Sydney's Powerhouse Museum is paying tribute to Australian guitar manufacturer Maton with a huge exhibit.
The exhibition will be the largest ever retrospective of the icon brand and will pay tribute to creator Bill May, who started Maton in 1946.
Maton guitars have been popular with some of the country's best-known artists including Archie Roach AM, The Easybeats, Tommy Emmanuel AM, Missy Higgins, The Seekers and more, as well as international heavyweights like Elvis Presley and George Harrison.
Over 130 guitars will be on display, on loan from the personal collection of instrument collector Wadih Hanna. This includes the guitar The Easybeats' Harry Vanda used to write their classic track Friday On My Mind, the first guitar May ever made and more.
"Maton is an integral component in the development of Australian music both nationally and across the world," said Powerhouse chief executive Lisa Havilah. At the Powerhouse, we are committed to communicating the history of our cultural and scientific heritage to our visitors and we are thrilled to be able to tell the success story of this homegrown manufacturer.”
May's daughter Linda Kitchen now runs Maton with her husband Neville and has said they are "extremely grateful" for the opportunity.
“Neville and I took over the Maton company from my parents, Bill and Vera May back in 1986 and we are very proud of our involvement," said Kitchen.
"Over the last 40 years there have been changes and challenges like any business, but the main constant has been and remains our unabated focus on maintaining our high levels of quality and workmanship. I very much look forward to seeing the exhibition, including Wadih’s significant collection, and we’re extremely grateful to Powerhouse for creating an opportunity to share the Maton story with the broader community.”
"I have spent my whole life playing music to people in Australia. I mainly perform with Maton as I love playing an Australian-made guitar," added Emmanuel. "It’s great to see the unique history of this part of Australian music heritage brought to life for visitors in the major exhibition. I’m thrilled to have my first Maton on display here, my father, Hugh, gave me that wonderful instrument in 1960.”
The exhibition is set to launch on 25 July and run until 11 October 2020. Entry is free but you must book your place. Head here for all the info.
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