A PIECE of country music history has made its way to Tamworth as part of long journey home.
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A rare vintage manuscript was found amongst a treasure trove of items belonging to the late country music star Reg Lindsay.
The 74-year-old original writing of the McKean Sisters song 'Gymkhana Yodel' was discovered by luck by Mr Lindsay's wife.
Roslyn Lindsay was sorting through boxes, chests and crates to track down memorabilia for the 'Reg Lindsay Memory Barn' when she came across the piece of history.
"When I first opened it and saw a blank page I just put it aside," she said.
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"And I thought 'well I'll turn another page', talk about turn a page a get a surprise!"
Upon closer inspection Ms Lindsay had uncovered the original writings of Joy McKean, wife of the late Slim Dusty and one half of the McKean duo with her sister Heather.
Ms Lindsay believes the manuscript had been in her possession for around 30 years, as this was when Mr Lindsay divorced from Heather McKean.
Another four songs that had also been written by Joy were found in the old music book.
"It's an enormous find," Ms Lindsay said.
"We had no idea it was packed up in there."
With the songbook untouched for three decades, Ms Lindsay said she was glad it had not only been discovered but also ended up in the hands of someone who understood its significance.
"It's a very important piece of Australian country music history," she said.
Hoping to return the songbook to its original owner, Ms Lindsay said the manuscript was handed over to Tamworth Country Music Festival manager Barry Harley last week to make its way back to Joy McKean.
"It's a very important piece of paperwork and I wanted to make sure it was handed to someone that I knew would get it back to its original owner," she said.
Ms Lindsay said the story of the manuscript and how she found it will become part of the memory barn museum which will be open throughout the 2022 country music festival.
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