The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Discussion of any bush poetry topic.
ONLY Registered Forum Members have access to this Forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
Gary Harding
Posts: 649
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 3:26 pm
Location: Hervey Bay, Qld (ex Victorian)
Contact:

Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Post by Gary Harding » Fri Jan 21, 2022 7:36 pm

An item which might naturally be very well known to some readers and yet unknown to others (particularly the younger generation) is The Dead Man's Penny or Soldier's Penny.

The Dead Man’s Penny is a commemorative medallion which was presented to the next-of-kin of the men and women who died during World War One.
The bronze medallion features an image of Lady Britannia surrounded by two dolphins (representing Britain’s sea power) and a lion (representing Britain) standing over a defeated eagle (symbolising Germany). Around the outer edge of the medallion are the words ‘He died for freedom and honour’. Next to Lady Britannia is the deceased solider’s name, with no rank provided to show equality in their sacrifice. The Dead Man’s Penny was accompanied by a letter from King George V, stating ‘I join with my grateful people in sending you this memorial of a brave life given for others in the Great War’.


At 294gms and 120mm diam. I find that it is still heavier than what one might expect when handled. Some 1.355 million of them were reportedly made from 450 ton of bronze.

The Australian Cultural Centre Project has been gifted the Commemorative "Penny" of Australian, Frank John Scott by his family. I am pleased to include a photograph of it below.

It is a great honour to have charge of such an important plaque. In return for this generous and very personal gift, our undertaking is to present it to visitors with an explanation as to why the Pennies were cast and given... as well as some background as to the service of Mr. Frank Scott who we can, I believe, readily trace.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

User avatar
Gary Harding
Posts: 649
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 3:26 pm
Location: Hervey Bay, Qld (ex Victorian)
Contact:

Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Post by Gary Harding » Sat Jan 22, 2022 4:52 pm

With AUSTRALIA DAY coming up on the 26th of January, here are a couple of items of sheet music (pictured below) from my extensive Collection.
There are others.. but these two in particular might help to celebrate Australia Day.. at least for those of us Bush Poets and True Patriots (everyone who reads this post?) who love their country with a huge passion.

1. "My Own Land"
Composed: Hal D. Abbott (Australian composer)
Published: Dunheved Publishing Co., Melb.
Dated: 1919
Attractive cover artwork featuring stalks of wheat framing a wheat field and farm buildings. Size : height 35cm x 25.5cm wide.

2. "Australian National Song"
Words by Arthur H. Adams. Music by Theodore Tourrier, published in Sydney by Albert and Sons 1914.
It has 4 pages with musical notation and lyrics in a colourful cover.
This song was awarded first prize in the Commonwealth competition conducted by the Musical Association of New South Wales.

"Vast the heritage we hold,
League on endless league unrolled,
Splashed with sun and wattle gold,
God's domain, Australia!"

A rare and attractive piece of Australiana!

We are feeling so incredibly Proud that we have uniquely and purely by ourselves thrown the spotlight onto Australia in all its fabulous Cultural domains by working to establish the wonderful Australian Cultural Centre. Australia Day! A day of true celebration.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

User avatar
Gary Harding
Posts: 649
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 3:26 pm
Location: Hervey Bay, Qld (ex Victorian)
Contact:

Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Post by Gary Harding » Thu Feb 03, 2022 5:23 pm

Those members following our monthly articles in Beacon magazine might be interested in the latest issue. (Edition 26). Turtle on cover.

https://thebeacon.com.au/magazine-publications/

The article on Page 40 tells the story of a 1940 cricket match between the boys of Frankston High School and the local Army Physical Education Instructors Training Camp. These instructors were often champions in their own sporting field.

One can imagine the hapless but obviously rather brave lads facing up to Don Bradman and "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith, both Test Cricketers, and all in front of their keenly watching school-mates. Don Bradman was still enormously famous and popular at that time.

My mother gained the autographs on that eventful day from the Army's team of sportsmen. All my life I had believed that there were autographs of the entire Australian Cricket Team in the book, but not so. I suppose such events can get forgotten or confused with the passing of decades and so I was never enlightened about it by my mother that I recall. Only recently did I take a closer look at the page and delved more deeply into it... using the power of Google Search.

So a bit of work on the computer found where the cricket match was recorded in detail and as the information was only placed there in 2018, I was fortunate to have done this research subsequent to that year, otherwise the story behind the autographs would have eluded me.

The Brave Schoolboys versus The Don !!

I trust it makes interesting reading. I note that the Beacon magazine in hard copy will now be for sale at $5 instead of being free and supported by advertising. I hope it goes well for them as they deserve something for all the hard work they put in!! It is a lovely magazine.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

User avatar
Shelley Hansen
Posts: 2224
Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 5:39 pm
Location: Maryborough, Queensland
Contact:

Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Post by Shelley Hansen » Mon Feb 07, 2022 8:42 pm

Fascinating stuff as always, Gary!
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com

"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")

User avatar
Gary Harding
Posts: 649
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 3:26 pm
Location: Hervey Bay, Qld (ex Victorian)
Contact:

Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Post by Gary Harding » Wed Feb 09, 2022 8:10 pm

Thank you once again for your expression of support Shelley! It is really appreciated!

Ron Haddrick (1929 - 2020) was the reciter on the 1968 EP, Australia's Best-Loved Ballads.
There are two copies of this EP around here somewhere. The second one I bought because I had actually forgotten that I had the first... pretty dumb.

Pictures below show Ron Haddrick (as I particularly remember him).

He recorded :

1. The Man From Snowy River
2. Said Hanrahan
3. Ballad of the Drover (Lawson)

Like Leonard Teale, Ron was an accomplished actor and in 1974 his contribution to the field of the Arts earned him a genuine honour, an MBE, Member Of The Most Excellent Order Of The British Empire.

As fellow enthusiasts would likely know, it is good to listen to an excellent ballad very well recited. Len may have been The Master but others like Ron can also do an accomplished audio performance on records like this I believe.

We collect good ballad material on vinyl with the aim of presenting it to the public (including school kids) in the Centre as a sensory experience (hearing).... and for overseas tourists as an example of the greatness of this part of Australian Literature.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

User avatar
Catherine Lee
Posts: 1300
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 9:47 pm
Location: Thailand

Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Post by Catherine Lee » Thu Feb 10, 2022 2:50 pm

Gary, your amazing collections and always fascinating pieces of information are such priceless treasures!

User avatar
Gary Harding
Posts: 649
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 3:26 pm
Location: Hervey Bay, Qld (ex Victorian)
Contact:

Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Post by Gary Harding » Fri Feb 11, 2022 8:56 am

Catherine... for your interest, the latest treasure bought a couple of days ago is a hand-made tapestry of an Australian "Settler's Hut".
The photo (below) does not do its visual impact justice perhaps?

Labelled as professionally framed in acid-free materials, the gold-coloured plaque says "The Pioneer - A Way Of Life". It is very impressive I think, as well as being something warm and "personal" as it was obviously made with great dedication.

How do people (in this case Ada Ritchie of Maryborough; it is gift-inscribed and dated 1992 on the back) have the enormous patience to do such time-consuming and detailed work?! Stitch by stitch, precisely .. and to choose the colours so sensitively.

How did I come by it? I was tipped off about a treadle sewing-machine at the local Salvation Army Op-Shop, so just out of curiosity I went to see it. Naturally it had sold by then but on their wall was this beautiful tapestry that had only been in their store for a few days!

I am currently working on a model Settler's Hut (70% complete) as part of an exhibition on the cultural aspects of Australian Architecture, so this must surely be a remarkable and coincidental find? It comes across as rather special doesn't it.... and I hope that it will complement the Settler's Hut perfectly.

Well... at $10 I could hardly leave it there, or bargain with them?.. haha.

I get up at 4.30am and go down to the workshop and make progress on the model. When working, I look out the glass doors and see the dawn breaking through the trees and hear the noisy kooka's starting up.. and then I think of the day-breaks that would have happened also over so many of the huts of those old folk.

Thank you Catherine for your positive comment! Really great!
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by Gary Harding on Wed Feb 16, 2022 4:56 am, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
Catherine Lee
Posts: 1300
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 9:47 pm
Location: Thailand

Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Post by Catherine Lee » Fri Feb 11, 2022 12:22 pm

Oh, this is indeed very special! I am in awe of anyone with the passion to sit down and create such a beautiful thing over what must be an incredibly long period of time - and especially as you say, choosing and blending just the right colours to suit, which add to making this particular piece such a treasure.... Ten dollars? What a bargain! You were so fortunate to find this, and yes it does seem an amazing coincidence considering your current project! ...You too have the dedication of an Ada Ritchie with all your projects, Gary, and the wee small hours of the morning are a perfect time to get up and tackle such things. Your description of the dawn is delightful and certainly lends itself to those musings on the past. This is a wonderful find!

User avatar
Shelley Hansen
Posts: 2224
Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 5:39 pm
Location: Maryborough, Queensland
Contact:

Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Post by Shelley Hansen » Mon Feb 14, 2022 12:10 pm

Great find, Gary!

I can tell you a little about Ada Richie. She was a very talented lady who taught needlework of all types and for years ran the Maryborough Heritage City Embroiderers Inc. My late mother Beryl Nelson was a member. They would meet and complete exquisite embroidery projects.

She kept on inspiring others with her creativity until well in her 90s and only gave up teaching shortly before her death. I'm so pleased one of her tapestries will be part of your collection.

I still have Mum's name badge from the MH City Embroiders Inc. Here's a photo ...

Cheers
Shelley
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com

"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")

User avatar
Gary Harding
Posts: 649
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 3:26 pm
Location: Hervey Bay, Qld (ex Victorian)
Contact:

Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry

Post by Gary Harding » Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:11 pm

It is very kind of you to say that Catherine. I know that you understand and appreciate nice things and the time that goes into producing them too. Thank you for your encouraging and genuine feedback which we all like to be rewarded with for our efforts. I know that it helps to keep me going!

1. Shelley, it is surely a small world around these parts! Maryborough/ Hervey Bay.
Thank you for that special information regarding Ada and your connection to her. I have added her profile to the back of the frame such that its provenance stays with it forever. (I omitted the $10 part though). I mentioned your mother as one of her students.

2. On Saturday I happened to pass a garage sale, went in and noticed.... well, it appears to be a very old and heavy railway sleeper that has been cleaned up, an end sawn off, given a coat of varnish and mounted vertically. The result is extremely rustic. It has been fitted with a light. The shade on it was tatty so I got rid of it. It originated at a craft market. Eventually it could possibly mount two mini-spotlights aimed backwards that highlight... something?! Maybe used as a bush poet's lectern if a microphone is fitted..? Or be part of the Bullocky exhibit.

It cost $50 and so for what it could eventually be (and I have yet to figure that out exactly) it is cheap. Or otherwise, if it is merely junk then yes it is expensive. I really like it because it is nice and seems to have a story to tell.

Another treasure added to the "collection", Catherine. :)

A thousand uses maybe?.. or just a big doorstop. :)
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Post Reply