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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.

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

Early life


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


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


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


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


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



References


  1. "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. "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. Sunday Herald Sun, 14 March 1999, "Rita's family affair" by Paul Stewart
  6. "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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