Welcome to the Bush Song Newsletter. A source of information for people interested in Bush Poetry, Bush Music, competitions and events all done in the interest of preserving the heritage and culture of Australia.
In This Issue: June 2005
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Editorial or "Ric's Ramblings"
G'day and welcome to another edition of "The Bush Song".
Hope you have all had a great couple of months since our last edition. For those of you who have been subscribers for a while, I hope you like the new layout of the newsletter. I just can't stop fiddling with things!!
Changes To The Site
I think I told you last issue that a web site is always a work in progress and more changes have been made to the site. I trust this has improved its graphical appeal. There is so much work to do on it actually as the site has been online since 1998 and has sort of evolved from the original one. This means there is a lot of outdated code and layouts, but with about 140 pages, it is a rather large job to fix it all. Unfortunately there is no magic wand and one day I will get around to doing a total rewrite. Yes, one day!!
May was record month for visitors to the site. We had 2990 unique visitors who loaded some 13,000 odd pages. That's not counting the Forum either as the stats counter isn't on the Forum. It's great to see more people accessing the site because this means that the message of bush poetry and music is being spread. Hopefully, we will gain more and more devotees!
New Poets On Bush Verse.com
Great news for all you lovers of bush poetry. We have two exciting additions coming to the bush verse pages. First of all we are pleased to welcome Ellis Campbell to the site. Ellis is this issue's featured poet and is a very well known gentleman far and wide in bush poetry circles. The other exciting part about having Ellis on the site is that he has given me permission to publish his well known writing tips. I hope that these will inspire some of our visitors to "have a go" at putting pen to paper and exercising some creativity. The writing tips may be a little way off yet as there is a fair bit of typing involved and I am a tad busy at the moment. If any of you wonderful people would like to do some typing for me, then let me know!
The other poet to join our ranks with their own pages is the inimitable Jack Drake. I think Jack is probably best known for his poem "The Cattle Dog's Revenge". I am currently working on getting Jack's pages online together with the five poems he has generously given permission to publish.
Remember, this site is for the bush poetry and music community. If you want some space on here, then you are welcome. I need 5 pieces of work, a detailed bio and a photograph. Copyright on anything vests with the author at all times.
Bushverse.com Forum
I have made some changes to the Forum in the last couple of days. A new section has been added to give Australian Music its own area. So now I'm looking for some posts (hint, hint!!). In particular I am after some contributions if you are a muso. Please send some guitar tabs and lyrics of any old bush tunes in particular that you may have. There are already a number of sites online where you can get hold of more modern music, but I'm afraid there isn't much of the good old traditional stuff around.
I have put a post on there about the definition of Australian Music and/or Bush Music. In conjunction with Peter Klein and Geoffrey Graham, we are to come up with a definition for adoption by the Victorian Bush Poetry & Music Association. Research to date has indicated that this is going to be quite an onerous task so I am looking for any opinions you may care to share. Please post these on the forum.
Click here to go to the Forum and join. The Forum will open in a new browser page, so when you are finished, just close it to come back to the Newsletter.
Browser Tricks
The web can be a funny thing and designing pages can always be difficult from an accessability perspective. Probably the most common complaints I hear are about text size and scroll bars. Here's how to cure the problem!!
First of all, get yourself Mozilla Firefox Web Browser. There is a link on the front page of the Bush Verse site which will take you to the download area. This is a far superior browser to Internet Explorer in my humble opinion and is used by most of the knowledgable people I know in the computer industry. If text size is ever a problem, you simply hit the Control Key and the Plus Key together and the text will increase in size. This will generally work in Internet Explorer as well, but I have come across sites where it won't.
The issue with Scroll Bars is a little more tricky. Most web pages today are written for browsers with screen displays running at 1024 x 768. If your eyes are not so good though, many people run their screens at 800 x 600 and consequently the page won't fit into the screen size. This is the reason for the scroll bars. If you're having problems with any of this and want to change something but don't know how, then put a post on the Forum. If you have a question about it, then no doubt others will have too and it's easier to answer one rather than 20. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then don't worry..... you probably know a damn site more about what's under the bonnet of a car or can cook a much better sponge than I can!!
Travelling Around
Jude and I went up to the Murray Muster at Mulwala. What a great time and competition. The standard of competitors was exceptional and Carol Heuchan took out the champion Jillaroo and Greg North took out the champion Jackaroo.
Talk about busy though! We never stopped from Friday night until lunchtime Sunday. Whilst that was great, there wasn't much time to socialise and personally that's one of the great things about going to bush poetry events. You get to catch up with people you haven't seen for ages. If you are running an event, I would urge you to take this into consideration. Make sure there is time set aside for winding down, having a social drink and chewing the fat with a few mates.
Thanks to all our subscribers and contributors for supporting the site and the newsletter. Talk to you all again soon.
Letters To The Editor
Got something to say about the site, the Forum or the Newsletter or anything else you think might be relevant? Then drop us a line and mention it's for inclusion in the Newsletter.
Another letter has been received. I won't say it's a flood, but one is better than nothing, particularly when it is a very interesting story. That was certainly the case with the last issue's letter. It was also an extremely interesting story.
The background story is that I received an email asking me about the traditional bush song "Brisbane Ladies" which is also known as "Augathella Station". Even more interesting was that this letter came from a bloke in Ireland. So nice to see we're attracting some international visitors. Dan wanted to know if I had details of any more verses of the song that would give more details of the drovers journey and their arrival at Augathella Station. I emailed him back and advised that I had six versions of the song in my possession and none of them detailed the full journey.
I was also very curious as to why an Irishman would be researching a traditional Australian bush song written by that great songwriter Anonymous.
Dan's reply is listed below and I have put my comments in blue:-
Hi Ric,
Thank you warmly for your kind and helpful response to my enquiry and for sharing so enthusiastically your love of traditional music and poetry - this is also the feeling given by your website, and I guess it was that encouraged me to email.
There are a couple of questions in your email and I will respond below marked by ellipses ...
Like all folk songs Dan, there are many versions. I have six I think and I perform a different version to that one. None of the versions that I have mention any further travels or arrival at Augathella Station, but you will note in the version online that there is mention in the last verse of “when we get back to the Augathella Station”.
... This last is true but the whole account of the return trip is in the future tense - it is a journey anticipated from Brisbane
and the passage you cite shows that the journey is to terminate at Augathella.
It is a great song with a great beat to it that usually gets people clapping along and tapping their feet. I am curious as to why you are researching the song Dan and would appreciate your advice on this.
... Well the background is that my wife and I together with a group of
friends here play music together once a month - mostly Irish music and songs,
but with a fair admixture of international folksongs, jazz and popular music.
And because I grew up in Perth, WA, I sometimes sing some verses of
either the 'Catalpa' or 'Augathella Station', which I learned when I was a
student there forty years ago.
However regarding 'Augathella' I have always been puzzled by the words 'adieu', and 'we'll rant and we'll roar', because neither of them seemed appropriate to a droving context - I may be wrong but I don't recall encountering another Spanish word in an Australian song?
Thus it was a short while ago I decided to research the song on the Web and quickly learned that the Australian version is attributed to a Saul Mendelsohn and dated to circa 1891, which is only eight years after Augathella was gazetted in 1883. Mendelsohn was a writer of ballads and he died in 1897 and is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Toowong - please pardon me if you know all this. Mendelsohn based this song on the late eighteenth century English naval shanty 'Spanish Ladies', and collation shows that he copied many details from the shanty, including the air and the words 'adieu' and 'we'll rant and we'll roar', but he substituted 'true Queensland drovers' for 'true British sailors'. So that answered my question very satisfactorily - the words were not written of Queensland drovers but of British sailors sailing from Spain to England.
Mendelsohn also maintained the theme of 'Spanish Ladies', namely hard, tough men (sailors/drovers) farewelling amiable 'ladies' and good times to undertake an arduous journey home along a prescribed route, and this prompted me to check on the placenames in 'Augathella'. This showed that Caboolture, Kilcoy, Blackbutt, Taromeo, Yarraman, and Nanango are all appropriately sequenced for a route west to Augathella, but they all lie between Brisbane and Nanango and the distance to Nanango is only about 200 Km of a 700 Km journey. This is six placenames for 200 Km and nothing for the remainder - a very inequitable account of the journey.
Moreover Nanango is at the start of the crossing of the Great Dividing Range and so it marks the start of an even more arduous part of the journey. Furthermore when Mendelsohn wrote the song there were drovers arriving in Brisbane from Augathella and there are good indications that he himself knew both the journey and the revelry scene in Brisbane because he names some individuals, namely Bob Williamson, old Tim in Nanango, and Bob Anderson on the banjo in Brisbane. It seems to me that these references were for the entertainment of people who knew these individuals.In these circumstances it seems to me remarkable that Mendelsohn's account of the forthcoming journey to Augathella was not more comprehensive. It seems likely to me that when the song was removed from its droving context it was shortened for a different audience who were indifferent to the relative positions of Nanango and Augathella?
Mendelsohn's assertions regarding Nanango are also interesting , e.g., that 'I wouldn't go near there but I flamin' well must', since the modern route to Augathella does not go near Nanango, but takes a more southerly passage. Finally his deprecation of Nanango must have been badly received by some people of that town since I notice in the version given by D. Stewart and N. Keesing in The Pacific book of Bush Ballads p. 42 this verse has been completely sanitised:
'Then it's ride through Nanango, that jolly old township,
"Good day to you, lads," with a hearty shake-hands;
"Come on, this is my shout!", "Well, here's to our next trip!"
"And we hope you'll come back, boys, tonight to our dance".
I apologise for having gone on at such length and my only excuse
is that I haven't had an opportunity to run this past anyone
that might be interested and know the general background.
Please do not feel obliged to respond in any way.
I am doing some research of my own at present, but far broader. We have recently established the Victorian Bush Poetry & Music Association and I, along with a couple of others, have been charged with the task of coming up with a definition of “Bush Music”. This is turning out to be quite onerous. I have always maintained that our traditional bush music is mainly derived from Irish/Celtic styles and many of the tunes to words written here belong to traditional Irish folk songs. The problem is that because Australia has become so multi-cultural we have imported musical styles and traditions from all over the world. So where do you draw the line in the sand?
... Well I don't think I can help much - the picture I have is of Australian
songs and music being like the confluence of many rivers, some small and
some big, and because music figures so strongly in Irish and Scots
culture they are two of the big ones. But as my discoveries concerning
'Augathella' show, there are many other rivers contributing their distinctive
currents. Defining such a complex process is perhaps beyond the practicable?
For example, there is no real agreement here on what constitutes 'Irish music'.
I publish a newsletter on my site every two months with the next issue due out in June. With your permission, I will publish your email in Letters to the Editor and see if I get any responses from readers regarding other versions that are out there.
... I will be delighted if you could do that.
In conclusion Ric, thanks for your attention and for your encouragement.
Sincerely,
Dan Mc Carthy
Well there you go. So if you know of any other versions of the song or any other bits and pieces about it, then please contact me so I can pass the information on to Dan.
Traditional Featured Poet - C.J. Dennis
DENNIS, CLARENCE MICHAEL JAMES (1876-1938), the second name was never used,
C.J. Dennis was the son of a retired sea captain who kept an hotel, and his wife Catherine Tobin, was born at Auburn, South Australia, on 7 September 1876. He was educated at Laura and at the Christian Brothers College at Adelaide, where with three others he produced a school paper The Weary Weekly. On leaving school he became a junior clerk in an office, but was shortly afterwards discharged because he found Rider Haggard's novels more interesting than office work. After working for his father for some time he began sending verses to the Critic, an Adelaide paper. He joined its staff when he was 22, but soon after went to Broken Hill, where he worked successively as miner, carpenter, labourer and canvasser. It was difficult to make even a bare living at any of these occupations, but his experiences widened his knowledge of human nature. He returned to Adelaide, took up journalism again, and in 1906 founded The Gadfly, a bright publication started with scarcely any capital, which survived for 18 months. Among its contributors was Will Dyson (q.v.), afterwards to establish a world-wide reputation as a cartoonist.
Towards the end of 1907 Dennis went to Melbourne, established himself at Toolangi some 30 miles away in the hills, and worked as a free-lance journalist on the Bulletin and other papers. In 1913 he published his first volume Backblock Ballads and Other Verses by "Den" (C. J. Dennis). This had but a moderate success, though it contained four of the poems in his next book The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, which made his reputation. It was published in 1915, and over 50,000 copies were sold in Australia within a year. Editions were also issued in Canada and the United States, and before the end of 1919 over 100,000 copies has been issued. Before its first publication Dennis had been working in the attorney-general's department of the Commonwealth government, and was for a time private secretary to Senator Russell. The success of his book enabled him to go to the country again, and he made himself a very pleasant home at Toolangi. Other books followed in quick succession, The Moods of Ginger Mick (1916), The Glugs of Gosh (satire) (1917), Backblock Ballads re-issued with later verses added (1918), and Digger Smith in the same year. In 1919 Jim of the Hills, a Story in Rhyme was published, and in 1921 A Book for Kids (in prose and verse) reissued under the title of Roundabout in 1935. In 1922 Dennis joined the staff of the Herald, Melbourne, and during the next 15 years did a large amount of writing including much verse on topics of the time. Rose of Spadgers, a sequel to Ginger Mick, was published in 1924, and in 1935 The Singing Garden, mostly a selection from prose and verse contributed to the Herald, appeared. He died at Melbourne on 21 June 1938. He married in 1917, Olive Herron, who survived him. There were no children.
The great success of Dennis was due to his humour and pathos, his healthy sentiment, and his kindly view of human nature. If his sentiment at times tended to slop over into sentimentality, it was to some extent concealed by his humorous use of slang, of which a glossary was provided at the end of most of the volumes. Much of his work of later years was merely competent verse and, even when at his best, he tended to make the separate poems too long. But he succeeded in a very difficult feat. He wrote verse that could be read with pleasure both by uneducated people and by intellectuals. He was an excellent journalist, a first-rate literary craftsman, and he wrote some of the best popular poetry that has appeared in Australia. Personally he was a good companion much liked by his many friends.
Sources - Guy Innes, The Herald, Melbourne, 12 May 1922; The Argus, Melbourne, 22 June 1938; A. H. Chisholm, The Herald, 13 November 1943; personal knowledge
Information from Dictionary of Australian Biography by Percival Serle.
A Poem by C J Dennis
This is a poem I have heard done around the traps a bit, so I thought I would include it for you all here. The style in which Dennis writes can be difficult to translate to performance for many poets due to the style of language. You may also find a need to read some of his lines several times in order to get the "gist" of the words.
Washing Day
The little gipsy vi'lits, they wus peepin' thro' the green
As she come walkin' in the grass, me little wife, Doreen.
The sun shone on the sassafras, where thrushes sung a bar.
-The 'ope an' worry uv our lives wus yelling fer 'is Mar. -
I watched 'er comin' down the green; the sun wus on 'her 'air -
Jist the woman that I marri'd, when me luck wus 'eading fair.
I seen 'er walkin' in the sun that lit our little farm.
She 'ad three clothes-pegs in 'er mouth, an' washin' on 'er arm -
Three clothes-pegs, fer I counted 'em, an' watched 'er as she come.
"The stove-wood's low," she mumbles, "an' young Bill 'as cut 'is thumb,"
Now, it weren't no giddy love-speech, but it seemd to take me straight
Back to the time I kissed 'er first beside 'er mother's gate.
Six years 'uv wedded life we've 'ad, an' still me dreams is sweet. . .
Aw, them bonzer little vi'lits, they wus smilin' round me feet.
An' wots a bit uv stove-wood count, wiv paddicks grinnin' green,
When a bloke gits on to dreamin' uv the old days an' Doreen -
The days I thort I snared a saint; but since I've understood
I 'ave wed a dinkum woman, which is fifty times as good.
I 'ave wed a dinkum woman, an' she's give me eyes to see.
Oh, I ain't been mollycoddled, an' there ain't no fluff on me!
But days when I wus down an' out she seemd so 'igh above;
An' a saint is made fer worship, but a woman's made fer love.
An' a bloke is growin' richer as sich things 'e comes to know. . .
(She pegs another sheet an' sez, "The stove-wood's gettin' low.")
A bloke 'e learns a lot uv things in six years wiv a tart;
But thrushes in the sassafras ain't singin' like me 'eart.
'Tis the thrushes 'oo 'ave tort me in their choonful sort o' way
That it's best to take things singin' as yeh meet 'em day be day.
Fer I wed a reel, live woman, wiv a woman's 'appy knack
Uv torkin' reason inside out an' logic front to back.
An' I like it. 'Struth I like it! Fer a wax doll in a 'ome,
She'd give a man the flamin' pip an' longin's fer to roam.
Aw, I ain't no silk-sock sookie 'oo ab'ors the rood an' rough;
Fer, city-born an' gutter-bred, me schoolin' it wus tough.
An' I like the dinkum woman 'oo . . . (She jerks the clothes-prop, so,
An' sez, so sweet an' dangerous, "The stove-wood's gittin' low.")
See, I've studied men in cities, an' I've studied 'em out 'ere;
I've seen 'em 'ard thro' piety an' seen 'em kind thro' beer.
I've seen the meanest doin' deeds to make the angels smile,
An' watched the proudest playin' games that crooks 'ud reckon vile.
I've studied 'em in bunches an' I've read 'em one be one,
An' there isn't much between 'em when the 'ole thing's said an' done.
An' I've sort o' studied wimmin - fer I've met a tidy few -
An' there's times, when I wus younger, when I kids meself I knew.
But 'im 'oo 'opes to count the stars or measure up the sea,
'E kin 'ave a shot at woman, fer she's fairly flummoxed me. . .
("I'll 'ave to 'ave some wood," she sez, and sez it most perlite
An' secret to a pair uv socks; an' jams a peg in, tight.)
Now, a woman, she's a woman. I 'ave fixed that fer a cert.
They're jist as like as rows uv peas from 'at to 'em uv skirt.
An' then, they're all so different, yeh find, before yeh've done.
The more yeh know uv all of 'em the less yeh know uv one.
An' then, the more yeh know uv one. . .(She gives 'er 'air a touch:
"The stove-wood's nearly done," she sez. "Not that it matters much")
The little gipsy vi'lits, they wus smilin' round me feet.
An' this dreamin' dilly day-dreams on a Summer day wus sweet.
I 'eaves me frame frum orf the fence, an' grab sme little axe;
But, when I'm 'arf way to the shed, she stops me in me tracks.
"Yer lunch is ready. That ole wood kin wait a while."
Strike! I'm marri'd to a woman. . . But she never seen me smile.
Modern Featured Poet - Ellis Campbell
Ellis Campbell is extremely well known in bush poetry circles. His work is highly regarded and performed by many bush poets. This is effectively the ultimate tribute to any poet. Ellis has compiled note on writing bush poetry and they will soon be included on the Bushverse pages with Ellis' permission. This is the spirit of bush poetry in action where a successful writer gives something back by sharing their knowledge.
Here is the story of Ellis Campbell.
Ellis Campbell walked five kilometres each way to attend the little bush primary school of Tallawang, situated between Gulgong and Dunedoo, NSW, where one teacher tried to teach ten or twelve children in six different classes. Tallawang School closed when Ellis was 13 because an average daily attendance of nine pupils could not be maintained.
Ellis was the eldest of six in a very poor family and stayed in the bush to help his father cut railway sleepers while his mother shifted to Gulgong to get the younger members of the family a bit more education. He took up shearing at age 17 and followed this work for 33 years, working in shearing sheds in four states of Australia. In the off-season he did timber cutting, fencing, farm work, broke in horses and trapped rabbits.
Ellis always had an ambition to write but considered his lack of education too much handicap. He did write bits of funny poems to amuse the other shearers around the sheds but threw these away again. In 1981, when he was 54 years of age, he finally began writing seriously and entering literary competitions around Australia. He has now won 488 awards in literary competitions in all states of Australia, including 110 first prizes and 81 second.
His poem Wanda Jill is one of only five Australian poems (including Banjo Paterson’s Clancy Of The Overflow & Will Ogilvie’s The Pearl Of Them All) to be included in Cowboy Poetry - The Reunion published in Salt Lake City, USA, in 2004.
He was admitted to Degree of Writing Fellow by NSW Branch of Fellowship of Australian Writers in 1995 and was the first Australian poet to be offered Honorary Life Membership of Metverse Muse, worldwide poetry journal published in India, in 2000.
Some other highlights have been. Winning the written poetry (Silver Brumby) competition at Corryong, Vic. three years from four contested. Winning The Bronze Spur competition at Camooweal Qld, three years from six contested. Winning Henry Lawson Soc at Gulgong in 1985 from a field of 302 entries. Winning $1,000 first prize in the O'Mara's High Country Original performance poetry competition at Stanthorpe, Qld, in 2002. He contested this competition four times for one first, two second & a third. Winning The Blackened Billy competition at Tamworth once, four times second, once third and twelve highly commended over fifteen years. Winning Robert Burns—Bush Poet? section in Sutton Forest competition with The Memory Burns—also $1,000 “poem of the festival” with the same poem (featured in this newsletter)
Ellis has performed his poetry live on Australia All Over three times and his poem Beach House Honeymoon is track 7 on the ABC CD Macca’s Sunday Best. His poems have been included in 88 anthologies, including USA, India and Guernsey, Channel Islands.
Ellis has self-published five books of verse and has sold right out of the first three. He currently has The Gloss Of Bush, 53 major award-winning poems and Shadows Of Yesteryear, 42 major award-winning poems. These sell at $12 each (including postage) and are available from Ellis Campbell, 1 Lawson St, Dubbo, NSW 2830
THE MEMORY BURNS
O, your hert is in the Highlands on a bonny autumn morn
when a mellow sun is shining with the tint o' amber corn.
Aye, it's somewhere close to Heaven - I can see the heather sway -
and my dormant blood bestirs to hear the skirling bagpipes play.
And this little piece o' Scotland with its shades o' Brigadoon
offers solace to believers when they hear the stirring tune
o' The Scottish Soldier's lyrics lilting clear their braw refrain -
sending sweet nostalgic memories winging homeward once again.
O'er the melancholy distance floods the visions never seen;
bluer lochs and sheltered glens abound and braes of verdant green.
And the kye and cuddie grazing in the loaning nigh the burn
bring a muckle sigh o' yearning for the heather and the fern.
Aye, Australia guid we're seeing with its strath below the ben;
but this little bit o' Scotland boasts a bothy that I ken.
By the bramble and the byre skirts a simple country wynd -
with its bitter-sweet reminder o' the home I left behind.
Hear the skelp o' smirr that whispers through the gloaming and the glen;
bide awee in Sutton Forest and I know ye'll came again.
Keek at beauty in abundance where the mountain mists drift low;
'tis a bonny piece of Scotland that the southern highlands know.
Just imagine Robert Burns, Australian - living different times -
farmer still perhaps and writing in the style of bushmen's rhymes.
Hot winds blow from dusty plains and shrivel vegetation's growth -
burnished sun and cloudless skies provoke the farmers' cursing oath.
Squawking crows on sagging fence-lines, harking loud their cruel refrain;
soaring hawks in endless numbers gracing skies devoid of rain.
Land of drought and flood and famine, as our pioneers recall;
yet a land of lavish bounty where she casts her wondrous shawl.
But it's just a wheen o' blethers all this twaddle I conceive;
Robert Burns is nae Australian but was Scottish all perceive.
But his memory dwells forever in the Sutton Forest glen;
if your hert is in the Highlands then it's something that ye ken!
O, your hert is in the Highlands on a bonny autumn morn
when a mellow sun is shining with the tint o' amber corn.
Aye, it's somewhere close to Heaven - I can see the heather sway -
and my dormant blood bestirs to hear the skirling bagpipes play.
©Ellis Campbell, 2004
Would you like to be a featured poet?
I am very keen to hear from other bush poets who would like to feature in the newsletter. It's a great way to become known to a wider audience than you maybe already and an opportunity to promote yourself, your work and your products. Simply email me a photo, a biography and one poem to appear in the newsletter.
Next issue's feature poet will be Carol Reffold.
Events & Competitions
Rather than post all details of events and competitions in the newsletter, please go to the Events page on the site at www.bushverse.com . You can also have a look at the Bush Verse Contacts page on the site for a listing of regular events in your area and what clubs you might like to join.
If you know of a particular event, please simply post it on the Forum at the Bush Verse website and I will transfer it to the Events pages. There is now a special section on the Forum for Events, Competitions and the like. This is not only to give notice of events, but also to post results if you have been involved.
Your Chance To Win
The "Bush Song" Poetry Competition
Win what - you may well ask, and the answer is simply fame and glory. This issue's theme is the contribution of women to the building of our nation. Get your poems written and post it on the Forum at the Bush Verse site. All poems submitted will be judged by an anonymous bush poet (and I can assure you it isn't me) and the winner announced in the next edition of the newsletter.
We have found an excellent judge for our little competitions. The name of the judge is A. Judi Cater. Our thanks must go to this anonymous person who is putting in the hard yards in pouring over the works to select winners. This wonderful person has even agreed to do critiques on the work submitted, which will be in a positive vein, to assist writers. If anyone wishes to contact A. Judi Cater, they can do so via ric@bushverse.com and I will pass it on to the judge.
The winner of our April competition for writing a poem on Australian Folk Heroes and Heroines is Merv Webster with his poem entitled Catherine (Kate) Buchanan " Congratulations Merv. It was great to see a few more entries for this competition, particularly from a couple of new players, Bernie de Silva and Therese Mitchell.
Here is Merv's winning poem:-
CATHERINE [KATE] BUCHANAN
Her father called her Kitty this
young lass with lustrous hair;
worn long around an oval face
and eyes ... the brownest pair.
She was the apple of his eye,
his right-hand man and bright;
and once she rode ... no word of lie,
some sixteen miles ... 'twas do or die,
to save her dad one night.
A tall dark stranger rode one eve
into the Gordon's camp;
and Cath'rine felt quite drawn to him,
she rather liked his stamp.
Seemed Nat Buchanan felt the same,
for cupid shot his dart,
and from that time he often came
till Katie Gordon took his name;
she'd won this bushman's heart.
Nat loved Kate's gentle manner while
her soft voice had its charm,
compassion and her Christian faith
both walked 'round arm in arm.
Tenacity and courage lay
deep down within her soul.
Much needed when Nat was away
off blazing trails ... Old Paraway,
though Kate too played her role.
She was the first white female to
inhabit 'Bowen Downs';
a pioneering marvel as
there were no nearby towns;
then in the year of sixty-four
Kate bore her Nat a son,
young Gordie, whom they'd both adore,
as Kate and Nat would have no more;
he'd be their only one.
Kate understood Nat's passion to
shift outposts further out
and though it meant his absence her
comportment sure was stout.
So often she would play the role
of waving Nat good-bye,
but with young Gordie by her side
she'd watched with pride as Nat did ride
out where the dead men lie.
Across the gulf for near twelve months
he drove twelve hundred head,
'twas hard enough with Nat away,
then news ... Kate's dad was dead.
No sooner did she have him home,
when Nat was asked to shift
some twenty thousand head of stock
to Lyons and Fisher's Glencoe block;
her bushman had a gift.
Then Gordie fin'ly finished school
and seized his boyhood dream
by riding to the Kimberleys,
as part of his dad's team.
With both her men out blazing trails
the months would drag on by
and sometimes, when she had not heard,
poor Kate would pray til she got word;
relief came with a sigh.
Seemed Nat always had on his mind
to one day find a home,
where he and Kate could settle down
and need no more to roam.
He'd set his heart on old Wave Hill
up in the Territ'ry,
but fortune did not smile one day,
for treachery would have its way,
his dream was not to be.
'Twas some time later Gordie took
up Flora Valley in
the Kimberley with Watt and Hugh
as both of them were kin.
Then Kate was reunited with
the men she loved so dear.
She brought a certain brightness to
the homestead as most women do
and filled the place with cheer.
Nat fin'ly made his homecamp down
on 'Kenmuir' with his Kate;
among New England's ranges, but
he left his run too late.
She buried Nat at sev'nty five
and said her last farewell
and though they spent much time apart
Kate loved her Nat with all her heart;
'twas not too hard to tell.
Today Kate lies beside her man
in Walcha, New South Wales.
He roams no more her Paraway,
but lives on in men's tales.
In my mind now, it’s plainly clear,
if ever loyalty could be
embodied Kate within a mould
and overlaid with purest gold;
'twould have to be of thee.
Since meeting Bobbie Buchanan on our 1997 trip to Camooweal and reading her book - In the Tracks of Old Bluey - the story about her great grandfather, Nat Buchanan, I have held the man in high regard. There have been many tributes paid to him over the years in many different
forms, but sadly like many pioneering women, Kate has had little said about the role she played. This is my tribute to her.
©Bush Poet
Merv Webster
The Goondiwindi Grey
And now for the official comments from our judge, A. Judi Cater who we thank very much for the time and trouble taken to peruse all the entries.
JUDGES COMMENT
OVERALL COMMENT
As the essence of all writing is ‘communication’, the writer needs to clearly explain his topic. Information which meets the reader’s needs of understanding should be included. As one of the most important elements of bush poetry is the fluid flow of the narrative, (or story), though the lines of the poem, in competition the judge is looking for a beginning, middle and end to the story. Within the text the poet should explain or expand on statements so that the reader, who may not be well informed on the topic, understands. For example, simply mentioning an event or person which is pertinent to the topic is often insufficient for the reader to understand its context. It’s all well to mention the Eureka Stockade without further explanation but does your reader know what it was!! Expand your information to inform!
Although I know that in the past tradition has dictated poets use a capital letter at the beginning of each line, whether grammatically required or not, it seriously detracts from the consistent flow of the topic for the reader. Recent years have seen our most successful modern writers desist from this practice and it would be a big step forward if others took a leaf from their book.
While this newsletter competition round attracted only a small number entries, all expressed an excellent understanding of the set topic and should be congratulated on submitting fine examples of bush balladry.
Throughout our Aussie history, bush poets have been noted for their ability to record our ‘folk process’, both personal and political, in rhyme and meter, preserving for posterity, ‘the way it was’.
History will record this current resurgence of interest by our new and capable writers in this important literary genre. If we are to uphold the traditions of bygone bards, let’s take the time to make the extra effort to do it well!!
My congratulations to the winner, and I will look forward with anticipation to the next round of entries.
A. Judi Cater
JUDGE
JUDGE’S COMMENTS
WINNING POEM
CATHERINE (KATE) BUCHANAN
An extremely well disciplined poem!! Perfect rhythm and rhyme, well punctuated and the use of a refreshingly different rhyming pattern makes this an absolutely Sterling effort.
In the latter part of verse 8 you have not clearly explained in your text to the reader what ‘treachery’ had its way with the situation of the subject. Only a minor omission but overall the topic flow of your narrative was excellent.
Good to see this fine Australian recorded in rhymed and metered verse Congratulations!
IT’S TOUGH TO BE A KELLY by Merv Webster
A very well researched ballad about this plucky ‘pioneering lady’. Your topic, which flowed consistently throughout, was enhanced by the use of descriptive language and the effective and repetitive use of the title phrase in the last line of each verse. Good to see the use of punctuation throughout which added to the flow of your ballad.
Excellent rhyme but several errors in metre were evident. V2 L2, V9 L11 and V10 L9.
What was ‘Fitzpatrick’s little show”? Please see judges overall comment on communication.
Overall, a very good poem which records the life and times of one of our unsung folk heroines. Congratulations.!
DIGGING O’HARA BURKE by the Max Merkenschlager
An interesting, well crafted narrative about one of our early explorers which has consistent rhyme, accurate punctuation and is peppered with some very descriptive language and enjambment throughout. Well concluded.
Topic information in verses six and seven left all but keen students of history uninformed about who the subject were and their involvement in your tale. To meet the requirement of balladry in competition, added information about these subjects should be considered.
Rhythm is inconsistent throughout and needs to be work-shopped to improve.
DAVE SANDS CHAMPION by Bernard de Silva
Clearly you have expressed in your words an affinity with your subject and have researched your chosen topic well. Some very interesting information throughout which has been enhanced with descriptive language, i.e. ‘dusky warrior son’, ‘lightning hands’ etc. adding great colour to the ‘word pictures’ of your ballad I would encourage you to continue in this vein. Similarly, your conclusion is both very informational and apt.
While you have good punctuation throughout, I would suggest that you consider reviewing the use of some of the mid line commas which perhaps many not be needed. Overuse can impede the flow of your lines.
Good to see your accurate rhyme and choice of an unusual rhyming pattern.
To further improve this aspect, you need to review you rhythm which is not as good as your excellent content warrants. Shorter lines are more easily managed in this regard.
I note with interest your signature footnote and understand that a lot of writers write for the sheer pleasure of doing so but in the light of the talent you have shown, I would love to see you employ more discipline with you rhythm because ‘Correctness is how it is’ in competition. Keep up the good work.
CRIKEY! by Therese Mitchell
Good balladry about a ‘modern folk hero’ in this brief effort. Rhyme is very accurate but rhythm throughout is in need of serious work. Also, an almost complete lack of punctuation and grammatically required capitals throughout detracts from your topics flow. Brush up on these important elements for your future submissions.
I WISH I WERE A CROCODILE by Merv Webster
Very well written. Great balladry once again with perfect rhythm and rhyme. Perhaps you may need to have a close look at some of the punctuation. “Oh Steve, …. etc. Also George’s teeth I believe should be ‘they’re’ not ‘their’ These are only little criticisms but when you are up amongst the top entries in a comp they make the difference. Loved the conclusion, ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ but just don’t ask me to join you. What does everyone see in this ‘person’?? Very entertaining.
We have now set up a separate section on the Forum for Bushsong Competition Entries. Please make sure you post your work there as it will make it a lot easier for our judge to access your work.
This issues competion subject:-
A choice of two - either a poem about dogs or a poem that makes a political statement.
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