Results 2009
Australian National Bush Poetry Championship

The 2009 Australian National Bush Poetry Championships
where held at the
CLUB Pine Rivers
Cnr Sparkes & Francis Rds
Bray Park
a suburb of Pine Rivers
not to far from the historical home of the Camp Oven festival.

on the
21st, 22nd and 23rd August 2009

He climbs the stairs, murmuring prayers,
His thoughts showing plain on his face.
His troublesome life, the hardship and strife
That brought him at last to this place.

                       *     *     *
He’d been more than a week at Stringybark Creek
When the troopers came searching his way.
“Surrender!” he said, then shot in the head
The trooper who wouldn’t obey.

Two troopers came back; they were blocking the track.
His position was looking quite grim.
When each grabbed his gun, there was nought to be done.
He shot them before they could shoot him.

He thought he could win at the Glenrowan Inn
With a plan both cunning and daring.
Covered in armour, he felt a bit calmer.
His coat concealed what he was wearing.

The troopers, they came, intending to maim
Him, because he had caused them such grief.
His armour repelled the bullets they shelled.
The battle was not looking brief.

They shot at his head; the bullets of lead
Did nothing - so then they shot low.
Then as he fell, the troopers said, “Well,
Maybe he’s human, you know.”

Captured in June; he thought it too soon
For a gallant young man in his prime
To lose such a fight and give up his right
To the freedom he had for a time.

Thirty thousand had said, “We don’t want him dead.”
The judge overruled every one.
As he stood alone on the cold floor of stone
He thought about what he had done.

                       *     *     *
He stood on the deck and the rope touched his neck,
And he knew that he soon would be dead.
As the hanging drew nigh, he held his head high.
“Such is life,” he said.

What a successful Australian Bush Poetry Championships Festival! We had poets from as far away as New Zealand, spectators from Canada and all mainland states of Australia and a huge number of people from the Moreton Bay Region and the greater Brisbane area.

We started with the Junior Sections with the young people performing extra well, including five year old Felicity Swan from Nundah who, with minimum help from mum gave us "The Man from Ironbark" .Australian Junior Bush Poetry Performance Champion is Sebastian Gelenke from Upper Coomera. All the youngsters performed well and were a credit to themselves and their teachers. The winner of the Primary Australian Written Bush Poetry is Amy Auld from Southern Cross Catholic College at Scarborough. The winner of the Secondary section is Kirily Greenbank from Creswick, Victoria.

There followed some of the best poets in Australia performing for record crowds. We had five current state or Australian champions competing as well as a large number of former champions. All judges and experienced poets stated that the quality of the performances were the highest that they have ever seen and the excellent performances by Susan Carcary from Maclean NSW and Greg North from Linden NSW saw them crowned Australian Bush Poetry Performance Champions for 2009. North Pines Kevin Dean from Strathpine attained a third place in the Modern (Male) Section with all other winners and placegetters scattered around Queensland, NSW, Victoria an New Zealand. The winner of the Australian Written Championship for 2009 is Max Merckenschlageer with "The Magnificent Seven". The Gala Concert was sold out weeks ago so Club Pine Rivers added extra seating and a bumper crowd enjoyed three hours of top class entertainment from Marco Gliori, Zita Horton, Milton Taylor and our own Long John Best.

We had five Festival Living Legends this year, Maxine Ireland, Alex Allitt, Ellis Campbell, Mary Hodgson and Ross Keppel.

The Australian Bush Poetry Championships will be held elsewhere next year as the Australian Bush Poets Association allows it to be held only twice at the same venue. However, North Pine Bush Poets will return to hosting the Camp Oven Festival as it has always done at this time next year to bring you another Festival starring some of the best bush poets in Australia and possibly overseas again As president of the North Pine Bush Poets Group I would like to thank all the supporters. Many thanks too, to our sponsors, Quest Newspapers, the Queensland Government Gambling Community Fund, radio stations 98.9 FM and 99.7 FM, the Moreton Bay Regional Council and Club Pine Rivers where the Festival was held.