Robert Graeme Barnard[2] was born on 24 November 1933 in Melbourne.[3][4] Barnard's parents had formed a dance band in the 1920s, his mother Kath (died April 1981) was the bandleader and pianist, his father Jim Barnard (died November 1983) was on saxophone, drums and banjo.[3][5] His older brother, Len (1929–2005), joined them on drums at age 11.[3] Barnard took trumpet lessons from age 11 and played clarinet in a local brass band before he joined the family band, in 1947.[6][7][8]
Len, on drums, formed his own group, Len's South City Stompers (later Len Barnard's Famous Jazz Band) in 1948, which Barnard joined on trumpet.[5] Their first recording was in 1949 – on his 16th birthday.[9] In June of the following year they began a weekly broadcast on radio station 3KZ as Len Barnard's Dixieland Jazz Band, with the line-up of Barnard on trumpet, Len on piano, Tich Bray on clarinet, Graham Fitzgibbon on banjo, Bill Frederlckson on bass, Frank Traynor on trombone and Fred Whitworth on drums.[10][11] They performed at the Australian jazz festival in Melbourne over four days in late December 1952.[12] They performed on Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC)'s radio station, 3AR from March 1953.[13]
Barnard played with Len's group until August 1955,[5] when their touring ended after being "cheated of their takings" and stranded in Tumut.[9] In 1957 Barnard relocated to Sydney to perform with Ray Price Trio, alongside Price on guitar and banjo and Dick Hughes on piano, before returning to Melbourne.[9] In February 1958 he joined Graeme Bell's band (later called Graeme Bell and His All-Stars) on trumpet with Len on drums, Bell on piano and Lou Silberseisein on bass for an Australian tour.[14] Barnard worked for Brashs from 1958 to 1962, while performing after business hours.[9]
He returned to Sydney in 1962 and in September, as a member of Graeme Bell and His All-Stars, he appeared on Trad Pad, a TV special programme.[15]
