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LOCAL LIFE
ONE OF THE HAWKESBURY’ S FINEST...
One of Dwayne Elix’ s heroes is the great Hank Williams. Here he is singing one of Williams’ greatest hits, Your Cheatin’ Heart. by Greg Martin
During the during Qin Dynasty which ruled China between 1046-256 BC, the very first Chinese emperor, Quin Shi Huang, sent his alchemist, Xu Fu, to cruise the eastern seas to seek out the mythical Elixir of Life.
Along for the ride were 3000 young boys and girls.
The elixir was believed to be on the equally mythical Penglai Mountain – they found neither elixir or mountain and Xu and all the 3000 kids never returned.
Or perhaps they found the mountain and have lived there happily ever after since! Such is life! For South Windsor’ s Dwayne Elix, his Elixir of Life is music which has been an integral part of his life since he came into this world in 1965.
Over the past 60 years, Dwayne’ s life has been music, more music and a bit more music.
His parents, Trev and Kaye, were both talented, self-taught musicians – Trev on the guitar, and Kaye had those fingers working on the guitar and piano.
There’ s little doubt that as Dwayne bided his time in the womb, he would have felt the vibrations as Trev and Kaye serenaded their baby.
Little wonder that music has been for Dwayne, the Elixir of Life!
Down the years since, Dwayne has developed a reputation as one of the hardest working entertainers in the Australian music scene.
Since he learned to play the guitar, mandolin and banjo in his early teens, Dwayne has been able to enjoy all aspects of music- playing
instruments, singing, composing and the icing on the cake, meeting a host of Australian music legends.
He’ s rubbed shoulders with and or played alongside Frank Ifield, Keith Urban, Troy Cassar- Daley, Phil Emmanuel, Casey Chambers, James Blundell and fellow South Australian and 11 times Golden Guitar winner, Beccy Cole.
Dwayne did the hard yards during his formative years in the music industry but since 1994; after moving to South Windsor, he formed his own band, Dwayne Elix and the Engineers.
“ The band belts out a huge range of neverto-be-forgotten Country and Western hits and our performances are always popular on the club scene across NSW, Victoria and South Australia,” Dwayne said.
“ In fact, locals can judge for themselves as we will be playing at North Richmond Panthers on Sunday, August 31.” Plug over! Dwayne’ s journey in entertainment began after learning the guitar at 13 and playing alongside his parents in Sunday night jam sessions at the family farm in Clair, South Australia.
“ Our gigs attracted family and neighbours from all around the district who enjoyed listening to songs by all of the great Country and Bluegrass artists such as Peter Seegar, Carter Family, Johnny Cash, Tex Morton and many others,” Dwayne said.
“ It was a great learning experience, and it pointed me in the right direction in making a career in music.”
That kicked off with young Dwayne and Trev“ playing for meals and a soft drink” at the local
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6 ISSUE 183 // AUGUST 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT