ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

I have travelled a bit out west in my time but a fella said to me the other day as we were watching a big sand goanna digging for ichy grubs that they always called them Overland trout. Never heard that before, Has anyone else and if so where does it originate ?


Bob

I have never heard that myself but did find it shown as such in a list of colloquial terms which also said it was sometimes used as a description for wild pig - not ever having eaten it myself and not bloody likely to - would it be perhaps because it has a fishy flavour???

Which have you not eaten Maureen,

The Grubs or the Pig? We lived for three years plus on wild pig. Nothing wrong with it if you know what you are doing. We had two good dogs that would catch small pigs and hold them til Wayne could grab them and tie their feet together for transport to an appropriate place for slaughter. After dressing they would undergo close inspection before we would eat the meat. We ate the hind quarters and the fillet. The rest went to feed the dogs. So two little piggies a week served us well. There is a poem... 'The Combi and The Pig'. I think you would have seen it

We would have great fun with overseas visitors and, inviting them to share a meal, would wait til they had eaten then we would then tell them it was wild boar.

Haven't eaten either Zondrae - we occasionally got given some wild boar by a neighbour who caught them and grained them out for a month prior to slaughter but no way would I eat them. No way would I eat goanna either - not a big meat eater at the best of times and never ate any of lambs or sheep that were slaughtered either. Would not consider eating an animal that eats carrion. My Pit Bull Khadizia I have been reliably informed would have ended up as the pigs morning tea snack which explains why we never found her body.

I know they send the feral pigs here over to Europe where it is considered a delicacy and sold as wild boar and the shooters here get good money for the horrid things.

Maureen K Clifford wrote: Would not consider eating an animal that eats carrion.

Yeah but sometimes there's just no avoiding swallowing a fly

We went to a number of barbies years ago where wild pig was often cooked, either on a makeshift spit or wrapped in banana or palm leaves or the like, and baked in a pit in the ground. Everyone reckoned it was great but I think that might have had more to do with the liquid refreshments they had to accompany it.

Thanks for that comment Marty, I now have another silly little ditty stuck in my head.

"There was an old woman who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly, perhaps she'll die."

Remember that one, then she swallows something or other, a bird maybe, to catch the fly, and a cat to swallow the bird and on and on it went.

I've got that book Leonie! Kids love it.

Yes they are all true. I could not find out why the goanna is known as that but will keep looking.


Bob

I don't know where this came from but my Mother used to sing it to me and I have taught all my kids and grandkids, good song gets the youngens in.

Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I dunno why she swallowed that fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,
That wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly -
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd, to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly -
Perhaps she'll die

There was an old lady who swallowed a cat.
Imagine that, she swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die

There was an old lady who swallowed a dog.
What a hog! To swallow a dog!
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat...
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a goat.
Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog ...
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a cow.
I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat...
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog...
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat...
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a horse -
She's dead, of course.

Yep remember it well Dave see as we were saying this was probably our grounding in poetry.


Bob