Mills Sisters facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mills Sisters
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| Origin | Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia |
| Genres | Folk, blues, reggae |
| Years active | 1950s – 1996 |
| Members | Cessa Mills Ina Mills Rita Mills |
The Mills Sisters were a famous music group. They were also known as the Singing Grandmas. This group had three sisters: Rita Mills and her twin sisters, Cessa and Ina. They came from the beautiful Torres Strait Islands.
Early Life of the Sisters
The twin sisters, Ina and Cessa, were born in 1927. Their younger sister, Rita, was born in 1934. They were all born on Naghir Island in the Torres Strait.
The sisters were Torres Strait Islanders. Their family history includes a great-grandmother from the Kaurareg people. The Kaurareg are the traditional owners of Possession Island. Their grandfather was from Samoa.
Ina married a man from Timor, Indonesia. The sisters' married names were Cessa Nakata, Ina Titasey, and Rita Fell-Tyrell.
Their Amazing Music Career
All three sisters loved to sing. Rita played the guitar, Cessa played the ukulele, and Ina played the tambourine.
The group started singing in the 1950s. They first performed in pubs on Thursday Island. In the 1980s, they began to perform outside the Torres Strait. They sang at the Brisbane Expo in 1988. They also performed at the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland.
The Mills Sisters toured all over Australia. In the early 1990s, they visited England, France, and New Zealand. They also performed in many places across the Pacific.
Their song "TI Blues" is very special to the Torres Strait. It was written by Seaman Dan. In 1995, the sisters released their album called Frangipani Land.
Cessa and Ina stopped performing in 1995 or 1996. Rita continued to sing on her own until 2001. She passed away in 2004.
Musical Styles and Languages
The Mills Sisters knew over 200 songs! Their music included traditional Torres Strait Island love songs. They also sang modern music. Their styles included country, blues, and reggae.
They sang in many different languages. Besides English, they sang in Samoan, Hawaiian, and Papua New Guinean languages. They also sang in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island languages.
Awards and Recognition
The Australia Council for the Arts gives out a special award. It is called the Red Ochre Award. This award honors an outstanding Indigenous Australian artist. It celebrates their achievements over a lifetime.
The Mills Sisters received the Red Ochre Award in 1995. This showed how important their music was.
In Film
A documentary film was made about the Mills Sisters. It is called Frangipani Land Forever. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) made this film in 2008. It was part of their "Message Stick" series. Douglas Watkin directed the film.
Discography
- Frangipani land (1993) - New Market Music
- Those beautiful TI girls (2002) - Zuna Entertainment
