Remembering Ayr-Born Country Legend Zeta Burns

Photos supplied: Kyan Burns

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Tributes have been made to Australian Country legend Zeta Burns, who passed away at the end of last month at age 98.  

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Zeta Burns, née Brose, was born in Ayr on January 23^rd 1928. A country singer known as ‘The Yodelling Cowgirl”, Zeta fell in love with music as a teen and continued performing into her 90s.

Her music career began in her teens, when she performed at local clubs and on the radio.  
In an interview with the ABC in 2021, Zeta described her style as ‘hillbilly’.  

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“Once a hillbilly you are a hillbilly, ain’t ya? I don’t want to be anything else!” she said.

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Aged 20, Zeta took her act on the road with the Lester’s Follies Vaudeville show, travelling and performing across Eastern Australia, singing, dancing, and playing her guitar.  

‘I just absolutely loved it. The audience was marvellous because they hadn’t seen a show since before the war. They were just craving music and especially country music.  

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“There was always one hillbilly… then you’d have the sopranos, then the skits, then the dancers... a real variety of people.”

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Zeta said that back then, it wasn’t about getting paid. She performed for the love of it, to share her music with the people who wanted to hear it.  

After Zeta married, she focused on family life, and her music career was paused until 1979, when she picked up her guitar again and began appearing at club functions.  

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In the 1980s, she began releasing music, and performing at events like Dubbo’s Easter Country Festival and Noel Poley Everett’s Easter Festival in Gloucester.  

In 2015, Zeta was inducted into the Australian Country music hall of fame at Tamworth Country Music Festival.

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"It definitely is a career highlight," Zeta told the Courier Mail at the time.  

"There are so many memories and highlights but this is among the most special.

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“Not bad for an old hillbilly like me."

As well as her old school country sound, Zeta was known for her sharp dress sense and colourful, country costumes.  

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She will also be fondly remembered as the long-serving club patron of the Golden Wattle Country Music Club Inc. in Wynnum, Brisbane, Queensland.

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Following her passing, Zeta’s granddaughter, Kyan Burns, wrote that her Nana would be deeply missed.  

“Nana was such a talented woman and an absolute legend in the country music scene. Her love for music & performing was truly something special,” she shared.  

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“Still playing gigs until the very end, she leaves behind a legacy that will never be forgotten.”

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