love songs to contemporary music, and included country, blues, reggae. They sang in many languages besides English: a variety of Samoan, Hawaiian, Papua New Guinean, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island languages.[6]

Awards[edit]

The Australia Council for the Arts has since 1993 awarded a Red Ochre Award to an outstanding Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander) artist for lifetime achievement. It was awarded to the Mills Sisters in 1995.[13]

In film[edit]

The half-hour documentary film Frangipani Land Forever was made by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Indigenous department in 2008 in their "Message Stick" series, directed by Douglas Watkin.[14][3]

Discography[edit]

  • Frangipani land (1993) - New Market Music[15]
  • Those beautiful TI girls (2002) - Zuna Entertainment[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Ina's Story: The Memoir of a Torres Strait Islander Woman". Historians are Past Caring. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  2. ^ Stewart, Paul (11 March 2001). "Rita calls it a day, at last". Sunday Herald Sun.
  3. ^ a b c "Message Stick - Frangipani Land Forever". ABC Commercial. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  4. ^ The Australian, 13 December 2004, "Trailblazer sang Torres on to map" by Steve Connolly
  5. ^ a b Sunday Herald Sun, 14 March 1999, "Rita's family affair" by Paul Stewart
  6. ^ a b c d "Rita Mills". AustLit. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  7. ^ Sunday Herald Sun, 11 March 2001, "Rita calls it a day, at last." by Paul Stewart
  8. ^ Pryor, Cathy (8 September 2001). "Northern Delights". The Australian.
  9. ^ Australian Associated Press General News, 28 March 2003, "Better late than never for Uncle Seaman" by Jordan Baker
  10. ^ "Sunnies select Cairns". Cairns Post. 31 August 2001.
  11. ^ Connolly, Steve (13 December 2004). "Trailblazer sang Torres on to map". The Australian.
  12. ^ "Tributes for Mills Sister". The Age. 8 December 2004. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Red Ochre Award". Australia Council for the Arts. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014.
  14. ^ "Frangipani Land Forever (2008) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  15. ^ Frangipani land listing
  16. ^ Those beautiful TI girls listing
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