Member Achievements
The ABPA acknowledges the achievements of members who
specialise in specific areas which help to promote the cause
of the ABPA and of Bush Poetry in general.
Here are the special achievers from previous months:
Noel Stallard OAM
It is with great pride and
pleasure we acknowledge ABPA member and past president Noel
Stallard who was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in
the 2019 Australia Day Honours list.
Noel has been a stalwart of our Association and a very
enthusiastic, hard-working and much loved presenter of bush
poetry.
He was ABPA President from 2006 to 2009 and presents the Verse
for Vinnies bush poetry shows in Brisbane six times a year.
Noel and his wife Ann have been running the event since 2012
and have raised over $90,000 for the St Vincent de Paul
Society.
Noel came to bush poetry through the works of Monsignor
Patrick Hartigan who wrote under the name of John O'Brien.
"'We'll all be rooned', said Hanrahan" is probably his most
famous line and is from the poem Said Hanrahan. Noel
has been a regular at the John O'Brien Festival in Narrandera NSW
for many years, reciting O'Brien poem and appearing as "Father
Pat" the priest,
Still writing and reciting, Noel was at the recent Tamworth
Country Music Festival with a tribute show to the drovers
through the poetry of Bruce Simpson. He and Marion Fitzgerald
performed two shows during the festival which were very warmly
received.
More information about Noel as well as his books and
recordings are available from his website.
The ABPA congratulate Noel on his award and are proud to have
him as an ambassador for bush poetry.
See
the full OAM citation here.
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Jeff Close OAM
We are also proud to recognise
ABPA member Jeff Close as a recipient of a Medal of the Order
of Australia in the 2019 Australia Day Honours list.
Jeff has a very long involvement with bush poetry with his
interest beginning in childhood. For many years he has been
the coordinator of the Bronze Swagman written bush poetry
awards based in Winton Queensland as well as the Junior Bush
Poetry Performance Competition. Jeff began a teaching career
in Winton in 1976 and still continues a strong involvement
with the town despite now living in Hampton Queensland. He is
incredibly community-minded and gives generously of his time
and efforts to support events and organisations in both
places.
In Winton he has been a stalwart of the Historical Society,
the Tourist and Progress Association, the Outback Festival,
the Outback Writers' Festival and the Waltzing Matilda Centre
where he is a current board member.
Closer to home, Jeff is the owner and manager of Rhonda's
Refits and Outback
Books in Toowoomba. He has been involved in the Crows
Nest and District Tourist and Progress Association which
instituted Crows Nest Day and helped establish the Crows Nest
Visitor Information Centre, the Business Association,
Community Arts & Crafts and the Heritage Bank. Jeff has
been an active member of the local Agricultural, Horticultural
& Industrial Society and Hampton Food and Arts Festival.
He's also the author of several books on historical places and
people. How does he fit it all in?
Congratulations to Jeff, a great supporter of rural Australia
and bush poetry.
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Greta Sullivan
Greta Sullivan is
fourteen. She lives in the rural setting of Kyabram in
Victoria. She enjoys reading, writing, growing vegetables, and
learning about other cultures and religions. Her favourite
subject is English. Greta would like to be an author when she
finishes school “…or maybe even sooner…”.
Greta is the current holder of the Frank Daniel Encouragement
Award which was set up by the ABPA to encourage our young
writers and performers.
Her poems have been published in the Australian Literary
Magazine, Free XpresSion, in the ABPA Magazine and on poetry
websites throughout the country.
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Shelley Hansen
Shelley Hansen is
a fifth-generation resident of Queensland’s Fraser Coast. She
grew up in a family where Australian poetry was enjoyed and
recited, and early influences included Paterson, Lawson, and a
much-loved CJ Dennis.
Shelley has achieved many awards with her written poetry, and
her poem Teddy Teddy which won the 2016 ABPA Queensland
Written Bush Poetry Championship has been used by Zonta Clubs
and various sectors of the Police and Public Service to
highlight the effects of domestic violence on children. Her
commemorative poem Flying Doctor has featured as a fundraiser
for the RFDS, and her tribute to aviator Bert Hinkler Our Bert
has been endorsed and publicised by the Hinkler Hall of
Aviation.
Her success in an international poetry competition led to
publication of her book Lady of Lines – An Australian Journey
in 2015. She has also released a studio-recorded CD of
original bush poetry. Her monthly emailed newsletter eLines
is a one-page collection of poetry topics and is available
free to subscribers.
Shelley describes herself as a “storyteller”, with a special
interest in Australian history – particularly the untold
tales. She has been commissioned to write and perform various
commemorative poems for local landmarks, including the iconic
Hervey Bay Pier, and the historic Maryborough Hospital.
Shelley and her husband Rod perform regularly at local and
regional events, often in period costume (as pictured above)
in line with heritage themes. They are an established part of
the annual Shipping Reunion which celebrates 19th century
immigration to the Port of Maryborough.
Recently Shelley has begun a collaboration with local graphic
artist Jackalina Designs, to produce a range of merchandise
featuring poetry and artwork depicting one of Maryborough’s
icons – the old “Queenslander” house.
In 2012 ABC Radio Wide Bay began to feature local poetry as
part of Rick Whittle’s breakfast show. Shelley was the
inaugural poet – and she and Rod are now well into their
seventh year of regular Saturday morning recitals.
This year Shelley was commissioned to write and compile a
concert of poetry and prose, celebrating the Tambo region on
the Barcoo River. Incorporating classic and modern poetry,
plus original narrative and verse, this presentation is being
performed as part of Tambo’s grey nomad tourist season. It
features the adventures of Tambo’s famous son, cattle rustler
Harry Redford – along with other fascinating aspects of the
region’s history.
Shelley also recently won the traditional verse section of the
inaugural Sutherland Shire Literary Awards with her poem Jack, My Friend.
Shelley’s story, monthly news and a selection of her poems can
be found on her website.
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Campbell the Swaggie
Campbell
the
Swaggie is a familiar sight at festivals across
Australia and has been for decades. He is often seen
busking around the grounds of a festival and much of
what he earns is donated to charity.
He performs his own poetry as well as that of
traditional masters and modern writers. A regular at
poets' breakfasts, he is always a welcome contributor.
In fact, no festival would seem complete without him.
The ABC reporters Mark Rigby and Lauren McWhirter wrote
a great article on Campbell, saying:
When Campbell Irvine first landed in Australia he had no
intention of making it his home for the next four
decades.
This is the link to the ABC story on Campbell.
There is also this ABC Story from Australia on Campbell.
Photo courtesy of Peter Mace.
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Ray Essery
Ray
Essery
‘The Mullumbimby Bloke’ is without doubt one of the most
highly regarded performing Bush Poets in Australia
today.
This ‘North Coast, NSW’ poet can leave his audience in
stitches with hilarious tales that reflect his years as
a dairy farmer, navy man and Sydney pub manager.
Likewise he can dig deep into the kitbag of his family
memories to deliver heartfelt recollections of his early
life, taking his audience on a nostalgic journey back to
when life on the North Coast was just a little less
complicated.
This mischievous, lovable larrikin is equally at home
performing at any of Australia’s major festivals as he
is entertaining at a corporate event.
Ray Essery is a story teller, a historian, a romantic, a
comic and above all else, an entertainer.
Ray’s autobiography One Hell of a Ride is available
from
or phone Ray on 0438 843 817.
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Prousty
Dave Proust, better known as
‘Prousty’ was born on an egg producing chook farm in a little
valley called Dooralong. He went to a one teacher school,
Dooralong Primary School with only 26 kids. His parents worked
long hours on the farm as did he and his brothers and sister.
This hard rural life was where he evolved his deep love for
the Australian Bush and rural way of life.
Prousty married his wife Therese when they were young and they
had six Children in quick succession.
He’s had many jobs including working as a rouse about, he
worked on a cattle station in the Northern Territory, he is a
licensed plumber and has been a professional Firefighter for
the last 26 years.
Prousty didn’t do particularly well at school, not because he
wasn’t bright but because of his dyslexia. It was being
dyslexic that started him down the poetry road as he found
poetry easier to read than normal text. He listened to his
dad. Peter, recite The Man from Snowy River with passion and
action, cracking the whip at the appropriate moments and
changing the volume and level of his voice as he went, so when
Prousty started performing, it was his father’s animated style
that he recreated.
Prousty didn’t write his first poem until he was nearly 40 and
on hearing this poem his friend Mike entered him in The Golden
Damper Poetry Performance Competition in Tamworth where he won
the original section with a tragic poem about his Mate dying
from Cancer. “Mates”. He went on to win the Golden Damper 3
times and was runner up 3 times.
It was Ray Essery who encouraged him to write comedy, saying
“Life’s too serious, people want to have a laugh” so through
Ray’s input Prousty has become one of the better know Comedy
Performance Bush Poets in the country.
Working 2 jobs and with all those kids Prousty didn’t enter in
very many poetry competitions, although while holidaying in
the USA he did win the American Cowboy Poetry Rodeo
Competition. Prousty is in high demand for many of the major
country Music Festivals performing Poetry and as an MC. He is
also in demand as a performer at corporate functions. He can
also be seen doing the odd TV commercial, his last was on
“Whats Up Down Under” which is aired on channel 10.
Not bad for a kid from Dooralong with Dyslexia.
Our thoughts are with Dave and his family as he recovers from
recent brain tumour surgery.
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The late Tim Borthwick
New ABPA member, Tim
Borthwick from Toowoomba Queensland, has long held an
appreciation for bush poetry and story telling, but he was
nearly 30 before he began putting pen to paper and dabbling in
the art himself. He was always intrigued by the way some of
the greats, such as Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson could tell
a tale not only in rhyme but in rhythm as well, and it is to
them that he owes his love of verse. He enjoys writing, as
much for the pleasure and satisfaction than anything else, and
he finds it a great way to convey a yarn. He has been writing
now for about 18 years, and has self-published five times.
Although Tim rarely competes in competitions, he entered and
won the Winton Bronze Swagman Award in 2014 and was runner up
in 2017. His association with Winton has also included
helping to run the inaugural Outback Writers’ Festival in
2016, which fortuitously led to an invitation to prepare a
manuscript of his poems with background information and this
concept was taken up by Harper Collins. The outcome was the
publication of his book Waltzing
Australia which was released in 2017 together with an
audio presentation of the poems by Jack Thompson.
Tim couldn’t be happier with the response this book has
received. He realises how fortunate he was to be given the
opportunity to produce Waltzing Australia. He is still
writing, and he hopes there’s another book waiting in the
wings!
Waltzing Australia is widely available through ABC Online, all good bookstores, as an
eBook, or on Bolinda audio.
Sdaly, Tim passed away in August 2018. See article in Queensland Country LIfe.
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Jason Roweth
A natural storyteller, Jason
Roweth presents a dynamic combination of new and old
Australian traditional poems, songs and yarns. He’ll take
you on a journey, make you laugh, and make you think. A
versatile performer, Jason holds an audience in a small room,
or under lights – he has a rare ability to make a large space
feel small; bring the relaxed warmth of a yarn on the verandah
to the big stage.
Jason has spent the last twenty years as a singer, reciter and
musician, researching, performing and recording Australian
traditional music and poetry. He is a keen educator,
performing regularly for primary school children in the
Bathurst region, where he makes learning a byproduct of an
interactive evening of singing, dancing and sharing stories
under the stars.
When reciting, Jason draws from the great Australian writers -
Henry Lawson, Banjo Paterson, Denis Kevans, Roger Montgomery,
John Dengate and many others less well known.
Jason’s skills have been recognised with some
prestigious awards, including ABPA Golden Damper Winner 2016,
National Folk Festival Reciter of the Year in 2015, and
National Folk Festival Yarnspinner of the Year in 2013.
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Jan Lewis, ABPA Facebook
editor
In January, the ABPA welcomed
Jan Lewis as Facebook Editor.
Jan Lewis, also the Victorian State representative, has been
involved with the ABPA since its inception.
Jan is also volunteer event manager of the annual Bush Poetry
events at The Man From Snowy River Bush Festival, and has
organised many Victorian and Australian Championships.
Her other role is secretary of Victorian Bush Poetry and Music
Association and editor of their Facebook page too!
Jan lives in the village of Cudgewa, Northeast Victoria with
her partner Linton, and they enjoy attending folk festivals,
fitting them around farm responsibilities and visiting their
tribe of children and grandchildren.
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Catherine Lee, 2018 Blackened
Billy Winner
This year's winner of the
prestigious Blackened Billy Award for written bush poetry is
Catherine Lee.
Catherine is a
freelance professional proof reader and editor who has lived
in many exotic locations in recent years. She
has always loved poetry with rhyme and metre, and has been
writing in this style for as long as she can remember. As a
child she performed in poetry recitation competitions, but
this is not something she continued as an adult, preferring
instead to concentrate on the writing.
She began entering competitions in 1994, but it was while
living in Papua New Guinea in the late nineties that she was
asked to share her poetry in public for the first time,
reading to a group of mostly Australians. Their response was
so positive that she was persuaded to self-publish a small
book which she subsequently sold at the local market.
Meanwhile, over the years she has had some articles, poetry
and short stories published in magazines within Australia,
PNG, the Philippines, Singapore and Bangkok.
Traditional style poetry is her first love however, and
Catherine has won many awards for her writing including the
Blackened Billy, the Bryan Kelleher Literary Award for two
consecutive years as well as a nomination for the Australian
Bush Laureate Awards.
Catherine is host editor of the International Xpressions and
Famous Poets’ Birthdays pages for FreeXpression, and a keen
promoter of traditional Australian verse overseas whenever
opportunities arise. As well as writing, reading and playing
the piano, she feels travel has greatly enriched her life
and considers it an enormous privilege to experience such
diverse cultures and locations and meet so many different
people. These experiences, along with memories of her own
culture and surroundings, provide her with inspiration.
Catherine says she can be a bit of an idealist at times, but
she truly believes that a smile speaks all languages and
poetry and music speak directly to the heart and soul.
See Catherine's 2018 Blackened Billy winning poem here.
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Dr James Fitzpatrick
A newcomer to the ABPA
competition scene, Dr James Fitzpatrick won the National
Championship Male Performance Award in Toodyay, West Australia
in both the Original Serious and the Original Humorous
categories.
James has worked for over twenty years as a paediatrician and
researcher in some of Australia’s hardest to reach places. He
is the President of PATCHES Paediatrics delivering
cutting-edge child development and disability services to
remote communities through the child protection and justice
systems. He is a leading expert on the devastating Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
His poetry, collected in his book Philosophy
that
Rymes – A Poetry Anthology by Dr James Fitzpatrick,
“…epitomises the medical humanities—the coming together of
art, science and sheer hard work—to reflect on life, medicine,
sorrow, hope and love in the heart of Australia.” From
personal experience, his poetry “…takes on some of the
country’s most intractable issues in verse… which reveals deep
insights and stirs raw emotions.”
For information and ordering go to James's website.
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Bill Gordon
At the end of 2015 I had been
farming for 50 years. In that time my life has taken many
twists and turns. I started as a farm hand working for my
father. Then I graduated to becoming stud groom, showing Dad’s
Angus cattle at Sydney Royal Show and several country shows in
NSW (the family farm was near Orange).
At the time I married Meg I was running my own Angus stud and
commercial cattle herd plus prime lambs.
After we moved to Boyup Brook in 1978 with three boys under
4ys. It was Merino sheep plus oats. The collapse of the wool
market in 1990 forced us into cropping canola and barley. We
are still growing those crops, but the sheep enterprise has
shifted focus onto the live export market.
So my farming career has not been simply doing the same thing
year after year. I have also been a wool classer, mechanic,
chook farmer, bush vet, bookkeeper and worn many other hats in
my time as a farmer.
The ‘Bush Poet’ hat is fitting very comfortably at the moment.
Recently we have been leasing the farm and spending a lot of
time travelling, writing poetry, attending and performing at
festivals, and catching up with family and friends right
across Australia. The camper trailer has been giving good
service and nowadays we could be anywhere...
Bill Gordon
President
WA Bush Poets and Yarnspinners
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Mary Finch
By choice, for many years Mary
Finch was content to remain in the background as main
supporter, adviser, and coach to her husband Wally. Her own
gifted talent for performance poetry seemed destined to remain
dormant indefinitely. However, she was eventually coerced to
perform.
Right from the outset, Mary's potential to be a great poet was
so obvious she spent very little time in Novice Competition.
In fact, she broke her Novice status one day and performed in
Open the next — being placed in the top three of every
category with some serious competition from a large line-up.
Considering her background, perhaps, there is no surprise in
that.
In an earlier life, Mary spent six years full time study at
the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (giving us a fair
indication her first love is singing). From her comprehensive
formal training Mary gained a large variety of skills in
various disciplines such as language (English and Italian),
voice projection, and heap of other assets invaluable to
performance of both poetry and singing. These facets went well
within the country music scene.
Once Mary started performing bush poetry in her own right, she
also discovered talents for judging and organising events in
our genre — which she thoroughly enjoys as it gives so many
opportunities to put her formal training and performance
skills to best use. In her comments to the competitors, she
tries to be as helpful as possible and to give positive,
sincere encouragement.
Mary’s poetry and songs done from the perspective of a
fun-filled, feminine point of view, are performed straight
from the heart.
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Award Winning Australian
Writing
Five
ABPA poets have poems in the upcoming 10th anniversary edition
of the very prestigious Award
Winning Australian Writing (AWAW) book, published by
Melbourne Books. It is available online here.
Despite featuring mainly free verse poetry and short stories,
the new edition will feature bush poetry from:
David
Campbell:
A Man Alone which won the C J
Dennis Poetry Award at the Laura Literary Awards, Laura, South
Australia;
Brenda Joy:
Solace
which won the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival Bush Poetry
Competition;
Tom
McIlveen:
Bobby is Back which won the ABPA West
Australian State Championships Serious Section;
Max
Merckenslager: (that's him on the right)
An Outback State of Mind which won the
ABPA Betty Olle Awards.
Will Moody:
Eternity which won Poetica Christi Press Poetry
Competition;
Not only is this great exposure for bush poetry and its
award-winning writers but also for festivals holding bush
poetry competitions around the country. For example, Laura
Literary Awards run by the Rocky River 'Riters only recently
included a Bush Poetry section in their awards and last year
the winning poem was the only rhyme and metered poem in the
2016 Award Winning Australian Writing. So that is a double for
Laura straight off!
Congratulations to these talented poets and thanks to Melbourne Books.
David Campbell has recently had an article published in The Australian newspaper
accusing Contemporary
Australian Poetry editors of neglecting rhymed verse.
See the article here.
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Carol Heuchan
Carol Heuchan, from
Cooranbong in NSW, has always been a country girl. A capable
horsewoman who spent many years on a sheep and cattle station
in the Snowy Mountains, she has ‘had a go’ at most horse
sports though her forte was the world of elite show horses.
She competed with success at over fifty Royal Shows around
Australia and in more recent times, became the Main Arena
Commentator at Sydney Royal Easter Show and in 2017 was
honoured to judge their prestige horse events.
Despite her high profile Bush Poetry career, it only started
in 2003 when her first book came out and friends took her to
Tamworth – her first ever competition. Success led to success
and in a short time, she amassed a heap of elite awards
(including winning the richest prize in Poetry history) and
then withdrew from competition to become a professional Bush
Poet.
Highlights include nine Bush Laureate Awards, an ABC
Television series (’Bush Slam’), successfully contesting the
World Poetry Debate, and performing at some of the largest
(and the smallest!) events in Australia (and New Zealand) as
well as corporate functions and Charity events throughout the
country.
Just to make sure she doesn’t get a minute’s rest, she also
regularly commentates at major horse events, live streamed to
some eighty thousand viewers around the world.
But poetry is
her focus. In 2009 Carol was, with Milton Taylor’s
endorsement, invited to perform at the National Cowboy Poetry
Gathering in Elko, Nevada, USA. And that was just the
beginning. She has done nine professional performance tours of
US and Canada to date and in June this year, headed off for
probably the ultimate gig.
Carol has a three month contract in Durango, Colorado! Her
rural background and her original poetry fit the genre well,
it seems. She is to MC and do poetry four nights a week at the
historic Henry Strater Theatre in a very exciting production
which will target the huge summer tourist trade that Durango
attracts. Each week a different singer/musician comes in to
perform with Carol and they are some of the top Western
artists in the US. Ticket sales are already well under way
apparently, with package tours linked to the fabulous Strater
Hotel.
Why an Australian to tell the story of the West, you ask? In
her own words, ‘Sometimes people who lead extraordinary lives
do not realise just how extraordinary they are and it is only
when someone from the outside looks in, that the adventure,
the romance, the excitement unfolds.’
And if that’s not exciting enough, she has already been booked
for our Championships WA, then New Zealand in November. In
2018 she’s back to US again - Northern Colorado (Golden) in
January, then Alpine, Texas (yippee) in March, then Kamloops,
Canada.
Congratulations Carol - our
international Aussie bush poet!
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Mel & Susie
ABPA members and mad poets Melanie Hall and Susan Carcary recently
performed at Zig Zag Public School NSW but are soon to open
their exciting new venture - A Hidden Gem Bush Theatre. Visit
their beautiful and unique off-grid art camp in Lightning
Ridge, NSW. They host special tours, performances and The Mel
ad Susie Show. There will be daily tours in winter and special
evening performances full of comedy, history and lots of local
colour. You can also catch their daily performance at Opal
Caravan Park. Visit the Ridge and check them out!
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Kelly Dixon
Kelly Dixon was born in
Dirranbandi in 1933. Son of a teamster/bush contractor and
only schooled to primary level, he left home at 14 years to
become a stockman, drover, truckie, station manager, grazier –
skills that have stood him in great stead as he currently
operates, with his wife Marion, a beef cattle property in the
Atherton Tablelands and is these days thinking about
retirement.
Kelly started writing verse at about twelve years of age, and
graduated to competition level about fifty years later. He
had his first songs published around 1975 and now has 143
published around the world by some 47 recording artists. These
days he is recognized by Sony USA as among the world’s top
writers.
He is a life member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and has
won many awards at the Tamworth Music Festival and at various
poetry competitions around Australia.
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Merv Webster
“Having written and been
interested in Bush Poetry for many years, I began performing
at the Bundaberg Bush Poets Muster in 1996. I have been
fortunate over the years since then to win numerous awards for
my performance bush poetry and yarn spinning in competitions
all around the eastern states.
Since 1996 I have won awards for my written bush poetry, which
have been included in the eight books of bush verse and yarns
I have published along with three albums. I have been a
finalist on four occasions at the Golden Gumleaf Bush Laureate
Awards at Tamworth three times with my books and once with my
wife Chris for our combined CD, 'Chris and The Grey, I was
Co-ordinator for the Bundy Mob's Bush Poet's Muster, two years
Joint Co-ordinator of the Oasis Bush Poetry Competition at
Tamworth as well as the Easter in the Country weekend at
Roma. I also co-ordinated the bush poetry at the Katherine
Country Music Festival and the Far North Bush Poetry
Festival. I’ve acted as compere at many events and see it as
an important role in keeping any function running smoothly.
Since 1999 Chris, and on occasions my dad, joined me in our
own show of Bush Poetry and Yarns, which we called 'Laughter
& Tears from the Bush'. We have toured Western Queensland
from Miles through to Camooweal, the Tamworth Country Music
Festival, Easter In the Country at Roma, the 1770 Festival as
well as Festivals, Expos, Farmfest, the Barcaldine Heritage
Centre and numerous other venues throughout Queensland and
Northern New South Wales.
We’ve performed at The Tamworth Country Music Festival in
front of Grace Bros. (now Target) for many years. We were
resident bush poets at the Bailey Bar Caravan Park at
Charleville during the 2000/3 winter months and had the
opportunity to meet so many folk and to introduce quite a few
of them to bush verse.
In November 2004 I released my debut Bush Ballad EP/CD, 'The
Bushman & The Balladeer', a tribute to R M Williams and
Slim Dusty. In 2005 and 2006 I entered The Lyrics Only section
of the Katherine Country Music Muster's Northern Territory
Song Writing Competition and won both years. Then in 2006,
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016 I
thought I'd enter the TSA Awards at Tamworth and was nominated
a finalist in the Lyrics Only Section of their National Song
Writing Contest. I won the section in 2006, 2007, 2009,
2010, 2011 and 2013.
Chris and I still enjoy performing our Bush Poetry, Ballads
and Yarns Show today.”
Thanks Merv, especially for
the way in which you have integrated and promoted Bush
Poetry into the Bush Ballad scene both as a performer and
hardworking compere.
Merv's
website.
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Rhonda Tallnash
G’day! I’m Rhonda
Tallnash from Violet Town in Victoria and my interest in
everything Australian probably stems from birth being a
descendant of the free settlers who came to Australia shortly
after Captain Arthur Phillip. I’ve had the privilege of
living in the city in Carlton as a small child, then being
raised in Research when it was still a rural community, moving
to Kangaroo Ground and St. Andrews to live semi-rurally with
my husband David Kitchen and then making the final move to
regional Victoria. We were extremely happy to move further
and further away from the ‘big smoke’!
I began to write my all-Aussie rhyming children’s stories in
the 1980s when, as a Special Educationalist I realised that
children needed a solid basis of oral language to enable them
to become literate, that rhythm and rhyme is wonderful for
developing this and that we were losing our wonderful Aussie
slang and sayings that my grandparents just rattled off every
day. During my 58 years I have performed with choirs
(including Channel 9’s Carols by Candlelight) and as a
soloist, competed in calisthenics and danced in amateur
productions as well as being the choreographer.
In 2010 I walked into the Mildura Country Music Festival
‘walk-ups’ with my book ‘Fair Dinkum Ned’ under my arm and I
was put on stage by Neil McArthur who I suspect thought I was
nuts! That was it, I was bitten by the bush poetry ‘bug’ that
had been lurking in the background of my being since my Grade
4 Teacher taught me ‘Mulga Bill’s Bicycle’ in 1967.
My first competition was the Golden Damper in 2012 where I
managed to become a finalist and from then I have participated
in competitions and performed as much as practicable going to
Dunedoo, Corryong, Binalong, Benalla, Bundaberg and Toodyay.
Performing has also taken me as far afield as Renmark and
Cairns. I am the current Australian and New South Wales Bush
Poetry Female Performance Champion and I held the Queensland
title during 2014. I have also been fortunate in winning the
Dunedoo Bush Poetry Festival and Young Cherry Festival events.
In 2016 I was elected Secretary of the ABPA – in the usual
army volunteering style of not stepping back quickly enough!
I have been meeting as many poets and friends as possible
around the traps this year.
We are grateful for Rhonda’s
enthusiasm and energy in her role of ABPA Secretary. Thank
you from the Committee and the ABPA membership.
Rhonda's
website.
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John Davis
John was born in Broken Hill
and has spent most of his working life either on the land or
working at other rural pursuits although he did spend about
eight years as a part owner of supermarkets and two years
working in security and a further two years working in an
abattoir.
He has either owned or part owned several grazing properties
ranging in size from 800 acres up to 112,000 acres and has
worked on properties from Australian Capital Territory,
Central, Northern and far Western New South Wales and has also
spent short periods of time on cattle stations in Queensland
Gulf country and the Northern Territory Barkley tablelands. He
has also done stints at shearing and horse breaking.
Although he has been fond of and interested in Australian Bush
poetry for most of his life he didn't become involved in
either writing or performing poetry until after 2005.
Understandably, much of John’s writing has been inspired by
and reflects his life in the Bush. He has published a book of
his poems and also produced a CD.
It is special when someone not only performs and writes
themselves, but also encourages others, especially young
people, to do so. For the past ten years, John and his wife
Ruth have organised and run an annual competition for primary
school children and to this end they have a solid group of
sponsors (including the local Federal member) who supply about
$800 and several trophies for prizes for these children. Over
the past five years the competition for children has been
picked up by the local show Society and John and Ruth
have further organised this particular competition at the
local agricultural show – so that equates to running two
performance competitions and one written competition for
school children each year. Then, as well as their work for
children, for the past two years they have run and organised a
very successful open (adult) competition, at the show.
In addition, for the past eleven years John and Ruth have
convened and run a social Bush poetry group in the Milton
Ulladulla area.
That’s certainly a great
deal of organizing John and Ruth! Thank you to you both.
John's email address is
__________________________________________________
The late John Major
“I first became interested in Bush Poetry in the late 40’s
and early 50’s when in Primary School. I memorized quite a few
of Banjo’s and Henry’s. The school teacher used to get me up
to say a poem to the higher grades, and I really enjoyed it.
After School I used to perform a poem for a wedding, a
birthday and other functions. I met Tex Morton in Rockhampton
when I was a teenager, and he gave me some of his work, which
I still recite.
“My first trip to Tamworth Music Festival was in 1989, and I
was walking past the Imperial Hotel and I could hear someone
saying Bush Poetry, so I went inside and there were 3 poets
and about 20 people listening. John Phillipson came over to me
and asked if I knew a poem and I said yes. He then asked me if
I would recite one, so I got up and I said Tex Morton’s “The
Transport Man”. I became really good friends with John and my
wife Joy became really good friends with John’s wife, they
were both Patchworkers.
“Although there were only about 20 people there in 1989, three
years later there were 300 people there, it was just amazing
how the Bush Poetry took off, and lots of people started
writing modern Australian Bush Poetry. In 1994 we had a
meeting at the Imperial hotel and formed “The Australian Bush
Poets Association” I was at the first meeting along with 21
others. The poetry performances grew so much, and so many
people came to listen to us we had to shift out to the
Longyard.
“One of the first big events was The Waltzing Matilda Festival
in 1995 in Winton, 100 years since Banjo Patterson wrote the
poem out there. It was a great festival and still remembered
by lots of people. After this event I started travelling all
over Australia doing Bush Poetry Shows, however I still love
going back to Winton.
“Bush Poetry has done a lot for me and taken me all over
Australia. It has been a part of my life for many years.”
John has since passed away.
__________________________________________________
Tony Lambides-Turner
"I am a proud
Australian born 1948 and raised in Oakleigh a suburb of
Melbourne. Resident of Chelsea last 30 years. Commenced
writing in 2008, joining a creative writing group in Chelsea.
Branched-out into poetry and haven’t looked back.
"Describing myself in three words, I am a: Guide, Mentor and
Leader, to others commencing their literary journey."
Background: Surveyor/land/mining/exploration,
landscape-gardener (Burnley.)
Member since February 2013: the Henry Lawson Literary and
Memorial Society Inc. Proud acting President: 2015.
Tony is continually involved in local community and charity
events. He leads a small band of like-minded, talented
performers, ‘Henry’s Thespians’, who regularly entertain and
present workshops at aged care facilities, disadvantaged
centres, schools, churches and halls around Victoria.
He is constantly liaising with bush poets around Australia and
attends Bush Poetry festivals and gatherings distributing free
books with Australian themes and authors with the aim of
“…creating a greater awareness of Bush poetry, and of the
relative societies and groups” and in particular,
“…encouraging the youth of Australia for they are the future
of Bush Poetry.”
In addition, Tony is the Editor/Publisher of Henry Lives:
H.L.S. Monthly Melbourne newsletter: Commenced February 2104
now in its 24th edition.
He has been a publisher and contributing author for Australian
themed and historical anthologies aimed at “…reviving memories
from the past, back to life, with the aim of bringing joy to
others,” and “… to rekindle these near-lost times.” Tony is
currently working on a publication, It
Will Never Happen Again, aimed at spreading greater
knowledge of indigenous Victorian history especially towards
informing “…young curious and inquisitive minds” and hopefully
fostering greater “…understanding and tolerance”.
Further details of these publications and of Tony’s activities
and enterprises can be obtained by contacting him on
We thank Tony for all he does for Bush Poetry and for sharing
his profile with us.
__________________________________________________
2016
Golden Damper Winners
The coveted Golden Damper Awards have been won by Tom
McIlveen of Port Macquarie NSW (for Original) and Jason Roweth
of Milthorpe NSW (for Established). The performance
competition was held in Blazes Auditorium of the Wests Leagues
Club in Tamworth NSW during the Country Music Festival.
After three heats, 9 competitors for Original and 6 for
Established competed in the final in front of an audience of
around 150 people (pretty good for a 7 am start!)
Co-ordinator Graeme Johnson did a great job of making sure
everything ran like clockwork with the help of his team of
judges, time keepers, collators and MCs.
Thanks to all for making it another quality competition.
__________________________________________________
Bill Kearns
Bill Kearns was brought up on
a dairy farm in the Clarence Valley and has lived all his life
in the Grafton area. Bill is now retired from his last job as
the manager of non-clinical support services at a local Public
Hospital.
A lifetime lover of traditional poetry, Bill set out about
twenty five years ago to be a serious writer of verse but alas
he fell into the clutches of a band of Australian Bush Poets
and was totally corrupted. He discovered a talent for writing
comic verse and an ability to see the weird and warped in
seemingly normal everyday situations.
Dubbed “The Master of Bull”, Bill’s performances have been
described as incorrigibull, disreputabull, irascibull but
always enjoyabull. Bill’s greatest pleasure is to give a laugh
or five whenever he performs, he reckons he saw very few
people admitted to hospital suffering from laughing. He has
however, retained a serious side and is sometimes known to
slip a serious poem into a performance when you least expect
it.
Bill has officiated as a judge in many bush poetry
competitions including ABPA State championships and is often
called upon to sit in judgment of one of his own poems being
performed in the contest. Bill’s ability as a writer has seen
his works in demand to be recited by many people in contests
throughout Australia with considerable success. His poems have
been part of the traditional section of Tamworth’s Golden
Damper competition for the past 10 years and the dynamic duo
of Bill as writer and Lyn Tarring as reciter won back to back
titles in 2014 and 2015 in the traditional section. As a mark
of respect, Lyn presented one of her Golden Damper trophies to
Bill at the last Bundaberg Poets Muster. It now sits proudly
above Bill’s desk.
Bill has released a number of books and CDs and has performed
at all kinds of venues from small country halls and retirement
homes to the Tamworth Country Music Festival and the Gympie
Muster.
I would not think that there
was a lady poet in Australia (and probably very few male
poets) who had not performed one of Bill’s poems and I don’t
think that there would be a supporter of bush poetry who had
not heard one being performed. Congratulations Bill on your
capacity to do what you love to do, i.e. “give a laugh or
five…” to so many.
__________________________________________________
David J Delaney
I am a former Brisbane boy
who used to live and work in Cairns with my very patient, and
darling wife, I sometimes wonder where I get the time to write
but always seem to manage to pen something, also as well as
being a member of the ABPA, I am a member of the Tropical
writers group Cairns and the book Creators Circle among other
literary sites on the web.
Having had limited education including no formal education in
writing, now at 60, I wanted to show that someone like myself
without higher schooling could write and enjoy it. For me,
school, Rocklea State School, (when I was there) was a place
to 'hang out' with my mates and I actually only completed 3
months of high school (Salisbury) before leaving at the age of
15.
After numerous jobs throughout my youth I eventually moved
into Furniture Removals where I stayed for approximately 25
years. For 17 of these, my wife and I operated our own removal
business, and I was able to travel extensively throughout
N.S.W and Queensland.
Since leaving the removal industry several years ago and
having some 'thinking' time, my experiences, memories of
driving the highways and tracks, the vast and beautiful
outback, my wife, daughters, grand children and family,
stories from mates, work colleagues and close war veterans
have given me the inspiration for my writings.
The release of my 1st book “My
small
book of poems” in May 2007 was one incredible step
for me. The size of my book was purposely done to gauge the
reaction of the public. Despite not being proof read and
having mistakes the response was both humbling and amazing,
with comments from the likes of John Williamson, Mel from
Sunrise, Steve Ahmet from Easylistening 846, Pat Morrish of
Far North ABC Radio and many others & including sales to
the U.S, U.K, Ireland, Japan & more. This has inspired me
to keep writing and in March 2008 I released my 2nd and
equally popular “Rhymes of
Times”.
My 3rd book “Out of
Australia” is a 100 poem compilation and has been
published in America after communicating with ASA Publishing
company in Michigan. Out of Australia is available from
selected online bookshops.
My latest book "Another
Chapter" I published in India as a thank you for
winning (with a bush poem) the prestigious Rabindrananth
Tagore award in late 2013 this book is a collection of new
poems and short stories.
My first three books are available from Amazon, "Another
Chapter" is available from here and all are available via myself,
please contact me for details
Thanks for all that David
and we hope you continue to enjoy your travelling existence
and to enjoy contributing to the bush poetry scene wherever
you may wander.
__________________________________________________
Dennis Scanlon
Bush poet Dennis Scanlon
of Tyalgum has returned home from Canberra after being
selected to present his poems at the Australian War Memorial.
Mr Scanlon read from seven of his original Anzac themed poems
during a poetry day at the Australian War Memorial.
Vision of him reading those poems will appear in the
Memorial's education and continued learning program.
The 71 year old began writing poetry during his retirement a
decade ago. However, it wasn't until the Tyalgum “Diggers”
asked him to write a poem in 2013 honouring the Australian
Light Horse that Mr Scanlon's attention turned to the Anzacs.
"There had always been music in my life and when I retired it
started to bubble back," he said. "I started to write things
down that had happened to me during my life and those stories
started to come out in meter and rhyme".
"My poetic style was always bushy because I've spent my life
working with livestock and meat. However, there had always
been a deep sense of Anzac tradition in me because my father
was in World War II".
"My father, like many blokes, died young from injuries and
illness received during the war. In my life there has always
been a sense of the waste of war but also a sense of the
sacrifice and that comes through in my poetry".
Mr Scanlon said he was honoured to present his poems at the
War Memorial during such a historic year. "I was very much
humbled," he said.
"I knew that the poems I was writing were strong enough
because the Australia Light Horse had started to see the merit
of them”.
Mr Scanlon has been volunteering with the Mudgeeraba Light
Horse Museum, and is visiting local schools to talk about the
Anzac spirit and tradition.
Mr Scanlon’s poems will be featured in a booklet produced by
The Light Horse Museum for Gold Coast schools. It will be
available this month.
Contact Dennis: Mob: 0427328633. Email:
Article courtesy of Bob Anthony, Gold Coast Sun newspaper.
__________________________________________________
It's more of a future
achievement but Greg will be the resident poet at the Matilda Country Tourist Park in Winton,
Queensland next winter (2016). The park has had a poet
performing for guests for about 25 years. Gloria Hitson was
the first, followed by the late Milton Taylor and then Mel and Susie on Tour (Melanie Hall and
Susan Carcary). The girls are moving on to an exciting new
venture and Greg is pleased to be taking their place and
continuing a wonderful tradition of performing bush poetry for
travellers.
It all happened at the Winton Outback Festival in September
while Greg was staying at his hotel - the North Gregory (well,
his hotel by name - almost!). Along with the excitement of the
announcement there was the thrill of sharing the stage with
Marco Gliori and John Best during this iconic festival.
In August 2015, Greg was honoured to be commissioned to write
a poem for Blue Mountains tourist attraction, the Treasured
Teapot Museum. After extensive refurbishment it was opened by
past NSW Governor Marie Bashir in front of 300 people. Greg
shared the poem with the audience and you can read it on his website.
Greg will be performing at the 2015 St Arnaud festival in
Victoria in November so Victorians will have the chance to
catch his unique performance style. He gets around!
__________________________________________________
Maureen Clifford aka The Scribbly
Bark Poet
Maureen is the editor
of a fortnightly online poetry magazine published by The
Australia Times Group. She has been doing this now for 2 years
on a voluntary basis and has poets from around the world and
our own home grown Aussie bush poets submit work to her. She
is also an active member of the ABPA and a member of Writers
Dock, Linkedin, and Poets Collective.
Prior to retirement Maureen worked for 30 years in the Health
Insurance Industry and for a short period of time was a
self-employed grazier helping to raise Merino sheep and run a
property at Stanthorpe. A staunch animal activist, Maureen is
also involved in a small capacity with Hoofs2010Inc – a brumby
rescue group and runs their Facebook page for the children’s
group Li’l Brumbies as well as the FB page for ABPA and TAT
Poetry.
She now lives in an old renovated Queenslander just outside of
Brisbane with her two rescued furbabies, both of whom often
feature in her poetry. In addition to poetry and short story
writing, Maureen also does photo restorations and restores old
furniture and has, in her words, “…mastered the art of doing
nothing and doing it well when the mood strikes. One of the
joys of retirement.”
N.B. Actually, Maureen leads an extremely busy life and she is
of great service to the ABPA. We thank her for her avid
promotion of bush poetry through her communication link-ups.
You can read more of Maureen’s work on her personal blog page and gain details of her
published print and e-books from her email
__________________________________________________
Geoffrey, as a
youngster at Robertson NSW, grew up with a love for the bush
fuelled by the frequent recitations of Banjo et al from his
father, Arch. After stints in boarding schools at Tamworth,
and Hurlstone in Sydney, Geoffrey did time at UNE at Armidale
where he obtained a B. AG EC and Diploma in Education.
While lecturing in Farm Management at the Murrumbidgee College
of Agriculture at Yanco, developing the skills of young people
to go on the land, Geoffrey also produced his own revues, had
his second rock ‘n’ roll band and followed in his father’s
footsteps, reciting the works of ‘Banjo’ Paterson et al. So
developed two main passions: 1 Life as a performer, and 2
Helping others with their journeys.
In the early 80s, Geoffrey studied the art of acting and
entertaining at the Victorian College of the Arts. On the
completion of the course he dabbled in television, film and
theatre. Geoffrey continued to perform his Dinkum Oz
entertainment comprising a mix of comedy, music and of course
verse. The performance arenas varied from school shows, to
standup comedy, festivals and motivational talks. His acting,
whip cracking, characterisations and down-to-earth style,
allowed him to entertain a wide range of audiences. His
entertaining emerged in locations as diverse as Aboriginal
settlements in outback W.A, the Australian Embassy in Laos,
the Wallaby restaurant in New York, the Funny Bone, Dallas,
plus every state in Australia. Along the way he owned and ran
his own entertainment restaurant, ‘Dinkum Oz’, (formerly
Smacka’s place) in North Melbourne.
In 1995 Geoffrey performed his self-devised one-man show ‘The
Man from Ironbark” in Winton in Queensland. The show, based on
the life and works of ‘Banjo’ Paterson, received great acclaim
from Australians from all walks of life. He now has a stable
of themed one man shows, the most recent being ‘Voices of War:
an Anzac story’ which he kicked off in Tamworth in January
2015.
He has constantly toured his self-devised Australiana
productions throughout schools, clubs et al. These included
Arts Council tours and workshops aimed at self-esteem issues,
writing and performance skills.
Geoffrey has been called a ‘folk comic’, ‘theatrical
communicator’ and since his entry into the world of Ironman
events he’s been given the tag ‘Iron poet’. His sporting
obsessions (martial arts) have taken him to Okinawa in 2014
and next October he’ll be competing in the Hawaii Ironman.
Apart from entertaining and acting Geoffrey works as an MC,
judges competitions, is the President of the BGBP (Bendigo
Goldfields Bush Poets) and is proud of the fact that he was
one of the founding members of the ABPA. He has produced
several CDs and two books and has more in the pipeline.
See more about Geoffrey on his website.
__________________________________________________
Jack Drake’s poetry
is drawn from his variety of country life experiences, through
his early days on his father’s sheep property in Otago New
Zealand, his years in the W.A. wheat field area, his Gold
Coast days and finally to his years in the mountains south
east of Stanthorpe.
Jack’s wife Stella tells us, “Jack broke in his first horse at
age 14 and for the rest of his life he has been a ‘horse man’.
He has been a farrier and a saddler and has followed rodeo
circuits. On the Gold Coast he ran the first Aussie Outback
Show at Koala Town and worked with horse drawn vehicles. Once
settled near Stanthorpe he ran a horse back trail riding
business, drove a horse drawn Phaeton carriage for weddings
and winery tours, ran pack horse schools and worked the farm
with heavy horses.”
In amongst all this, Jack promoted Australian bush poetry by
running O’Mara’s High Country Poets’ competitions in
Stanthorpe.
He won the Women’s Weekly/Asthma Foundation ‘Poet of the Year’
in 2001 with his iconic verse, The Cattle Dog’s Revenge and
his book of poems and short stories of the same name won a
Golden Gumleaf award for Book of the Year in 2004.
“His interest in historical events saw Jack, among other
things, run a re-enactment of the court case on the centenary
of Breaker Morant’s execution, a re-enactment of a bush ranger
hold up for the Stanthorpe Show Society and take on the
persona of a packhorse mailman for the centenary of the
Stanthorpe Post Office celebrations. He was commissioned to
portray Sir Henry Parkes and deliver his Federation speech for
the Centenary of Federation celebrations in 2001.”
One of Jack’s favourite interests in historical matters
produced his extensive two volume set of books which compare
the frontier stories of Australia with those of America’s wild
west.
Jack is very interested in encouraging youngsters to take an
interest in our unique Australian Bush Poetry and with this in
mind, he has produced a teachers’ package for schools based on
his Golden Gumleaf award winning CD Australian Bush Poetry
Classics including the history of each poem and its author
plus activities for the children relative to each poem.
…and in Stella’s words, “…mix all of these life experiences
with a wicked sense of humour and you get JACK DRAKE.”
www.jackdrake.com.au
email
for details of available CDs and books.
__________________________________________________
The
late Milton Taylor
Vale
- Milton Taylor 15.06.43 – 16.05.15
‘Everybody’s Darling’
Milton Taylor, from Hartley, New South Wales, (but
originally a Queenslander) died Saturday 16th May after
suffering for the last five years with a rare immune
condition.
We lost, without doubt, the greatest poet of modern times in
this country. He wrote and performed ‘people’s poetry’ – from
witty gems to literary masterpieces, some utterly hilarious
and others incredibly moving.
His works are recited and loved by people of all ages and all
walks of life throughout Australia and in the United States,
where performance tours took him for ten years.
Despite a multitude of major awards (not the least of which
was the Australian Bush Laureate Award for his contribution to
Bush Poetry) and despite a huge fan base, he was immensely
humble, sharing his talent to inspire many other poets and
bringing the sheer joy of poetry to children.
He was loved for more than his writing. He touched the lives
of so many and was admired and respected for the gentleman he
was. To say he will be missed is an understatement indeed.
Milton remained a man of principle, wit, honour and courage to
the very end.
To his daughter Michelle and her family and to his soul mate
Roelie, deepest condolences. Know that the world weeps with
you.
Carol Heuchan.
Milton Taylor was an encouragement and inspiration to so many
bush poets. Not only was he a wonderful bloke to know, he was
a sensational performer and excellent writer of bush poetry.
Many of his award-winning poems appear on the poetry
page of this site. On the Roll
of
Honour page you'll see Milton was five-times Australian
Champion - more than anyone else.
Very few people are able to master both writing and
performance and even fewer can create and deliver both joy and
pathos with equal effectiveness. Milton was such a master. He
will be greatly missed in bush poetry circles.
Gregory North.
On a starry, starry night, a great poet, a wonderful man, a
special friend and a dearly treasured loved-one departed. In
this world he left a space... in us all a void. Vale Milton
Taylor (15 June 1943 - 16 May 2015).
Milton's ashes will be scattered on the Thomson River at
Longreach, on Saturday afternoon 1st August 2015. His many
western friends are invited to join in this final farewell.
RSVP by ringing me on 0432 372 193.
Roelie Hartwig.
__________________________________________________
Trisha Anderson
Trisha Anderson, at first glance, is probably not what people
are expecting when meeting an Australian Bush Poet ! –
firstly, she doesn’t have a ‘cork adorned Akubra’, although
she does occasionally wear a hat – she doesn’t often wear
jeans and riding boots and she wasn’t born in the bush! She is
however, the daughter of well known Cartoonist, Naturalist and
Author Ian Gall, and it was his love and knowledge of Nature,
Animals and the Australian bush that Trisha grew up with and
which inspired her love of all things Australian. Always
interested in the wonderful stories and poems of early
Australia, she was drawn to the genre of Bush Poetry when it
was enjoying it’s ‘rebirth’ over twenty years ago.
For quite some years she was content to be in the audience
until Robert Raftery – a well-known Queensland poet - wrote a
piece especially for her to perform. After a few months of
‘panic and nerves’ and with Robert’s and the late Bobby
Miller’s encouragement, she eventually found herself on the
stage – and, as they say, the rest is history ! She then
became a keen performer and competitor, achieving many
successes at Festivals from Winton to Tamworth to Perth and
many places between.
Her love of Traditional poetry is evident in many of her
performances as she relates these wonderful poems from such
writers as Banjo Paterson, Will Ogilvie and Dorothea Mackellar
to audiences across Australia. They are sometimes serious,
sometimes humorous but they always challenge the emotions of
her audience.
Trisha was the Founder of PALMA ROSA POETS in the 1990’s and
for many years she invited poets from all over Australia to
perform in the beautiful Heritage-listed Hamilton home which
was the Headquarters of the English Speaking Union. This was
always a popular and entertaining evening which sadly came to
an end in 2010 when Palma Rosa was sold.
For the last 15 years she has organized the BUSH POETS at the
EKKA where groups of Bush Poets perform their poetry on
various stages throughout the Ekka – Brisbane’s Royal National
Show.
She also organises – with the help of fellow Bush Poet Noel
Stallard – the RNA EKKA BUSH POETRY COMPETITION on the first
Saturday of the Show (this year the Competition is on August
8th).
Over the past 15 years, during the Tamworth Country Music
Festival, Trisha has organised the BUSH POETTES. As the name
implies this is a fun afternoon’s entertainment showcasing all
the Female Talent performing in Tamworth – most of whom are,
or have been winners or finalists in the many Competitions
held throughout Australia during the year.
At the Australian Bush Laureate Awards in Tamworth in 2014
Trisha was very honoured to be presented with the JUDITH
HOSIER HERITAGE AWARD – this award is presented in recognition
of the ‘contribution and support of the genre of Bush Poetry'
over the years. Trish says, “It was a very humbling experience
as some of the previous recipients have been Slim Dusty and
Ted Egan – and many of our Award winning poets such as Bruce
Simpson, Kelly Dixon, Blue the Shearer and many, many more.“
Although Trish says she is just as happy these days “…being a
Grandma to my five beautiful grandchildren, spending time with
family and friends and pottering in my garden…”, we are
pleased that she still occasionally travels around our
countryside giving pleasure to many and helping others to
perform. Thank you Trish for all you have done to promote bush
poetry and poets.
Trish can be reached at
__________________________________________________
Graeme
Johnson
Graeme Johnson aka “The
Rhymer from Ryde” was fortunate to drift into the Bush
Poetry genre during one of its “Golden Ages” in the mid to
late Nineties when luminaries such as Bobby Miller, Charlee
Marshall, John Phillipson, Johnny Johannsen and others of
their ilk ‘held court’ wherever they appeared. He was also
fortunate to meet and befriend other modern day icons such
as “Blue the Shearer”, Milton Taylor and of course the late
great Frank Daniel. (It was actually Frank himself who
originally coined the moniker, “The Rhymer from Ryde” which
Graeme has used ever since).
All of these wonderfully diverse characters had a direct
influence on Graeme’s career and it was only through their
help and advice that Graeme became another one of our Bush
Poetry devotees and ardent performer & writer. So it was
no surprise that when he was in a position to give something
back to his fellow poets that he did exactly that.
From the late Nineties onwards Graeme was already organising
Poets’ Breakfasts for the likes of the Galston Country Music
(1999-2008) & South Coast Country Music Festivals
(2002-2011) employing his fellow poets to perform on these
bills. From some of Australia’s most recognised poets to the
up and comers of the new generation Graeme more than likely
used their services at some stage over this period.
In more recent times Graeme has continued this tradition
through his popular Rhymer’s Roundup shows at the Tamworth
Country Music Festivals 2013-2015.
As an accredited ABPA judge for both written and performance
competitions, Graeme officiates at ABPA Championships and
other bush poetry competitions. He is also Event
Co-ordinator for the ABPA Golden Damper performance
competition in Tamworth.
Graeme would like to thank all those he has worked and
‘shared the stage’ with over time for contributing to “…some
of the best days of my life”. He also asks that “…special
mention be made to my ‘other half’ (yes she does exist),
wife Narelle, who has had to listen to way more Bush Poetry
than Work Health & Safety regulations would normally
allow.”
Visit Graeme's website.
__________________________________________________
Murray
Hartin
Murray Hartin has been
part of the Australian Bush Poetry and entertainment scene
since first stumbling into - and winning - the inaugural
Tamworth Poetry Competition at the 1987 Country Music
Festival. The victory led to a career in journalism and
then, in 1996, he took the bold step to become a full-time
poet.
Along the way he was part of the evolution of the Poets’
Breakfasts at The Longyard, featured on that group’s first
cassette and with Marco Gliori staged the Festival’s first
night-time poetry concerts in a very hot little church in
the early ’90s which in turn morphed into ‘The Naked Poets’
– the madcap group that went on to record five CDs and
perform to thousands of people over a 13-year period.
Thirteen years with The Naked Poets –“… well, it certainly
hasn’t done me any harm. And we are all still great mates.
We released a Double Best of The Naked Poets album last year
that is the pick of the five Naked Poets albums – lots of
fun.”
A three-time Golden Gumleaf winner for Recorded Performance
of the Year and two for Book of the Year, Muz makes his
living as a professional entertainer, performing guest
speaking roles and MC duties at corporate functions,
sporting lunches, charities dinners and festivals across the
country. For the last four years, at the Tamworth Country
Music Festival Muz has been part of the team ‘The Four Funny
Buggers’.
Murray’s yarn Turbulence is the most recited, most requested
and most played poetic work in recent memory and in 2007 his
stunning poem Rain From Nowhere touched the hearts of people
Australia-wide. The emotional distance between these two
poems is as wide as Muz’s repertoire and gives an indication
there is more to this Moree-born knockabout than meets the
eye.
But to Muz, it’s all about performance. “The only reason
you’re there is because of the audience. You have to send
out energy to them which they then chew up and throw back at
you via laughter or applause.”
Muz has two CDs, Muz! and The Tater Slater Caper plus a DVD,
Bigger Than God’s Undies, plus his new book A Whole Lotta
Muz,, a combination of poems and newspaper columns, which
are all available on his website.
__________________________________________________
Gary
Fogarty
Born into a mixed farming
family Gary developed a bond with country life that has
remained strong to this day. Childhood memories revolve
around working beside both of his parents, learning skills
essential for rural life. Gary started a cadetship with the
Department Of Primary Industries working in rural research
before taking up a position as Trials Agronomist with
Cargill Seeds.
A promising sportsman, it was during this cadetship that
Gary was involved in a vehicle accident that resulted in him
fracturing his spine in five places and having to re-think
his future. It was during the three year debilitating period
of rehabilitation that Gary took up his pen and turned his
hand to writing Bush Poetry. Gary defied the doctors and
returned to rural endeavours. Twenty years later, after
running his own cattle property at Chinchilla, working as a
Drought Relief Officer based at Goondiwindi and as the
Community Development Officer at Millmerran, it was time to
admit that the doctors were right and to accept being
invalided out of the workforce with Chronic Back Pain.
Gary’s poetry career has seen him focus his efforts on
performance poetry and he has won numerous prizes over the
years, including the first ever Australian Bush Poetry
Championship and a couple of Australian Bush Laureate
Awards. While appreciative of these awards Gary gets more
satisfaction from some of the more obscure events that
through the years have highlighted the public’s appreciation
of his work. His written poetry has been broadcast and
featured internationally, has inspired Olympians, sportsmen
and cancer sufferers and has motivated groups to help those
suffering the effects of drought.
Gary was selected as a member of the Australian Performing
Arts Team in both 2010 and 2011, becoming the first ever
performing poet from any of the 50+ participating countries
to compete at the World Championships of Performing Arts in
Los Angeles.
In 2011 Gary was awarded the “Street Of Dreams Award” at
Tamworth, an award which recognised the most popular Bush
Poet or Balladeer in Australia and was voted on by the
public. Gary had no knowledge of the award, or his win, and
thought he was just performing a spot at the presentation
concert.
To Gary, these types of acknowledgement from outside the
‘poetry community’ mean more than those from within the
industry, as they are recognition that bush poetry has the
potential to touch anyone’s life, not just those who are
already fans of our art-form.
Gary lists his other significant achievements as initiating
and/or running poetry performances at: Australian Camp Oven
Festival (Millmerran), Chinchilla Melon Festival, Mud Bulls
and Music, Tara Festival Of Culture and Camel Races, Gidgee
Coal Awards, Yellow Belly Festival, Texas Country Music
Festival, Munna Creek Balladeers Festival, and Bouldercombe
Country Music Festival. He is proud of the fact that through
his efforts he has not only promoted Performance Bush Poetry
to the wider community but has provided a considerable
number of opportunities for his fellow performers to get
paid engagements.
Gary credits his late father for instilling a love of bush
poetry and his wife Cindy, daughters Kelly and Shannon and
step daughters Shareene and Danica for providing an amazing
and unselfish amount of support throughout his bush poetry
journey. Gary has published three books of poetry and
released 3 albums to date.
__________________________________________________
Max
& Jacqui Merckenschlager
Max Merckenschlager
began writing poetry with rhyme and metre in 1997, after
being successful in the Snowy Times ‘Another Banjo’
competition. He recalls, “the thoughtful choice of language
of Paterson, in particular,” and he has endeavoured to
follow his example. “This is what has set the work of old
masters ‘up there’ among today’s gifted writers.”
Max and his wife Jacqui remember the camaraderie of many
bush enthusiasts during their days of organising and running
Murray Bridge’s ‘SA Stumpy Awards’ and they have been
involved in the organisation of local poetry and song events
each year since then.
Both Max and Jacqui have written for Ginninderra Press
anthologies including the lovely little celebration of Sir
Hans Heysen’s art “That Which My Eyes See.” They launched
their own book ‘Captured Moments’ as part of SA Art’s
‘Ripples’ Program in 2010 and included a play and excerpts
from a co-written musical.
Jacqui’s poetry is free verse with a strong sense of the
lyrical. Her topics include social and environmental issues.
She has been invaluable in assisting Max with judging poetry
and song at Tamworth in 2013, and in co-editing Award
Winning Bush Verse and Stories, published by Melbourne Books
which won the Australian Bush Laureate Award in Tamworth in
2012.
Max’s songs have had success and his many major awards for
bush poetry include 7 wins including 4 statuettes between
2004 and 2011 at Grenfell, Dubbo’s Rolf Boldrewood Literary
Award and Tamworth’s Bush Laureate award for published poem
of the year. He has received 3 ABPA national awards for
championship poems.
Although health is more of an issue now, Max and Jacqui feel
that “…maybe this will mean there will be more travel
opportunities ahead to visit many of these widely spaced and
interesting Australian towns and cities!” So watch out for
this talented pair around the Aussie track.
__________________________________________________
Catherine Lee
Catherine
Lee
has enjoyed a nomadic existence for years and as well as New
Zealand and Australia has to date had the pleasure of
residing in Papua New Guinea, Singapore, the Philippines,
Indonesia, the Maldives and Thailand. Previously a PA, she
is now a freelance professional proof reader/editor.
She has always loved poetry with rhyme and metre, and has
been writing in this style for as long as she can remember.
As a child she performed in poetry recitation competitions,
but this is not something she continued as an adult,
preferring instead to concentrate on the writing. She began
entering competitions in 1994, but it was while living in
Papua New Guinea in the late nineties that she was asked to
share her poetry in public for the first time, reading to a
group of mostly Australians. Their response was so positive
that she was persuaded to self-publish a small book which
she subsequently sold at the local market. Meanwhile, over
the years she has had some articles, poetry and short
stories published in magazines within Australia, PNG, the
Philippines, Singapore, and this month in Bangkok.
Traditional style poetry is her first love however,
therefore a huge highlight was winning four major
competitions in a row one year including the Blackened
Billy, not least because she was also able to make it to
Tamworth and meet many of her fellow poets in person.
Another highlight was winning the Bryan Kelleher Literary
Award for two consecutive years, and a third was a thrilling
and very humbling nomination received as an Australian Bush
Laureate contender.
Catherine is host editor of the International Xpressions and
Famous Poets’ Birthdays pages for FreeXpression, and a keen
promoter of traditional Australian verse overseas whenever
opportunities arise. As well as writing, reading and playing
the piano, she feels travel has greatly enriched her life
and considers it an enormous privilege to experience such
diverse cultures and locations and meet so many different
people. These experiences, along with memories of her own
culture and surroundings, provide her with inspiration.
Catherine says she can be a bit of an idealist at times, but
she truly believes that a smile speaks all languages and
poetry and music speak directly to the heart and soul.
__________________________________________________
Carol
Heuchan
hadn’t even seen a Bush Poetry Competition before friends
took her to Tamworth ten years ago. Horses were her world –
she taught riding, broke in and trained horses, mustered
stock in the Snowy River country. She had competed all her
life at the highest level with show horses and judged
internationally.
But she made the transformation from stable to the stage and
took the Bush Poetry world by storm and after a couple of
years of competing and amassing prestigious awards by the
score, she made the brave move to make poetry her career and
has been a full time, professional poet ever since.
But she says she has had a lot of luck along the way.
Winning a Case JX55, thirty four thousand dollar tractor
(just for writing a little poem), was a great kick start. As
was being one of twelve poets/lyricists chosen to be part of
the ABC Television series Bush Slam (host H G Nelson) which
has been shown nationally, prime time, about six times.
Then, on top of Australian and State Championships for
performance and umpteen written awards, she has nine
Australian Bush Laureate Awards to her credit. But the
greatest good fortune, she said, was having Milton Taylor as
her mentor and friend.
Carol’s first books were, naturally enough, about horses but
she soon broadened her repertoire to suit all occasions, all
ages and people from all walks of life, kids to corporate,
little charity gigs to the the biggest overseas gatherings.
She travels extensively – entertaining, compering,
workshops, guest speaking, commission writing and getting
out of heaps of housework.
2015 will see her off for two months, on her sixth
performance tour of the US and Canada (still pinching
herself that she is paid to do what she loves).
Six years ago she was performing Bush Poetry when ‘scouted’
by the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales and
since then has been the Main Arena Commentator for the
duration of the Easter Show.
Unbelievable incidents? Sheik Mohammed Al Maktoum
commissioned her to write a poem (which she performed on
Sports Channel around the world). And Prince Phillip, the
Duke of Edinburgh, said ‘Good Morning’ to her in Windsor
Great Park in London last month when she was doing some
‘horse research’!
CDs, Books available from:
www.carolpoet.com.au
www.carolspeaker.com.au
__________________________________________________
Glenny
Palmer
“Approaching
Glenny
to contribute to this section, despite her many achievements
as one of our first and most successful female bush poets,
she felt that in recent times her greatest contribution was
to publish the poems of her partner, John ‘croc’ Moss, and
to establish in his honour, a new Bush Poetry event in
Theodore, Queensland, where they spent his last years
together.
We thank Glenny for demonstrating that even when times are
really tough, if you put your energy towards something
worthwhile “it can be done”.
“Prior to the sad day when my poetic sweetheart ‘croc’
succumbed to his terminal ‘Motor Neurone Disease’, I had
decided that his unique poetry should be made available to
the world before we lost him forever. With the help of many
of our dear ABPA poet friends (predominantly Zondrae King)
his first book, ‘The World According to croc’ was created.
The rush was well and truly on then to provide a viable Bush
Poetry venue in the heritage sheds on my property, where
‘The Copper Croc Poetry Awards’ and the release of croc’s
book could be staged. Some of our poets travelled great
distances to not only say their goodbyes to croc, but to get
stuck in with hammers and shovels to actually help create
the venue! However, as I was to later write in my farewell
poem to croc, ‘Angels on their mission leave such scant time
for goodbye’…croc was buried just the day before the
scheduled event. The Aussie spirit kicked in and we forged
on to stage the most wonderful farewell for him. We had
campfires burning, sausages sizzling, and wonderful
performances from Brenda Joy, Bob Pacey, Zondrae King, and
our darling Kym Eitel, who was so bravely fighting her own
similar battle.”
“As
yet
these awards are for written work only, but I hope to expand
that as the response is so encouraging. Space precludes my
acknowledging all of those who so lovingly contributed, but
I will never forget them, or their invaluable input into
what is now an acknowledged yearly event on our Bush Poetry
calendar.”
Glenny’s CDs and Croc’s and her books are available at
glennypoet at bigpond dot com
You can find out more about Glenny and access her useful
advice on the Techniques
page.
__________________________________________________
Philip
Rush
“The
thirty-first of December this year will see me complete
twenty-one years of being Tasmania’s ABC ‘Country Hour’
poet. As of today I have presented a poem, usually with a
rural flavour, throughout Tasmania’s ABC network as the last
item on Friday’s ‘Country Hour’ nine hundred and thirty-one
times. On the second Sunday in February next year, I will
have completed twenty-one years as a guest speaker and poet
on Tasmania’s ABC ‘Sunday’ programme. Nearly seven hundred
five to seven minute talks about almost anything, from
school swimming lessons I gave in the local creek in some
rural schools I taught in, to cancer, dementia, the
wilderness, the history of soccer,
On arriving in Tasmania in December 1993, I went to the ABC
in Hobart and suggested to the Head of the Rural Department
that I could be the “Country Hour” poet. His reply was for
me to record on tape that afternoon four poems, and he would
see how they were received. They must have ‘hit the spot’
and I now go to Hobart every Friday, where I read the new
poem live on air. My poems have been the last item on the
’Country Hour’ each week, and, as mentioned earlier, I am
heading towards a thousand ‘Country Hour’ poems since that
day I put the first four on tape!
Many listeners asked for copies of the poems, so I started
self-publishing them – my first book being ‘Australian Poems
that would Stun a Sheep’. Before getting it printed, I rang
the ‘Australian Society of Authors’ and asked how many
copies I should print. Their answer was ”Print three
hundred, and you’ll have 276 left after you’ve given two
dozen away to your friends and neighbours!” They weren’t
quite right, for that book has fifteen reprints, and over
twenty thousand copies sold. Twenty other books have
followed, seven or eight of them in the Bush Laureate Award
finals, and one being the ’Original Verse Book of the Year,
2006.’
There are now over one hundred and fifty thousand of my
poetry books in print, and they are still selling quite well
– thank you for any reader who has one or more of my books!
A final comment – all of my self-published poetry books have
been printed in Hobart – I refused to have them printed
overseas. Much easier to keep track, and each book has been
excellently presented, thanks to the expertise of those at
Monotone printers.
Will I do any more? I’m not sure. Maybe, maybe not! Perhaps
enough is enough!”
The ABPA says thanks to Philip for his innovative approach
to promoting Bush Poetry.
__________________________________________________
Noel
Stallard’s
expertise and experience spreads across the whole spectrum
of the Bush Poetry scene. As a multi-award-winning performer
and writer, Noel is in demand for performances, workshops,
and judging at festivals and functions all around Eastern
Australia. He has appeared at ABPA National and State
Championships and competitions, at The Gympie Muster, the
Tamworth Country Music Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival,
The Widgee Muster, The John O’Brien Festival and Norfolk
Island’s festival.
In addition to the
presentation of his own poetry, Noel has been a great
promoter of the work of both classic and contemporary bush
poets. In particular, in the persona
of John O’Brien he has brought the poetry of Father Patrick
Hartigan to life especially at the annual John O’Brien
Festival which is held in March in Narrandera, NSW.
To combine with his many successes with his original material
at the annual Australian Bush Laureate Awards in Tamworth,
Noel’s CD of Bruce Simpson’s poetry gained the ‘Golden
Gumleaf’ for Album of the Year at the ABLA in 2010.
Further to these specific achievements, having taught for 35
years, Noel specializes in working with children. Accredited
with both the Queensland Education Department and the
Queensland Arts Council, his inter-active workshops bring
delight to youngsters in both city and country areas. Noel’s illustrated
children’s books, The
Bush Animals’ Band and See What I See in the Sea were finalists in Tamworth’s ABLA Awards with The Bush Animals’ Band taking
out the 2009 Golden Gumleaf
for ‘Children’s Book of
the Year’.
Further, as an act of charity Noel and his ever-supportive
wife Ann, run the Verse
for Vinnies concerts in which invited feature
poets perform to raise funds for the St.Vincent de Paul
Society. Sunday afternoon audiences to these bi-monthly, two
hour events are around 160 and to date over $29,000 has been
raised to assist those who struggle for sustenance in our
community.
From 2006 to 2010 Noel was President of the Australian Bush
Poets Association and he is currently President of the North
Pine Bush Poets Association. In Tamworth at the 2011 ABLA,
Noel was awarded the very prestigious ‘Judith Hosier
Heritage Award’ for “…outstanding achievement in
nurturing Australia’s unique heritage of rhymed verse…”
We thank Noel for all that he has done, and all that he
continues to do for Australian culture, for the genre of
Bush Poetry and for the ABPA.
Noel’s profile and Performance Tips are available on this
website. Click on Techniques.
To learn more about Noel and to obtain his products visit his
website noelstallard.com.
__________________________________________________
Wally Finch - Agricultural Show Arena Spectaculars
Since 2002 Wally has been involved from concept to writing to
performance in bringing Arena Spectaculars to Agricultural
Shows throughout regional Queensland and northern New South
Wales. Agricultural Shows are the oldest form of continuous
entertainment in Australia. They are a genuine part of our
heritage in very real danger of being lost. Some have already
vanished forever.
The Arena Spectaculars are a kaleidoscope of imagery and sound
with huge casts held together by the narrative of one bush
poet, Wally. Over the years they have covered historical
subjects from Ned Kelly to Phar Lap. Because they are heritage
based and easy to identify with, they have been instrumental
in bringing crowds back to their local shows. For the team,
their largest audience was on the Gold Coast a few years back
when they performed to over 27,500 across three days.
This year their presentation of the Waltzing Matilda Arena
Spectacular for the anniversary of Banjo Paterson’s birth 150
years ago, was at the Toowoomba Show from 27th – 29th March.
Although, ironically, rain affected the schedule and the
Thursday night had to be cancelled (only the second
cancellation in 110 performances from 29 different shows),
those who braved the weather on the opening, including the
Queensland Governor, Ms Penelope Wensley, enjoyed the music
and bush poetry presented. When the full show went on on the
Saturday night, there was an enthusiastic crowd of over 5,000.
Wally said "Our heritage offers us such a rich field of
discovery as poets, writers, and, story tellers and the Arena
Spectaculars demonstrate a different dimension of how our Bush
Poetry can reach out to large audiences in regional and rural
areas. Imagine what we could do in capital cities."
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