Skip to main content

Full text of "The old bush songs composed and sung in the bushranging, digging, and overlanding days"

See other formats


?x 


KK5LDUW 
IMftttttfifif 

mom 


THE  OLD  BUSH   SONGS 


THE  OLD  BUSH  SONGS 


Composed  and  sung  in  the  Bushranging, 
Digging,  and  Overlanding  Days 


^          EDITED  BY 

A.  B'PATERSON 

»/l 

AUTHOR  OF    "  THE   MAN   FROM   SNO\VY   RIVER,"    AND 

"RIO  GRANDE'S  LAST  j  ACE" 


SYDNEY 

ANGUS    AND    KOBERTSON 

89  CASTLEREAGH  STREET 
1905 


;•'.<•.  'mith  and  Co.,  Printers,  Sydney 


PR 


./•       P3S 

661710 


PREFACE 

The  object  of  the  present  publication  is  to  gather  together 
all  the  old  bush  songs  that  are  worth  remembering.  Apart 
from  other  considerations,  there  are  many  Australians  who 
will  be  reminded  by  these  songs  of  the  life  of  the  shearing 
sheds,  the  roar  of  the  diggings  townships,  and  the  campfires 
of  the  overlanders.  The  diggings  are  all  deep  sinking  now, 
the  shearing  is  done  by  contract,  and  the  cattle  are  sent  by 
rail  to  market,  while  newspapers  travel  all  over  Australia; 
so  there  will  be  no  more  bush  ballads  composed  and 
sung,  as  these  were  composed  and  sung,  as  records  of  the 
early  days  of  the  nation.  In  their  very  roughness,  in  their 
absolute  lack  of  any  mention  of  home  ties  or  of  the  domestic 
affections,  they  proclaim  their  genuineness.  They  were  col- 
lected from  all  parts  of  Australia,  and  have  been  patched 
together  by  the  compiler  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  with 
the  idea  of  presenting  the  song  as  nearly  as  possible  as  it  was 
sung,  rather  than  attempting  to  soften  any  roughness  or 
irregularity  of  metre.  Attempts  to  ascertain  the  names  of 
the  authors  have  produced  contradictory  statements,  and  no 
doubt  some  of  the  songs  were  begun  by  one  man  and 


vi  PREFACE 

finished  or  improved  by  another,  or  several  others.  Some 
few  fairly  recent  ballads  have  been  included,  but  for  the  most 
part  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  include  any  of  the  more 
ambitious  literary  productions  of  modern  writers.  This  col- 
lection is  intended  to  consist  of  the  old  bush  songs  as  they 
were  sung  in  the  early  days,  and  as  such  it  is  placed  before 
the  reader. 

Most  cordial  thanks  are  due  to  those  who  have  sent  contri- 
butions, and  it  is  hoped  that  others  who  can  remember  any 
old  songs  not  included  here  will  forward  them  for  inclusion 
in  a  future  edition. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Two  ABORIGINAL  SONGS 1 

PADDY  MALONE  IN  AUSTRALIA  2 

THE  OLD  BULLOCK  DRAY 5 

PADDY'S  LETTER,  1857 9 

THE  OLD  BARK  HUT            -  12 

THE  OLD  SURVEY 17 

DWELL  NOT  WITH  ME 19 

THE  BEAUTIFUL  LAND  OF  AUSTRALIA      ...  20 

ON  THE  ROAD  To  GUNDAGAI      ......  24 

FLASH  JACK  FROM  GUNDAGAI 26 

ANOTHER  FALL  OF  RAIN 28 

BOLD  JACK  DONAHOO 30 

THE  WILD  COLONIAL  BOY   ......  33 

JOHN  GILBERT  (BUSHRANGER)  -  36 

IMMIGRATION 38 

THE  SQUATTER'S  MAN 40 

THE  STRINGY  BARK  COCKATOO 43 

THE  EUMERELLA  SHORE 46 

JIMMY  SAGO  JACKAROO 48 

THE  PLAINS  OF  RIVERINE 50 

THE  SHEEP- WASHERS'  LAMENT 53 

THE  BROKEN-DOWN  SQUATTER  56 

THE  FREE  SELECTOR 58 

A  NATIONAL  SONG  FOR  AUSTRALIA  FELIX       -        -  59 

SUNNY  NEW  SOUTH  WALES 61 

BRINGING  HOME  THE  Cows 64 

THE  DYING  STOCKMAN 66 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

MY  MATE  BILL  68 

SAM  HOLT    -                       71 

THE  BUSHMAN -  74 

HAWKING 76 

COLONIAL  EXPERIENCE 79 

THE  STOCKMEN  OF  AUSTRALIA 82 

IT'S  ONLY  A  WAY  HE'S  GOT 84 

THE  LOAFER'S  CLUB 87 

THE  OLD  KEG  OF  RUM    -        -  89 

THE  MURRUMBIDGEE  SHEARER            - '       -        -       -  93 

THE  SWAGMAN 95 

THE  STOCKMAN 97 

THE  MARANOA  DROVERS  ------  99 

RIVER  BEND                                                   -        -  101 

SONG  OF  THE  SQUATTER    •'.'•-        -        -                -  103 

WALLABI  JOE 106 

THE  SQUATTER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME        ...  108 

THE  STOCKMAN'S  LAST  BED 110 

MUSTERING  SONG Ill 

THE  AUSTRALIAN  STOCKMAN 114 

THE  SHEPHERD  116 

THE  OVERLANDER        -       - 118 

A  THOUSAND  MILES  AWAY 121 

THE  FREEHOLD  ON  THE  PLAIN 123 

THE  WALLABY  BRIGADE 125 

MY  RELIGION 127 

BOURKE'S  DREAM 129 

BILLY  BARLOW  IN  AUSTRALIA 131 


INTRODUCTION 

"  ALL  human  beings  not  utterly  savage  long  for  some  informa- 
tion about  past  times,  and  are  delighted  by  narratives  which 
present  pictures  to  the  eye  of  the  mind.  But  it  is  only  in 
very  enlightened  communities  that  books  are  readily  access- 
ible. Metrical  composition,  therefore,  which,  in  a  highly 
civilised  nation,  is  a  mere  luxury,  is  in  nations  imperfectly 
civilised  almost  a  necessity  of  life,  and  is  valued  less  on 
account  of  the  pleasure  which  it  gives  to  the  ear  than  on 
account  of  the  help  which  it  gives  to  the  memory.  A  man  who 
can  invent  or  embellish  an  interesting  story  and  put  it  into  a 
form  which  others  may  easily  retain  in  their  recollection 
will  always  be  highly  esteemed  by  a  people  eager  for  amuse- 
ment and  information,  but  destitute  of  libraries.  Such  is  the 
origin  of  ballad  poetry,  a  species  ot  composition  which 
scarcely  ever  fails  to  spring  up  and  flourish  in  every  society 
at  a  certain  point  in  the  progress  towards  refinement." — 
Macaulay. 

Australia's  history  is  so  short,  and  her  progress  has  been  so 
wonderfully  rapid,  that,  seeing  things  as  they  are  to-day,  it  is 

be 


x  INTRODUCTION 

hard  to  believe  that  among  us  still  are  men  who  can  remem- 
ber the  days  when  convicts  in  irons  tramped  the  streets  of 
Sydney,  and  it  was  unsafe  to  go  to  and  from  Sydney  and  Parra- 
matta  without  an  armed  escort ;  who  were  partakers  of  the 
roaring  days  of  the  diggings  when  miners  lit  their  pipes  with 
five-pound  notes  and  shod  their  horses  with  gold ;  who  have 
exchanged  shots  with  Gilbert  and  Morgan,  and  have  watched 
the  lumbering  police  of  the  old  days  scouring  the  country  to 
earn  the  thousand  pounds  reward  on  the  head  of  Ben  Hall. 
So  far  as  materials  for  ballads  go,  the  first  sixty  or  seventy 
years  of  our  history  are  equal  to  about  three  hundred  years 
of  the  life  of  an  old  and  settled  nation.  The  population  of 
the  country  comprised  a  most  curious  medley.  Among  the 
early  settlers  were  some  of  the  most  refined  and  educated, 
and  some  of  the  most  ignorant,  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Among  the  assisted  immigrants  and  currency  lads  of  the 
earlier  days  education  was  not  a  strong  point ;  and  such 
newspapers  as  there  were  could  not  be  obtained  by  one-half 
of  the  population,  and  could  not  be  read  by  a  very  large 
percentage  of  the  other  half.  It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  the 
making  of  ballads  flourished  in  Australia  just  as  it  did  in 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  in  the  days  before  printing 
was  in  common  use.  And  it  was  not  only  in  the  abundance 
of  matter  that  the  circumstances  of  the  infant  Colony  were 
favourable  to  ballad-making.  The  curious  upheavals  of 
Australian  life  had  set  the  Oxford  graduate  carrying  his  swag 
and  cadging  for  food  at  the  prosperous  homestead  of  one 
who  could  scarcely  write  his  name  ;  the  digger,  peeping  out 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

of  his  hole — like  a  rabbit  out  of  his  burrow — at  the  license 
hunters,  had,  perhaps,  in  another  clime  charmed  cultivated 
audiences  by  his  singing  and  improvisation  ;  the  bush  was 
full  of  ne'er-do-wells— singers  and  professional  entertainers 
and  so  on  — who  had  "  come  to  grief  "  and  had  to  take  to  hard 
work  to  earn  a  crust  to  carry  them  on  until  they  could 
"  strike  a  new  patch."  No  wonder  that,  with  all  this  talent 
to  hand,  songs  and  ballads  of  a  rough  sort  were  plentiful 
enough. 

Most  of  these  songs,  even  in  the  few  years  that  they  have 
been  extant,  have  developed  three  or  four  different  readings, 
and  not  only  have  the  ballads  been  altered,  but  many  of  them 
have  been  forgotten  altogether.  Only  one  very  imperfect 
song  has  come  to  hand  dealing  directly  with  the  convict  days, 
but  there  must  have  been  many  ballads  composed  and  sung 
by  the  prisoners — ballads  in  which  the  horrors  of  Port 
Arthur  in  Tasmania,  the  grim,  grey  prisons  of  Norfolk 
Island,  the  curse  of  official  tyranny,  and  the  humours  of  the 
rum  traffic  had  their  share.  Possibly  some  lost  singer  of 
convictdom  poured  out  his  regrets  in  words  straight  from  the 
soul,  and  produced  a  song  worthy  to  rank  as  a  classic :  but 
all  the  songs  of  that  day  have  been  mercifully  allowed  to 
drift  into  oblivion  ;  and  their  singers,  with  their  grey  clothes 
and  their  fetters,  have  gone  clanking  down  to  the  limbo  of 
forgotten  things. 

The  collection  begins  with  two  aboriginal  songs.  These 
songs  were  supplied  by  Mr.  S.  M.  Mowle,  a  very  old 
colonist,  with  much  experience  of  the  blacks  fifty  years  ago. 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

He  writes — "I  could  never  find  out  what  the  words  meant, 
and  I  don't  think  the  blacks  themselves  knew."  Other 
authorities,  however,  say  that  the  blacks'  songs  were  very 
elaborate,  and  that  they  composed  corroborees  which  reached 
a  high  dramatic  level.  The  question  is  of  interest,  and  might 
be  worth  investigation. 

It  is  interesting  to  see  how  the  progress  of  settlement  is 
reflected  in  the  various  songs.  Beginning  with  the  crude 
early  days,  when  there  was  land  and  to  spare,  and  when 
labour  was  in  demand  and  Australia  was  terra  incognita  to 
all,  we  find  in  "Paddy  Malone"  a  fitting  chronicle  in  rhyme. 
In  this  ballad  a  raw,  Irish  immigrant  tells  of  his  adventures 
in  the  Australian  bush.  He  was  put  to  shepherding  and 
bullock-driving,  which  in  itself  proves  that  labourers  were  at 
a  premium,  and  that  instead  of  a  man  having  to  hunt  for  a 
job  the  job  had  to  hunt  for  the  man.  He  lost  his  sheep,  and 
the  bullocks  got  away  from  him.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
there  is  no  mention  of  fences  or  roads  in  this  ballad,  as  in  the 
"  Paddy  Malone  "  days  fences  and  roads  were  not  very  much 
met  with.  Compare  also  "  The  Beautiful  Land  of  Australia." 
In  this  the  settler  reaches  Sydney,  and  "  Upon  the  map  I 
chose  my  land,"  which  shows  that  there  was  land  enough  and 
to  spare,  and  that  the  system  of  grants  to  free  immigrants 
was  in  full  swing.  It  is  noticeable  that  in  all  the  ballads  of 
early  days  there  is  a  sort  of  happy-go-lucky  spirit  which 
reflects  the  easy- come,  easy-go  style  of  the  times. 

Next  in  order  come  the  ballads  of  the  days  when  the 
squatters  had  established  themselves,  and  the  poorer  classes 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

found  it  harder  to  live.  "The  Squatter's  Man"  is  a  ballad 
of  these  harder  times.  Compare  it  with  "Paddy  Malone." 
There  is  no  talk  of  sending  a  new-chum  out  with  sheep  and 
bullocks  now.  The  first  rush  of  settlement  is  over,  and  the 
haughty  squatter  contemptuously  offers  ten  shillings  a  week 
as  wages  to  a  man  for  a  variety  of  drudgery  that  is  set  out 
with  much  spirit  in  the  song. 

Next  come  the  free-selection  days,  when  the  runs  of  these 
squatters  were  thrown  open  to  purchase  on  certain  easy  con- 
ditions, and  at  once  the  ballads  change  their  tone,  and  there 
is  quite  a  paean  of  victory  in  "  The  Free  Selector— a  Song  of 
1861."  The  reader  will  note  that  "  The  Land  Bill  has  passed 
and  the  good  time  has  come,"  and  further  on  the  singer  says 

"We  may  reside 
In  a  home  of  our  own  by  some  clear  waterside." 

The  squatters  also  had  a  word  to  say,  and  "The  Broken- 
down  Squatter"  puts  their  side  of  the  case  in  a  sort  of 
admisericordiam  appeal ;  while  "The  Eumerella  Shore"  is  a 
smart  hit  at  the  cattle-stealers  who  availed  themselves  of  the 
chances  afforded  by  the  new  state  of  things  in  the  country. 
Later  still  comes  the  time  when  the  selectors  became 
employers  of  labour,  and  "  The  Stringy-bark  Cockatoo," 
though  rough  in  style  and  versification,  is  a  splendid  hit  at 
the  new  squireens.  A  "  cockatoo,"  it  should  be  explained, 
is  a  small  settler,  and  the  stringy-bark  tree  is  an  unfailing 
sign  of  poor  land ;  and  the  minstrel  was  much  worse  treated 
when  working  for  "  The  Stringy-bark  Cockatoo  "  than  when 
he  was  a  "  Squatter's  man." 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

So  much  for  the  historical  element ;  now  as  to  the  songs 
themselves.  As  metrical  compositions  they  cannot  be 
expected  to  rank  high.  In  all  her  history  England  has  pro- 
duced only  a  few  good  ballads,  and  ballads  do  not  get  justice 
from  cold  print.  An  old  Scotchman,  to  whom  Sir  Walter 
Scott  read  some  of  his  collected  ballads,  expressed  the  opinion 
that  the  ballads  were  spoilt  by  printing.  And  these  bush 
songs,  to  be  heard  at  their  best,  should  be  heard  to  an  accom- 
paniment of  clashing  shears  when  the  voice  of  a  shearer 
rises  through  the  din  caused  by  the  rush  and  bustle 
of  a  shearing  shed,  the  scrambling  of  the  sheep  in  their  pens, 
and  the  hurry  of  the  pickers-up  ;  or  when,  on  the  roads,  the 
cattle  are  restless  on  their  camp  at  night  and  the  man 
on  watch,  riding  round  them,  strikes  up  "  Bold  Jack 
Donahoo"  to  steady  their  nerves  a  little.  Drovers  know 
that  they  must  not  sneak  quietly  about  restless  cattle — it  is 
better  to  sing  to  them  and  let  them  know  that  someone  is 
stirring  and  watching  ;  and  many  a  mob  of  wild,  pike-horned 
Queensland  cattle,  half  inclined  to  stampede,  has  listened 
contentedly  to  the  "  Wild  Colonial  Boy  "  droned  out  in  true 
bush  fashion  till  the  daylight  began  to  break  and  the  mob 
was  safe  for  another  day.  Heard  under  such  circumstances 
as  these  the  songs  have  quite  a  character  of  their  own.  A 
great  deal  depends,  too,  on  the  way  in  which  they  are  sung. 
The  true  bushman  never  hurries  his  songs.  They  are 
designed  expressly  to  pass  the  time  on  long  journeys  or 
slow,  wearisome  rides  after  sheep  or  tired  cattle ;  so  the  songs 
are  sung  conscientiously  through — chorus  and  all— and  the 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

last  three  words  of  the  song  are  always  spoken,  never  sung. 
There  is,  too,  a  strong  Irish  influence  in  the  greater  number 
of  the  songs ;  quite  a  large  proportion  are  sung  to  the 
tune  of  the  "  Wearing  of  the  Green,"  and  the  admixture  of 
Irish  wit  and  Irish  pathos  in  their  composition  can  only  be 
brought  out  by  a  good  singer. 

One  excuse,  if  excuse  be  needed,  for  the  publication  of  this 
collection  is  the  fact  that  the  songs  it  contains  are  fast  being 
forgotten.  Thirty  or  forty  years  ago  every  station  and  every 
shearing  shed  had  its  singer,  who  knew  some  of  the  bush 
songs.  Nowadays  they  are  never  sung,  and  even  in  districts 
where  they  took  their  rise  they  have  pretty  well  died  out. 
Only  a  few  years  ago,  every  shearing  shed  had  at  least  one 
minstrel  who  could  drone  out  the  refrain  of  a  shearing  song— 

"  But,  oh,  boys,  such  sheep  I  never  shore, 

As  those  that  made  us  knuckle  down  at  Goorianawa." 
But  the  Goorianawa  sheep  are  not  celebrated  in  song  nowa- 
days, and  advertisement  has  failed  to  produce  a  copy  of  the 
song.      Down  in   the  rough  country  near  the  Upper  Mur- 
rumbidgee,  where  the  bushranger  Gilbert  was  betrayed  by 
a  relative  and  was  shot  by  the  police,  there  was  a  song  about 
"  Dunn,  Gilbert,  and  Ben  Hall."    It  commenced— 
"  Come  all  ye  lads  of  loyalty  and  listen  to  my  tale, 

A  story  of  bushranging  days  I  will  to  you  unveil, 

'Tis  of  those  gallant  heroes,   we'll  bless  them    one  and 
all, 

And  we'll  sit  and  sing  long  live  the  King,  Dunn,  Gilbert, 
and  Ben  Hall. " 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

Another  line  ran — 

"  It's  a  thousand  pounds  alive  or  dead,  for  Dunn,  Gilbert, 

and  Ben  Hall." 

Thirty  years  ago  every  one  in  the  district  had  heard  this 
song,  and  all  the  sympathisers  with  the  bushrangers  (which 
meant  the  bulk  of  the  wild  and  scattered  population)  used  to 
sing  it  on  occasion ;  but  to-day  the  most  persistent  inquiry 
has  failed  to  reveal  one  man  who  can  remember  more  than  a 
few  fragments  of  it ;  and  yet  it  is  only  forty  years  since  Ben 
Hall  was  shot.  It  is  in  the  hope  of  rescuing  these  rough 
bush  ballads  from  oblivion  that  the  present  collection  is 
placed  before  the  public. 

A.  B.  PATERSON. 


TWO  ABORIGINAL  SONGS 

I 

Korindabria,  korindabria,  bogarona,  bogarona.  Iwariniang 
iwaringdo,  iwariniang,  iwaringdo,  iwariniang,  iwaringdo, 
iwariniang,  iwaringdo,  iwaringime.  Iwaringiang,  iwaringdoo, 
ilanenienow,  coombagongniengowe,  ilanenienow,  coomba- 
gongiengowe,  ilanenieDOwe  combagoniengowe,  ilanenienimme. 

II 

Buddha-buddharo  nianga,  boomelana,  bulleranga,  crobinea, 
narnmala,  yibbilwaadjo  nianga,  boomelana,  a,  boomelana, 
buddha-buddharo,  nianga,  boomelana,  buddharo  nianga, 
boomelana,  bulleranga,  crobinea,  narnmala,  yibbilwaadjo, 
nianga,  croilamime,  a,  croilanga,  yibbilwaadjo,  nianga, 
croilanga,  yibbilwaadjo,  nianga  croilanga,  coondheranea, 
tabiabina,  boorganmala,  yibbilwaadjo,  nianga,  croilanoome. 

Of  the  above  songs  Mr.  Mowle  writes — "I  could  never 
find  out  what  the  words  meant,  and  I  don't  think  the  blacks 
themselves  knew." 

A  1 


PADDY  MALONE  IN  AUSTRALIA 

OCH  !  my  name's  Pat  Mai  one,  and  I'm  from  Tipperary. 

Sure,  I  don't  know  it  now,  I'm  so  bothered,  Ohone  ! 
And  the  gals  that  I  danced  with,  light-hearted  and  airy, 

It's  scarcely  they'd  notice  poor  Paddy  M  alone. 
Tis  twelve  months  or  more  since  our  ship  she  cast  anchor 

In  happy  Australia,  the  Emigrant's  home, 
And  from  that  day  to  this  there's  been  nothing  but  canker, 

And  grafe  and  vexation  for  Paddy  Malone. 
Oh,  Paddy  Malone  !  Oh,  Paddy,  Ohone  ! 
Bad  luck  to  the  agent  that  coaxed  ye  to  roam. 

Wid  a  man  called  a  squatter  I  soon  got  a  place,  sure, 

He'd  a  beard  like  a  goat,  and  such  whiskers,  Ohone  ! 
And  he  said— as  he  peeped  through  the  hair  on  his  faitures 

That  he  liked  the  appearance  of  Paddy  Malone. 
Wid  him  I  agreed  to  go  up  to  his  station, 

Saying  abroad  in  the  bush  you'll  find  yourself  at  home. 
I  liked  his  proposal,  and  'out  hesitation 
Signed  my  name  wid  a  X  tnat  sPelt  Paddy  Malone. 
Oh,  Paddy  Malone,  you're  no  scholard,  Ohone  ! 
Sure,  I  made  a  cris -crass  that  spelt  Paddy  Malone. 
2 


PADDY  MALONE  IN  AUSTRALIA  3 

A-herding  my  sheep  in  the  bush,  as  they  call  it — 

It  was  no  bush  at  all,  but  a  mighty  great  wood, 
Wid  all  the  big  trees  that  were  small  bushes  one  time, 

A  long  time  ago,  faith  !    I  'spose  'fore  the  flood. 
To  find  out  this  big  bush  one  day  I  went  further, 

The  trees  grew  so  thick  that  I  couldn't,  Ohone  ! 
I  tried  to  go  back  then,  but  that  I  found  harder, 

And  bothered  and  lost  was  poor  Faddy  Malone. 

Oh,  Paddy  Malone,  through  the  bush  he  did  roam  ! 
What  a  Babe  in  the  Wood  was  poor  Paddy  Malone. 

I  was  soon  overcome,  sure,  wid  grafe  and  vexation, 

And  camped,  you  must  know,  by  the  side  of  a  log  ; 
I  was  found  the  next  day  by  a  man  from  the  station, 

For  I  coo-ey'd  and  roared  like  a  bull  in  a  bog. 
The  man  said  to  me,  "  Arrah,  Pat  !  where's  the  sheep  now  ?" 

Says  I,  "I  dunno  !  barring  one  here  at  home," 
And  the  master  began  and  kicked  up  a  big  row  too, 

And  swore  he'd  stop  the  wages  of  Paddy  Malone. 

Arrah  !  Paddy  Malone,  you're  no  shepherd,  Ohone  ! 
We'll  try  you  with  bullocks  now,  Paddy  Malone. 

To  see  me  dressed  out  with  my  team  and  my  dray  too, 
Wid  a  whip  like  a  flail  and  such  gaiters,  Ohone  ! 

But  the  bullocks,  as  they  eyed  me,  they  seemed  for  to  say  too, 
"  You  may  do  your  best,  Paddy,  we're  blest  if  we  go." 

"Gee  whoa  !  Redman  !  come  hither,  Damper  ! 
Hoot,   Magpie !    Gee,    Blackbird  !    Come   hither,   Whale- 
bone !" 


4  PADDY  MALONE  IN  AUSTRALIA 

But  the  brutes  turned  round  sharp,    and  away  they  did 

scamper, 
And  heels  over  head  turned  poor  Paddy  Malone. 

Oh,  Paddy  Malone  !  you've  seen  some  bulls  at  home, 
But  the  bulls  of  Australia  cows  Paddy  Malone. 

I  was  found  the  next  day  where  the  brutes  they  did  throw 

me 

By  a  man  passing  by,  upon  hearing  me  groan, 
And  wiping  the  mud  from  my  face  that  he  knew  me, 

Says  he,  "  Your  name's  Paddy  ?"    "  Yes  !  Paddy  Malone. " 
I  thin  says  to  him,  "  You're  an  angel  sent  down,  sure  !  " 
"No,  faith,  but  I'm  not ;  but  a  friend  of  your  own  ! " 
And  by  his  persuasion,  for  home  then  I  started, 
And  you  now  see  before  you  poor  Paddy  Malone. 

Arrah,  Paddy  Malone  !  you  are  now  safe  at  home. 
Bad  luck  to  the  agent  that  coaxed  ye  to  roam. 


THE  OLD  BULLOCK  DRAY 

OH  !  the  shearing  is  all  over, 

And  the  wool  is  coming  down, 
And  I  mean  to  get  a  wife,  boys, 

When  I  go  up  to  town. 
Everything  that  has  two  legs 

Represents  itself  in  view, 
From  the  little  paddy-melon 

To  the  bucking  kangaroo. 

CHORUS 

So  it's  roll  up  your  blankets, 

And  let's  make  a  push, 
I'll  take  you  up  the  country, 

And  show  you  the  bush. 
I'll  be  bound  you  won't  get 

Such  a  chance  another  day, 
So  come  and  take  possession 

Of  my  old  bullock  dray. 


THE  OLD  BULLOCK  DRAY 

Now,  I've  saved  up  a  good  cheque, 

I  mean  to  buy  a  team, 
And  when  I  get  a  wife,  boys, 

I'll  be  all-serene 
For  calling  at  the  dep6t. 

They  say  there's  no  delay 
To  get  an  off-sider 

For  the  old  bullock  dray. 


Oh  !  we'll  live  like  fighting  cocks, 

For  good  living,  I'm  your  man. 
We'll  have  leather  jacks,  johnny  cakes, 

And  fritters  in  the  pan ; 
Or  if  you'd  like  some  fish 

I'll  catch  you  some  soon, 
For  we'll  bob  for  barramundies 

Round  the  banks  of  a  lagoon. 


Oh  !  yes,  of  beef  and  damper 

I  take  care  we  have  enough, 
And  we'll  boil  in  the  bucket 

Such  a  whopper  of  a  duff, 
And  our  friends  will  dance 

To  the  honour  of  the  day, 
To  the  music  of  the  bells, 

Around  the  old  bullock  dray. 


THE  OLD  BULLOCK  DRAY 

Oh  !  we'll  have  plenty  girls, 

We  must  mind  that. 
There'll  be  flash  little  Maggie, 

And  buckjumping  Pat. 
There'll  be  Stringybark  Joe, 

And  Green-hide  Mike. 
Yes,  my  Colonials,  just 

As  many  as  you  like. 


Now  we'll  stop  all  immigration, 

We  won't  need  it  any  more ; 
We'll  be  having  young  natives, 

Twins  by  the  score. 
And  I  wonder  what  the  devil 

Jack  Robertson  would  say 
If  he  saw  us  promenading 

Round  the  old  bullock  dray. 


Oh  !  it's  time  I  had  an  answer, 

If  there's  one  to  be  had, 
I  wouldn't  treat  that  steer 

In  the  body  half  as  bad  ; 
But  he  takes  as  much  notice 

Of  me,  upon  my  soul, 
As  that  old  blue  stag 

Off-side  in  the  pole. 


THE  OLD  BULLOCK  DRAY 

Oh  !  to  tell  a  lot  of  lies, 

You  know,  it  is  a  sin, 
But  I'll  go  up  country 

And  marry  a  black  gin. 
Oh  !  "  Baal  gammon  white  feller," 

This  is  what  she'll  say, 
' '  Budgery  you 

And  your  old  bullock  dray." 


This  song  may  require  a  few  notes  for  the  benefit  of  non- 
Australian  readers.  A  paddy-melon  is  a  small  and  speedy 
marsupial,  a  sort  of  poor  relation  of  the  great  kangaroo  family. 

"  Calling  at  the  depot  to  get  an  offsider." — Female  immi- 
grants were  housed  at  the  depot  on  arrival,  and  many  found 
husbands  within  a  few  hours  of  their  landing.  The  minstrel, 
therefore,  proposes  to  call  at  the  depot  to  get  himself  a  wife 
from  among  the  immigrants.  An  offsider  is  a  bullock-driver's 
assistant— one  who  walks  on  the  off-side  of  the  team  and 
flogs  the  bullocks  on  that  side  when  occasion  arises.  The 
word  afterwards  came  to  mean  an  assistant  of  any  kind. 

"  Jack  Robertson."— Sir  John  Robertson,  as  he  afterwards 
became,  was  a  well-known  politician,  who  believed  in  Austra- 
lians doing  their  best  to  populate  their  own  country. 

"  Budgery  you  " — good  fellow  you. 


PADDY'S   LETTER,   1857 

I'VE  had  all  sorts  of  luck,  sometimes  bad,  sometimes  better, 
But  now  I  have  somebody's  luck  and  my  own, 

For  I  stooped  in  the  street  and  I  picked  up  a  letter, 
Which  some  one  had  written  to  send  away  home. 

The  old  adage  says,  "  What  you  find,  you  may  keep  it," 
And  as  most  of  these  old  sayings  are  very  true, 

I  straight  broke  the  seal,  and  then  having  read  it, 
The  contents  of  this  letter  I  tell  unto  you. 

THE  LETTER 

Dear  Dermot,  I  hope  when  this  letter  gets  to  you 
'Twill  find  you  in  health,  as  now  it  leaves  me  ; 

But  I  hope  you're  more  happy  than  I  am  in  Australia — 
If  not,  it's  small  comfort  that  you  have,  achree  ! 

Hard  fortune's  been  mine  since  crossing  the  line, 
Though  that  same  I  ne'er  saw,  for  we  crossed  it  at  night ; 

But  they  say  'twas  laid  down  at  expense  of  the  Crown, 
To  divide  the  wrong  side  of  the  world  from  the  right. 

9 


10  PADDY'S  LETTER,  1857 

But  what  should  a  boy  placed  in  my  situation 

Know  about  lines  laid  across  the  big  sea  ! 
But,  faith,  this  I  know,  and  without  navigation, 

I'm  at  the  wrong  side  of  the  line,  anyway. 

I'm  telling  you  now  how  strange  seasons  fall. 

We  have  here  rain  and  sleet  in  the  month  of  July, 
And  hailstones  as  big  as  a  small  cannon-ball — 

And  they  do  as  much  harm — not  a  word  of  a  lie  ! 

But  the  making  of  magistrates  now  all  the  rage  is, 
And  every  flockmaster's  a  justice  of  peace  ; 

They  find  it  so  easy  to  cancel  the  wages, 

The  law  is  their  own  and  they  rob  whom  they  please. 

Pat  Murphy's  boy  Tim,  that  married  Moll  Casey, 
Lives  on  the  Barcoo  that's  away  in  the  bush. 

Himself  and  the  wife,  why  they  lived  mighty  aisy, 
Till  one  day  on  Tim,  oh,  the  blacks  they  did  rush. 

They  killed  little  Paddy,  but  spared  the  young  baby, 
Because  it  was  sickly — I  think  it  was  that — 

And  while  Molly  was  crying,  a  gin  said,  "  No  habbie 
Your  thin  picaninny — we'll  wait  till  it's  fat." 

'Tis  a  beautiful  country  to  practise  economy. 

Though  the  houses  out  here  are  not  quite  waterproof, 
But  they're  illigant  houses  for  studying  astronomy — 

You  can  lie  on  your  back  and  read  stars  through  the  roof 


PADDY'S  LETTER,  1857 

P.  S.— This  is  cramped— if  there's  no  one  to  read  it, 
Send  for  Tim  Murphy,  he'll  know  every  stroke. 

Ye  all  have  my  blessing,  I  know  that  ye'll  need  it, 
So  no  more  at  present  from  Teddy  O'Rourke. 


11 


The  above  to  an  old  tune  called  "  Barney  O'Keefe,"  1848. 


THE  OLD  BARK  BUT 

OH,  my  name  is  Bob  the  Swagman,  before  you  all  I  stand, 
And  I've  had  many  ups  and  downs  while  travelling  through 

the  land. 

I  once  was  well-to-do,  my  boys,  but  now  I  am  stumped  up, 
And  I'm  forced  to  go  on  rations  in  an  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 

I'm  forced  to  go  on  rations  in  an  old  bark  hut. 

Ten  pounds  of  flour,  ten  pounds  of  beef,  some  sugar  and 

some  tea, 

That's  all  they  give  to  a  hungry  man,  until  the  Seventh  Day. 
If  you  don't  be  moighty  sparing,  you'll  go  with  a  hungry 

gut— 
For  that's  one  of  the  great  misfortunes  in  an  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 

For  that's  one  of  the  great  misfortunes  in  an  old 

bark  hut. 
12 


THE  OLD  BARK  HUT  13 

The  bucket  you  boil  your  beef  in  has  to  carry  water,  too, 
And  they'll  say  you're  getting  mighty  flash  if  you  should  ask 

for  two. 

I've  a  billy,  and  a  pint  pot,  and  a  broken-handled  cup, 
And  they  all  adorn  the  table  in  the  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 

And  they  all  adorn  the  table  in  the  old  bark  hut. 

Faith,  the  table  is  not  made  of  wood,  as  many  you  have  seen — 
For  if  I  had  one  half  so  good,  I'd  think  myself  serene — 
'Tia  only  an  old  sheet  of  bark — God  knows  when  it  was  cut — 
It  was  blown  from  off  the  rafters  of  the  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 

It  was  blown  from  off  the  rafters  of  the  old  bark  hut. 

And  of  furniture,  there's  no  such  thing,  'twas  never  in  the 

place, 

Except  the  stool  I  sit  upon— and  that's  an  old  gin  case. 
It  does  us  for  a  safe  as  well,  but  you  must  keep  it  shut, 
Or  the  flies  would  make  it  canter  round  the  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 
Or  the  flies  would  make  it  canter  round  the  old  bark 
hut. 


14  THE  OLD  BARK  HUT 

If  you  should  leave  it  open,  and  the  flies  should  find  your 

meat, 

They'll  scarcely  leave  a  single  piece  that's  fit  for  man  to  eat. 
But  you  mustn't  curse,  nor  grumble — what  won't  fatten  will 

fill  up- 
For  what's  out  of  sight  is  out  of  mind  in  an  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 
For  what's  out  of  sight  is  out  of  mind   in  an  old 
bark  hut. 

In  the  summer  time,  when  the  weather's  warm,  this  hut  is 

nice  and  cool, 
And  you'll  find  the  gentle  breezes  blowing  in  through  every 

hole. 

You  can  leave  the  old  door  open,  or  you  can  leave  it  shut, 
There's  no  fear  of  suffocation  in  the  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 
There's  no  fear  of  suffocation  in  the  old  bark  hut. 

n  the  winter  time— preserve  us  all ! — to  live  in  there's  a 

treat, 

Especially  when  it's  raining  hard,  and  blowing  wind  and 
sleet. 


THE  OLD  BARK  HUT  15 

The  rain  comes  down  the  chimney,  and  your  meat  is  black 

with  soot — 
That's  a  substitute  for  pepper  in  an  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 

That's  a  substitute  for  pepper  in  an  old  bark  hut. 

I've  seen  the  rain  come  in  this  hut  just  like  a  perfect  flood, 
Especially  through  that  great  big  hole  where  once  the  table 

stood. 
There's  not  a  blessed  spot,  me  boys,  where  you  could  lay 

your  nut, 
But  the  rain  is  sure  to  find  you  in  the  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 

But  the  rain  is  sure  to  find  you  in  the  old  bark  hut. 

So  beside  the  fire  I  make  me  bed,  and  there  I  lay  me  down, 
And  think  myself  as  happy  as  the  king  that  wears  a  crown. 
But  as  you'd  be  dozing  off  to  sleep  a  flea  will  wake  you  up, 
Which  makes  you  curse  the  vermin  in  the  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 
Which  makes  you  curse  the  vermin  in  the  old  bark 
hut. 


16  THE  OLD  BARK  HUT 

Faith,  such  flocks  of  fleas  you  never  saw,  they  are  so  plump 

and  fat, 

And  if  you  make  a  grab  at  one,  he'll  spit  just  like  a  cat. 
Last  night  they  got  my  pack  of  cards,  and  were  fighting  for 

the  cut — 
I  thought  the  devil  had  me  in  the  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut,     In  an  old  bark  hut. 

I  thought  the  devil  had  me  in  the  old  bark  hut. 

So  now,  my  friends,  I've  sung  my  song,  and  that  as  well  as  I 

could, 

And  I  hope  the  ladies  present  won't  think  my  language  rude, 
And  all  ye  younger  people,  in  the  days  when  you  grow  up, 
Remember  Bob  the  Swagman,  and  the  old  bark  hut. 

CHORUS 

In  an  old  bark  hut.     In  an  old  bark  hut. 
Remember  Bob  the  Swagman,  and  the  old  bark  hut. 


THE  OLD  SURVEY 

OUR  money's  all  spent,  to  the  deuce  went  it  ! 

The  landlord,  he  looks  glum, 
On  the  tap-room  wall,  in  a  very  bad  scrawl, 

He  has  chalked  to  us  a  sum. 
But  a  glass  we'll  take,  ere  the  grey  dawn  break, 

And  then  saddle  up  and  away— 
Theodolite  turn,  theodolite-ti,  theodolite-too-ral-ay. 

With  a  measured  beat  fall  our  horses'  feet, 

Galloping  side  by  side  ; 
When  the  money's  done,  and  we've  had  our  fun, 

We  all  are  bound  to  ride. 
O'er  the  far-off  plain  we'll  drag  the  chain, 

And  mark  the  settler's  way — 
Theodolite-turn,  theodolite-ti,  theodolite-too-ral-ay. 

We'll  range  from  the  creeks  to  the  mountain  peaks, 

And  traverse  far  below  ; 
Where  foot  never  trod,  we'll  mark  with  a  rod 

The  limits  of  endless  snow  ; 
B  17 


18  THE  OLD  SURVEY 

Each  lofty  crag  we'll  plant  with  a  flag, 

To  flash  in  the  sun's  bright  ray — 
Theodolite- turn,  theodolite-ti,  theodolite-too-ral-ay. 

Till  with  cash  hard-earned  once  more  returned, 
At  "  The  Beaver"  bars  we'll  shout ; 

And  the  very  bad  scrawl  that's  against  the  wall 
Ourselves  shall  see  wiped  out. 

Such  were  the  ways  in  the  good  old  days  ! — 
The  days  of  the  old  survey  ! 

Theodolite-turn,  theodolite-ti,  theodolite-too-ral-ay 


DWELL  NOT  WITH  ME 

DWELL  not  with  me, 

For  you'll  never  see 

More  than  a  'possum  or  a  kangaroo, 

And  now  and  then  a  cockatoo. 

Oh,  would  you  wish, 

Without  a  dish, 

Your  scanty  meal  from  a  piece  of  bark, 

And  a  wood  fire  to  illume  the  dark. 

'Tis  there  you'd  mourn, 

Tis  there  you'd  mourn 

The  sweet  woodbine 

That  round  your  lattice  now  doth  twine. 

Fond  friends,  don't  grieve 

For  scenes  like  these, 

Or  smart  from  bugs,  mosquitoes,  fleas. 

Dwell  not  with  me. 

19 


THE  BEAUTIFUL  LAND  OF  AUSTRALIA 

ALL  you  on  emigration  bent, 

With  home  and  England  discontent, 

Come,  listen  to  my  sad  lament, 

All  about  the  bush  of  Australia. 
I  once  possessed  a  thousand  pounds. 
Thinks  I — how  very  grand  it  sounds 
For  a  man  to  be  farming  his  own  grounds 

In  the  beautiful  land  of  Australia. 

CHORUS 

Illawarra,  Mittagong, 

Parramatta,  Wollongong. 
If  you  wish  to  become  an  ourang-outang, 
Then  go  to  the  bush  of  Australia. 

Upon  the  voyage  the  ship  was  lost. 
In  wretched  plight  I  reached  the  coast, 
And  was  very  nigh  being  made  a  roast, 
By  the  savages  of  Australia. 


THE  BEAUTIFUL  LAND  OF  AUSTRALIA        21 

And  in  the  bush  I  lighted  on 
A  fierce  bushranger  with  his  gun, 
Who  borrowed  my  garments,  every  one, 
For  himself  in  the  bush  of  Australia. 


CHORUS 

Illawarra,  Mittagong, 

Parramatta,  Wollongong. 
If  you  wish  to  become  an  ourang-outang, 
Then  go  to  the  bush  of  Australia, 


Sydney  town  I  reached  at  last, 
And  now,  thinks  I,  all  danger's  past, 
And  I  shall  make  my  fortune  fast 

In  this  promising  land  of  Australia. 
I  quickly  went  with  cash  in  hand, 
Upon  the  map  I  chose  my  land. 
When  I  got  there  'twas  barren  sand 

In  the  beautiful  land  of  Australia. 


CHORUS 

Illawarra,  Mittagong, 

Parramatta,  Wollongong. 
If  you  wish  to  become  an  ourang-outang, 
Then  go  to  the  bush  of  Australia. 


22        THE  BEAUTIFUL  LAND  OP  AUSTRALIA 

Of  sheep  I  got  a  famous  lot. 
Some  died  of  hunger,  some  of  rot, 
For  the  devil  a  drop  of  rain  they  got, 

In  this  flourishing  land  of  Australia. 
My  convict  men  were  always  drunk, 
They  kept  me  in  a  constant  funk. 
Says  I  to  myself,  as  to  bed  I  slunk, 

How  I  wish  I  was  out  of  Australia  ! 

CHORUS 

Booligal,  Gobarra^ng, 

Emu  Flat  and  Jugiong. 
If  you  wish  to  become  an  ourang-outang, 
Then  go  to  the  bush  of  Australia. 

Of  ills,  enough  I've  had  you'll  own. 
And  then  at  last,  my  woes  to  crown, 
One  night  my  log  house  was  blown  down 

That  settled  us  all  in  Australia. 
And  now  of  home  and  all  bereft, 
The  horrid  spot  I  quickly  left, 
Making  it  over  by  deed  of  gift 

To  the  savages  of  Australia. 

CHORUS 

Booligal,  Gobarralong, 

Emu  Flat  and  Jugiong. 
If  you  wish  to  become  an  ourang-outang, 
Then  go  to  the  bush  of  Australia. 


THE  BEAUTIFUL  LAND  OF  AUSTRALIA        23 

I  gladly  worked  my  passage  home, 
And  now  to  England  back  I've  come, 
Determined  never  more  to  roam, 

At  least,  to  the  bush  of  Australia. 
And  stones  upon  the  road  I'll  break, 
And  earn  my  seven  bob  a  week, 
Which  is  surely  better  than  the  freak 

Of  settling  down  in  Australia. 

CHORUS 

Currabubula,  Bogolong, 

Ulladulla,  Gerringong. 
If  you  wouldn't  become  an  ourang-outang, 
Don't  go  to  the  bush  of  Australia. 


ON  TBE  ROAD  TO  GUNDAGAI 

OH,  we  started  down  from  Roto  when  the  sheds  had  all  cut 

out. 

We'd  whips  and  whips  of  Rhino  as  we  meant  to  push  about, 
So  we  humped  our   blues  serenely  and   made  for  Sydney 

town, 
With  a  three -spot  cheque  between  us,  as  wanted  knocking 

down. 

CHORUS 

But  we  camped  at  Lazy  Harry's,  on  the  road  to  Gundagai. 
The  road  to  Gundagai  !     Not  five  miles  from  Gundagai  ! 
Yes,  we  camped  at  Lazy  Harry's,  on  the  road  to  Gundagai. 

Well,  we  struck  the  Murrumbidgee  near  the  Yanko  in  a 

week, 
And  passed  through  old  Narrandera  and  crossed  the  Burnet 

Creek. 

And  we  never  stopped  at  Wagga,  for  we'd  Sydney  in  our  eye. 

*  *  *  * 

But  we  camped  at  Lazy  Harry's,  on  the  road  to  Gundagai. 

Chorus  :  But  we  camped,  &c. 

24 


ON  THE  ROAD  TO  GUN  DAG  AI  25 

Oh,  I've  seen  a  lot  of  girls,  my  boys,  and  drunk  a  lot  of  beer, 
And  I've  met  with  some  of  both,  chaps,  as  has  left  me  mighty 

queer ; 
But  for  beer  to  knock  you  sideways,  and  for  girls  to  make 

you  sigh, 
You  must  camp  at  Lazy  Harry's,  on  the  road  to  Gundagai. 

Well,  we  chucked  our  blooming  swags  off,  and   we  walked 

into  the  bar, 

And  we  called  for  rum-an'-raspb'ry  and  a  shilling  each  cigar. 
But  the  girl  that  served  the  pizen,  she  winked  at  Bill  and  I— 
And  we  camped  at  Lazy  Harry's,  not  five  miles  from 

Gundagai. 

In  a  week  the  spree  was  over  and  the  cheque  was  all  knocked 

down, 
So  we  shouldered  our  "Matildas,"  and  we  turned  our  backs 

on  town, 
And  the  girls  they  stood  a  nobbier  as  we  sadly  said  "  Good 

bye," 
And  we  tramped  from  Lazy  Harry's,  not  five  miles  from 

Gundagai ; 

Chorus  :  And  we  tramped,  &c. 

"  Humped  our  blues  serenely.'' — To  hump  bluey  is  to  carry 
one's  swag,  and  the  name  bluey  comes  from  the  blue  blankets. 
To  "Shoulder  Matilda"  is  the  same  thing  as  to  "hump 
bluey." 


FLASH  JACK  FROM  GUNDAGAI 

I'VE  shore  at  Burrabogie,  and  I've  shore  at  Toganmain, 
I've  shore  at  big  Willandra  and  upon  the  old  Coleraine, 
But  before  the  shearin'  was  over  I've  wished  myself  back 

again 
Shearin'  for  old  Tom  Patterson,  on  the  One  Tree  Plain. 

CHORUS 

All  among  the  wool,  boys, 
Keep  your  wide  blades  full,  boys, 

I  can  do  a  respectable  tally  myself  whenever  I  like  to  try, 
But  they  know  me   round  the  back  blocks  as  Flash  Jack 
from  Gundagai. 


I've  shore  at  big  Willandra  and  I've  shore  at  Tilberoo, 
And  once  I  drew  my  blades,  my  boys,  upon  the  famed  Barcoo, 
At  Cowan  Downs  and  Trida,  as  far  as  Moulamein, 
But  1  always  was  glad  to  get  back  again  to  the  One  Tree 
Plain. 

Chorus  :  All  among  the  wool.  &c. 


FLASH  JACK  FROM  GUNDAGAI  27 

I've   pinked  'em  with  the  Wolseleys  and  I've  rushed  with 

B-bows,  too, 
And  shaved  'em  in  the  grease,  my  boys,  with  the  grass  seed 

showing  through. 
But  I  never  slummed   my  pen,  my  lads,  whate'er  it  might 

contain, 
While  shearin'  for  old  Tom  Patterson,  on  the  One  Tree  Plain. 


I've  been  whalin'  up  the  Lachlan,  and  I've  dossed  on  Cooper's 

Creek, 

And  once  I  rung  Cudjingie  shed,  and  blued  it  in  a  week. 
But  when  Gabriel  blows  his  trumpet,  lads,  I'll  catch  the 

morning  train, 
And  I'll  push  for   old  Tom  Patterson's,  on  the  One  Tree 

Plain. 

"  I've  pinked  'em  with  the  Wolseleys,  and  I've  rushed  with 
B-bows,  too."  —  Wolseleys  and  B-bows  are  respectively 
machines  and  hand-shears,  and  "pinking"  means  that  he  had 
shorn  the  sheep  so  closely  that  the  pink  skin  showed  through. 
"I  rung  Cudjingie  shed  and  blued  it  in  a  week,"  i.e.,  he  was 
the  ringer  or  fastest  shearer  of  the  shed,  and  he  dissipated 
the  earnings  in  a  single  week's  drunkenness. 

"  Whalin'  up  the  Lachlan."— In  the  old  days  there  was  an 
army  of  ' '  sundowners  "  or  professional  loafers  who  walked 
from  station  to  station,  ostensibly  to  look  for  work,  but 
without  any  idea  of  accepting  it.  These  nomads  often  followed 
up  and  down  certain  rivers,  and  would  camp  for  days  and 
fish  for  cod  in  the  bends  of  the  river.  Hence  whaling  up  the 
Lachlan. 


ANOTHER  FALL  OF  RAIN 
(Air  :  "  Little  Low  Log  Cabin  in  the  Lane.") 

THE  weather  had  been  sultry  for  a  fortnight's  time  or  more, 
And  the  shearers  had  been  driving  might  and  main, 

For  some  had  got  the  century  who'd  ne'er  got  it  before, 
And  now  all  hands  were  wishing  for  the  rain. 

CHORUS 

For  the  boss  is  getting  rusty  and  the  ringer's  caving  in, 
For  his  bandaged  wrist  is  aching  with  the  pain, 

And  the  second  man,  I  fear,  will  make  it  hot  for  him, 
Unless  we  have  another  fall  of  rain. 

A  few  had  taken  quarters  and  were  coiling  in  their  bunks 
When  we  shore  the  six-tooth  wethers  from  the  plain. 

And  if  the  sheep  get  harder,   then  a  few  more  men  will  funk, 
Unless  we  get  another  fall  of  rain. 

But  the  sky  is  clouding  over,  and  the  thunder's  muttering 

loud, 
And  the  clouds  are  driving  eastward  o'er  the  plain, 


ANOTHER  FALL  OF  RAIN  29 

And  I  see  the  lightning  flashing  from  the  edge  of  yon  black 

cloud, 
And  I  hear  the  gentle  patter  of  the  rain. 

So,  lads,  put  on  your  stoppers,  and  let  us  to  the  hut, 
Where  we'll  gather  round  and  have  a  friendly  game, 

While  some  are  playing  music  and  some  play  ante  up, 
And  some  are  gazing  outwards  at  the  rain. 

But  now  the  rain  is  over,  let  the  pressers  spin  the  screw, 
Let  the  teamsters  back  the  waggons  in  again, 

And  we'll  block  the  classer's  table  by  the  way  we'll  put  them 

through, 
For  everything  is  merry  since  the  rain. 

And  the  boss  he  won't  be  rusty  when  his  sheep  they  all  are 
shorn, 

And  the  wringer's  wrist  won't  ache  much  with  the  pain 
Of  pocketing  his  cheque  for  fifty  pounds  or  more, 

And  the  second  man  will  press  him  hard  again. 


''Another  Fall  of  Rain"  is  a  song  that  needs  a  little 
explanation.  The  strain  of  shearing  is  very  severe  on  the 
wrists,  and  the  ringer  or  fastest  shearer  is  very  apt  to  go  in 
the  wrists,  especially  at  the  beginning  of  a  season.  Hence 
the  desire  of  the  shearers  for  a  fall  of  rain  after  a  long  stretch 
of  hot  weather. 


BOLD  JACK  DONAHOO 

IN  Dublin  town  I  was  brought  up,  in  that  city  of  great  fame — 
My  decent  friends  and  parents,  they  will  tell  to  you  the  same. 
It  was  for  the  sake  of  five  hundred  pounds  I  was  sent  across 

the  main, 
For  seven  long  years,  in  New  South  Wales,  to  wear  a  convict's 

chain. 

CHORUS 

Then  come,  my  hearties,  we'll  roam  the  mountains  high  ! 
Together  we  will  plunder,  together  we  will  die  ! 
We'll    wander    over    mountains  and  we'll   gallop  over 

plains  — 
For  we  scorn  to  live  in  slavery,  bound  down  in  iron 

chains. 

I'd  scarce  been  there  twelve  months  or  more    upon    the 

Australian  shore, 

When  I  took  to  the  highway,  as  I'd  oft-times  done  before. 
There  was  me  and  Jacky    Underwood,    and   Webber    and 

Webster,  too. 
These  were  the  true  associates  of  bold  Jack  Donahoo. 

Chorus  :  Then  come,  &c. 

30 


BOLD  JACK  DONAHOO  31 

Now,  Donahoo  was  taken,  all  for  a  notorious  crime, 
And  sentenced  to  be  hanged  upon  the  gallows-tree  so  high. 
But  when  they  came  to  Sydney  gaol,  he  left  them  in  a  stew, 
And  when  they  came  to  call  the  roll,  they   missed    bold 
Donahoo. 

Chorus  :  Then  come,  &c. 

As  Donahoo  made  his  escape,  to  the  bush  he  went  straight- 
way. 

The  people  they  were  all  afraid  to  travel  night  or  day — 

For  every  week  in  the  newspapers  there  was  published  some- 
thing new 

Concerning  this  dauntless  hero,  the  bold  Jack  Donahoo  ! 

Chorus  :  Then  come,  &c. 

As  Donahoo  was  cruising,  one  summer's  afternoon, 

* 
Little  was  his  notion  his  death  was  near  so  soon, 

When  a  sergeant  of  the  horse  police  discharged  his  car-a-bine, 
And  called  aloud  on  Donahoo  to  fight  or  to  resign. 

Chorus  :  Then  come,  &c. 

"  Resign  to  you — you  cowardly  dogs  !  a  thing  I  ne'er  will  do, 
For  I'll  fight  this  night  with  all  my  might,"  cried  bold  Jack 

Donahoo. 

"  I'd  rather  roam  these  hills  and  dales,  like  wolf  or  kangaroo, 
Than   work  one   hour  for  Government!"  cried  bold  Jack 

Donahoo. 

Chorus  :  Then  come,  &c. 


32  BOLD  JACK  DONAHOO 

He  fought  six  rounds  with  the  horse  police  until  the  fatal 

ball, 
Which  pierced  his  heart  and  made  him  start,  caused  Donahoo 

to  fall. 

And  as  he  closed  his  mournful  eyes,  he  bade  this  world  Adieu, 
Saying,  "  Convicts  all,  both  large  and  small,  say  prayers  for 

Donahoo  !" 

Chorus  :  Then  come,  &c. 


THE  WILD  COLONIAL  BOY 

'Tis  of  a  wild  Colonial  boy,  Jack  Doolan  was  his  name, 
Of  poor  but  honest  parents  he  was  born  in  Castlemaine. 
He  was  his  father's  only  hope,  his  mother's  only  joy, 
And  dearly  did  his  parents  love  the  wild  Colonial  boy. 

CHORUS 

Come,  all  my  hearties,  we'll  roam  the  mountains  high, 
Together  we  will  plunder,  together  we  will  die. 
We'll  wander  over  valleys,  and  gallop  over  plains, 
And  we'll  scorn  to  live  in  slavery,  bound  down  with  iron 
chains, 

He  was  scarcely  sixteen  years  of  age  when  he  left  his  father's 

home, 

And  through  Australia's  sunny  clime  a  bushranger  did  roam. 
He  robbed    those    wealthy    squatters,    their  stock  he  did 

destroy, 
And  a  terror  to  Australia  was  the  wild  Colonial  boy. 

Chorus  :  Come,  all  my  hearties,  &c. 
0  33 


34  THE  WILD  COLONIAL  BOY 

In  sixty-one  this  daring  youth  commenced  his  wild  career, 
With  a  heart  that  knew  no  danger,  no  foeman  did  he  fear. 
He  stuck  up  the  Beechworth  mail  coach,  and  robbed  Judge 

MacEvoy, 
Who  trembled,  and  gave  up  his  gold  to  the  wild  Colonial  boy. 

Chorus  :  Come,  all  my  hearties,  &c. 

He  bade  the  Judge  "  Good  morning,"  and  told  him  to  beware, 
That  he'd  never  rob  a  hearty  chap  that  acted  on  the  square, 
And  never  to  rob  a  mother  of  her  son  and  only  joy, 
Or  else  you  may  turn  outlaw,  like  the  wild  Colonial  boy. 

Chorus  :  Come,  all  my  hearties,  &c. 

One  day  as  he  was  riding  the  mountain  side  along, 
A-listening  to  the  little  birds,  their  pleasant  laughing  song, 
Three  mounted  troopers    rode    along— Kelly,    Davis,    and 

FitzRoy. 
They   thought   that    they    would    capture    him — the    wild 

Colonial  boy. 

Chorus  :  Come,  all  my  hearties,  &c. 


"  Surrender  now,  Jack  Doolan,  you  see  there's  three  to  one. 
Surrender  now,  Jack  Doolan,  you  daring  highwayman." 
He  drew  a  pistol  from  his  belt,  and  shook  the  little  toy. 
"  I'll  fight,  but  not  surrender,"  said  the  wild  Colonial  boy. 

Chorus  :  Come,  all  my  hearties,  &c. 


THE  WILD  COLONIAL  BOY  35 

He  fired  at  Trooper  Kelly,  and  brought  him  to  the  ground, 
And  in  return  from  Davis  received  a  mortal  wound. 
All  shattered  through  the  jaws  he  lay  still  firing  at  FitzRoy, 
And  that's  the  way  they  captured  him — the  wild  Colonial 
boy. 

Chorus  :  Come,  all  my  hearties,  &c. 


It  will  be  noticed  that  the  same  chorus  is  sung  to  both 
"The  Wild  Colonial  Boy"  and  "Bold  Jack  Donahoo." 
Several  versions  of  both  songs  were  sent  in,  but  the  same 
chorus  was  always  made  to  do  duty  for  both  songs. 


JOHN  GILBERT  (BUSHRANGER) 

[He  and  his  gang  stuck  up  the  township  of  Canowindra  for 
two  days  in  1859.] 

(Air  :  "Four  and  twenty  blackbirds  baked  in  a  pie.") 


JOHN  GILBERT  was  a  bushranger  of  terrible  renown, 
For  sticking  lots  of  people  up  and  shooting  others  down. 
John  Gilbert  said  unto  his  pals,  "  Although  they   make  a 

bobbery 
About  our   tricks  we  have  never  done  a  tip -top  thing  in 

robbery. 

"  We  have  all  of  us  a  fancy  for  experiments  in  pillage, 
Yet  never  have  we  seized  a  town,  or  even  sacked  a  village." 
John  Gilbert  said  unto  his  mates — "Though  partners  we 

have  been 
In  all  rascality,  yet  we  no  festal  day  have  seen." 

John  Gilbert  said  he  thought  he  saw  no  obstacle  to  hinder  a 
Piratical  descent  upon  the  town  of  Canowindra. 
So  into  Canowindra  town  rode  Gilbert  and  his  men, 
And  all  the  Canowindra  folk  subsided  there  and  then. 
36 


JOHN  GILBERT  (BUSHRANGER)  37 

The  Canowindra  populace  cried,  "Here's  a  lot  of  strangers ! ! !' 
But  immediately  recovered  when  they  found  they  were  bush- 
rangers. 

And  Johnny  Gilbert  said  to  them,  "  You  need  not  be  afraid, 
We  are  only  old  companions  whom  bushrangers  you  have  made." 

And  Johnny  Gilbert  said,  said  he,   "  We'll  never  hurt  a  hair 
Of  men  who  bravely  recognise  that  we  are  just  all  there." 
The  New  South  Welshmen  said  at  once,  not  making  any 

fuss, 
That  Johnny  Gilbert,  after  all,  was  "  Just  but  one  of  us." 

So  Johnny  Gilbert  took  the  town  (including  public  houses), 
And  treated   all  the    "cockatoos'"   and  shouted  for  their 

spouses. 

And  Miss  O'Flanagan  performed  in  manner  quite  gintailly 
Upon  the  grand  planner  for  the  bushranger  O'Meally. 

And  every  stranger  passing  by  they  took,  and  when  they  got 
him 

They  robbed  him  of  his  money  and  occasionally  shot  him. 

And  Johnny's  enigmatic  feat  admits  of  this  solution, 

That  bushranging  in  New  South  Wales  is  a  favoured  insti- 
tution. 

80  Johnny  Gilbert  ne'er  allows  an  anxious  thought  to  fetch 

him, 
For  well  he  knows  the  Government  don't  really  want  to 

ketch  him. 

And  if  such  practices  should  be  to  New  South  Welshmen  dear, 
With  not  the  least  demurring  word  ought  we  to  interfere. 


IMMIGRATION 

[Mr.  Jordan  was  sent  to  England  by  the  Queensland 
Government  in  1858,  1859,  and  1860  to  lecture  on  the  advan- 
tages of  immigration,  and  told  the  most  extraordinary  tales 
about  the  place.] 

(Air  :  "  Four  and  twenty  blackbirds  baked  in  a  pie.") 

Now  Jordan's  land  of  promise  is  the  burden  of  my  song. 
Perhaps  you've  heard  him  lecture,  and  blow  about  it  strong  ; 
To  hear  him  talk  you'd  think  it  was  a  heaven  upon  earth, 
But  listen  and  I'll  tell  you  now  the  plain  unvarnished  truth. 

Here  mutton,  beef,  and  damper  are  all  you'll  get  to  eat, 
From   Monday   morn   till  Sunday  night,    all    through    the 

blessed  week. 
And  should  the  flour  bag  run  short,  then  mutton,  beef,  and 

tea 
Will  be  your  lot,  and  whether  or  not,  'twill  have  to  do, 

you'll  see. 


IMMIGRATION  39 

Here  snakes  and  all  vile  reptiles  crawl  around  you  as  you 

walk, 

But  these  you  never  hear  about  in  Mr.  Jordan's  talk  ; 
Mosquitoes,   too,  and  sandflies,  they  will  tease  you  all  the 

night, 
And  until  you  get  quite  colonised  you'll  be  a  pretty  sight. 

Here  are  boundless  plains  where  it  seldoms  rains,  and  you'll 

maybe  die  of  thirst ; 
But  should  you  so  dispose  your  bones,  you'll  scarcely  be  the 

fa'rst, 
For  there's  many  a  strong  and  stalwart  man  come  out  to 

make  his  pile, 
Who  never  leaves  the  fatal  shore  of  this  thrice  accursed  isle. 

To  sum  it  up  in  few  short  words,  the  place  is  only  fit 

For  those  who  were  sent  out  here,  for  from  this  they  cannot 

flit. 

But  any  other  men  who  come  a  living  here  to  try, 
Will  vegetate  a  little  while  and  then  lie  down  and  die. 


THE  SQUATTER'S  MAN 

COME,  all  ye  lads  an'  list  to  me, 

That's  left  your  homes  an'  crossed  the  sea, 

To  try  your  fortune,  bound  or  free, 

All  in  this  golden  land. 
For  twelve  long  months  I  had  to  pace, 
Humping  my  swag  with  a  cadging  face, 
Sleeping  in  the  bush,  like  the  sable  race, 

As  in  my  song  you'll  understand. 

Unto  this  country  I  did  come, 
A  regular  out-and-out  new  chum. 
I  then  abhorred  the  sight  of  rum — 

Teetotal  was  my  plan. 
But  soon  I  learned  to  wet  one  eye — 
Misfortune  oft-times  made  me  sigh. 
To  raise  fresh  funds  I  was  forced  to  fly, 

And  be  a  squatter's  man. 

Soon  at  a  station  I  appeared. 
I  saw  the  squatter  with  his  beard, 
And  up  to  him  I  boldly  steered, 
With  my  swag  and  billy-can. 

40 


THE  SQUATTER'S  MAN  41 

I  said,  "  Kind  sir,  I  want  a  job  ! " 
Said  he,  "  Do  you  know  how  to  snob 
Or  can  you  break  in  a  bucking  cob  ?  " 
Whilst  my  figure  he  well  did  scan. 

"  'Tis  now  I  want  a  useful  cove 

To  stop  at  home  and  not  to  rove. 

The  scamps  go  about — a  regular  drove  — 

I  'spose  you're  one  of  the  clan  ? 
But  I'll  give  ten — ten,  sugar  an'  tea  ; 
Ten  bob  a  week,  if  you'll  suit  me, 
And  very  soon  I  hope  you'll  be 

A  handy  squatter's  man. 

"  At  daylight  you  must  milk  the  cows, 
Make  butter,  cheese,  an'  feed  the  sows, 
Put  on  the  kettle,  the  cook  arouse, 

And  clean  the  family  shoes. 
The  stable  an'  sheep  yard  clean  out, 
And  always  answer  when  we  shout, 
With    'Yes,   ma'am,'   and    'No,   sir,'    mind    your 
mouth  ; 

And  my  youngsters  don't  abuse. 

"  You  must  fetch  wood  an'  water,  bake  an'  boil, 
Act  as  butcher  when  we  kill ; 
The  corn  an'  taters  you  must  hill, 
Keep  the  garden  spick  and  span. 


42  THE  SQUATTER'S  MAN 

You  must  not  scruple  in  the  rain 
To  take  to  market  all  the  grain. 
Be  sure  you  come  sober  back  again 
To  be  a  squatter's  man." 

He  sent  me  to  an  old  bark  hut, 
Inhabited  by  a  greyhound  slut, 
Who  put  her  fangs  through  my  poor  fut, 

And,  snarling,  off  she  ran. 
So  once  more  I'm  looking  for  a  job. 
Without  a  copper  in  my  fob. 
With  Ben  Hall  or  Gardiner  I'd  rather  rob, 

Than  be  a  squatter's  man. 


"  Do  you  know  how  to  snob  ?"  —A  snob  in  English  slang  is 
a  bootmaker,  so  the  squatter  wanted  his  man  to  do  a  bit  of 
boot- repairing. 

"  I'll  give  ten,  ten,  sugar  and  tea." — The  "  ten,  ten"  refers 
to  the  amount — ten  pounds  weight — of  flour  and  meat  that 
made  up  the  weekly  ration  on  the  stations. 


THE  STRINGY-BARK  COCKATOO 

I'M  a  broken-hearted  miner,  who  loves  his  cup  to  drain, 
Which  often  times  has  caused  me  to  lie  in  frost  and  rain. 
Roaming  about  the  country,  looking  for  some  work  to  do, 
I  got  a  job  of  reaping  off  a  stringy-bark  cockatoo. 

CHORUS 

Oh,  the  stringy-bark  cockatoo, 
Oh,  the  stringy-bark  cockatoo, 
I  got  a  job  of  reaping  off  a  stringy-bark  cockatoo. 

Ten  bob  an  acre  was  his  price— with    promise    of     fairish 

board. 

He  said  his  crops  were  very  light,  'twas  all  he  could  afford. 
He  drove  me  out  in  a  bullock  dray,  and  his  piggery  met  my 

view. 
Oh,  the  pigs  and  geese  were  in  the  wheat  of  the  stringy-bark 

cockatoo. 

Chorus  :  Oh,  the  stringy-bark,  &c. 

43 


44  THE  STRINGY-BARK  COCKATOO 

The  hut  was  made  of  the  surface  mud,  the  roof  of  a  reedy 

thatch. 

The  doors  and  windows  open  flew  without  a  bolt  or  latch. 
The  pigs  and  geese  were  in  the  hut,  the  hen  on  the  table 

flew, 
And  she  laid  an  egg  in  the  old  tin  plate  for  the  stringy-bark 

cockatoo. 

Chorus  :  Oh,  the  stringy-bark,  &c. 

For  breakfast  we  had  pollard,  boys,  it  tasted  like  cobbler's 

paste. 
To  help  it  down  we  had  to  eat  brown  bread  with  vinegar 

taste. 
The  tea  was  made  of  the  native  hops,   which  out  on  the 

ranges  grew ; 
'Twas  sweetened  with  honey  bees  and  wax  for  the  stringy- 

bark  cockatoo. 

Chorus  :  Oh,  the  stringy-bark,  &c. 

For  dinner  we  had    goanna  hash,   we  thought  it  mighty 

hard ; 
They  wouldn't  give  us  butter,  so  we  forced  down  bread  and 

lard. 

Quondong  duff,  paddy-melon  pie,  and  wallaby  Irish  stew 
We  used  to  eat  while  reaping  for  the  stringy-bark  cockatoo. 

Chorus  :  Oh,  the  stringy-bark,  &c. 


THE  STRINGY-BARK  COCKATOO  45 

When  we  started  to  cut  the  rust  and  smut  was  just  begin- 
ning to  shed, 

And  all  we  had  to  sleep  on  was  a  dog  and  sheep-skin  bed. 

The  bugs  and  fleas  tormented  me,  they  made  me  scratch  and 
screw  ; 

I  lost  my  rest  while  reaping  for  the  stringy-bark  cockatoo. 

Chorus  :  Oh,  the  stringy-bark,  &c. 

At  night  when  work  was  over  I'd  nurse  the  youngest  child, 
And  when  I'd  say  a  joking  word,  the  mother  would  laugh  and 

smile. 
The  old  cocky,  he  grew  jealous,  and  he  thumped  me  black 

and  blue, 
And    he    drove    me    off   without    a  rap— the  stringy-bark 

cockatoo. 

Chorus  :  Oh,  the  stringy-bark,  &c. 


[For  note  on  this  song,  see  Introduction.] 


THE  EUMERELLA  SHORE 

THERE'S  a  happy  little  valley  on  the  Eumerella  shore, 
Where  I've  lingered  many  happy  hours  away, 

On  my  little  free  selection  I  have  acres  by  the  score, 
Where  I  unyoke  the  bullocks  from  the  dray. 

CHORUS 

To  my  bullocks  then  I  say 
No  matter  where  you  stray, 

You  will  never  be  impounded  any  more  ; 
For  you're   running,   running,    running  on  the  duffer's 
piece  of  land, 

Free  selected  on  the  Eumerella  shore. 

When  the  moon  has  climbed  the  mountains  and  the  stars  are 

shining  bright, 

Then  we  saddle  up  our  horses  and  away, 
And  we  yard  the  squatters'  cattle  in  the  darkness  of  the 

night, 

And  we  have  the  calves  all  branded  by  the  day. 
46 


THE  EUMERELLA  SHORE  47 

CHORUS 

Oh,  my  pretty  little  calf, 

At  the  squatter  you  may  laugh, 

For  he'll  never  be  your  owner  any  more  ; 
For  you're  running,   running,   running  on  the  duffer's 
piece  of  land, 

Free  selected  on  the  Eumerella  shore. 

If  we  find  a  mob  of  horses  when  the  paddock  rails  are  down, 
Although  before  they're  never  known  to  stray, 

Oh,  quickly  will  we  drive  them  to  some  distant  inland  town, 
And  sell  them  into  slav'ry  far  away. 

CHORUS 

To  Jack  Robertson  we'll  say 
You've  been  leading  us  astray, 

And  we'll  never  go  a-farming  any  more  ; 
For  it's  easier  duffing  cattle  on  the  little  piece  of  land 

Free  selected  on  the  Eumerella  shore. 


JIMMY  SAGO,  JACKAROO 
(Air  :  "  Wearing  of  the  Green.") 

IF  you  want  a  situation,  I'll  just  tell  you  the  plan 
To  get  on  to  a  station,  I  am  just  your  very  man. 
Pack  up  the  old  portmanteau,  and  label  it  Paroo, 
With  a  name  aristocratic— Jimmy  Sago,  Jackaroo. 

When  you  get  on  to  the  station,  of  small  things  you'll  make 

a  fuss, 
And  in  speaking  of  the  station,  mind,  it's  we,  and  ours,  and 

us. 

Boast  of  your  grand  connections  and  your  rich  relations,  too, 
And  your  own  great  expectations,  Jimmy  Sago,  Jackaroo. 

They  will  send  you  out  on  horseback,  the  boundaries  to  ride, 
But  run  down  a  marsupial  and  rob  him  of  his  hide, 
His  scalp  will  fetch  a  shilling  and  his  hide  another  two, 
Which  will  help  to  fill  your  pockets,  Jimmy  Sago,  Jackaroo. 
Yes,  to  fill  your  empty  pockets,  Jimmy  Sago,  Jackaroo. 

48 


JIMMY  SAGO,  JACKAROO  49 

When  the  boss  wants  information,  on  the  men  you'll  do  a 

sneak, 

And  don  a  paper  collar  on  your  fifteen  bob  a  week. 
Then  at  the  lamb-marking  a  boss  they'll  make  of  you. 
Now  that's  the  way  to  get  on,  Jimmy  Sago,  Jackaroo. 

A  squatter  in  the  future  I've  no  doubt  you  may  be, 

But  if  the  banks  once  get  you,  they'll  put  you  up  a  tree. 

To  see  you  humping  bluey,  I  know,  would  never  do, 

'T would  mean  goocl-bye  to  our  new  chum,  Jimmy  Sago, 

Jackaroo. 
Yes,  good-bye  to  our  new  chum,  Jimmy  Sago,  Jackaroo. 


A  "Jackaroo"  is  a  young  man  who  comes  to  a  station  to 
get  experience.  He  occupies  a  position  much  like  that  of  an 
apprentice  on  a  ship,  and  has  to  work  with  the  men  though 
supposed  to  be  above  them  in  social  status.  Hence  these 
sneers  at  the  Jackaroo. 


THE  PLAINS  OF  RIVERINE 

I  HAVE  come  to  tell  you  of  the  glorious  news  you'll  all  be 

glad  to  hear, 

Of  the  pleasant  alterations  that  are  taking  place  this  year. 
So  kindly  pay  attention,  and  I'll  pass  the  whisper  round, 
The  squatters  of  their  own  free  will  this  year   will  pay  the 

pound. 

For  this  is  a  year  of  great  prosperity,  that  everybody  knows, 
We'll  take  no  top  knots  off  this  year,  nor  trim  them  to  the 

toes, 
But  a  level  cut  for  a  level  pound,  and  the  rations  thrown 

in  free. 
That's  how  the  squatters  say  they'll  keep  their  Sovereign's 

Jubilee. 

And  kind  Providence  once  more  has  sent  the  sweet,  refreshing 

rains. 

The  trefoil  and  the  barley  grass  wave  high  upon  the  plains, 
The  tanks  all  overflowing  and  the  saltbush  fresh  and  green, 
It's  a  pleasure  for  to  ramble  o'er  the  plains  of  Riverine. 

50 


THE  PLAINS  OF  RIVERINE  51 

Once  more  upon  the  rippling  lake  the  wild  swan  flaps  her 

wing. 
Out  in  the  lignum  swamps  once  more  frogs  croak  and  crickets 

sing. 
Once  more  the  wild  fowl,  sporting  midst  the  crab-holes,  may 

be  seen, 
For  prosperity  is  hovering  o'er  the  plains  of  Riverine. 

Yes,  'twill  be  a  year  of  full  and  plenty  for  those  back-block 

pioneers, 
Though  behind  each  scrub  and  saltbush  you  can  spot  the 

bunny's  ears ; 

And  although  the  price  for  scalps  is  not  so  high  as  it  has  been, 
Yet  the  bunny  snappers  they  will  thrive  on  the  plains  of 

Riverine. 

You  should  see  the  jolly  teamsters  how  with  joy  their  faces 

beam, 
As  they   talk  about  the  crowfoot,  carrots,  crab-holes,  and 

their  team. 

They  tell  you  that  this  year  they  do  intend  to  steer  sixteen. 
They'll  show  the  "cockies"  how  to  plough  the  plains   of 

Riverine. 

Yes,  in  more  respects  than  one  it  is  a  year  of  joy  and  glee, 
And  the  news  of  our  prosperity  has  crossed  the  briny  sea. 
Once  more  the  Maorilander  and  the  Tassey  will  be  seen 
Cooking  johnny  cakes  and  jimmies  on  the  plains  of  Riverine. 


52  THE  PLAINS  OF  RIVERINE 

They  will  gather  like  a  regiment  to  the  beating  of  the  drum, 
But  it  matters  not  to  us  from  whence  our  future  penmates 

come. 
From    New    Zealand's    snow-clad    summits    or    Tasmania's 

meadows  green, 
We'll  always  make  them  welcome  on  the  plains  of  Riverine. 

Down  from  her  rocky  peaks  Monaro  will  send  her  champions 

bold  ; 

Victoria  will  send  her  "  cockies,'1  too,  her  honour  to  uphold. 
They'll  be  here  from  Cunnamulla,  and  the  rolling  downs 

between, 
For   this  is  the  real  convincing    ground,    these    plains    of 

Riverine. 

I  have  a  message  to  deliver  now,  before  I  say  farewell, 
Some  news  which  all  the  squatters  have  commissioned  me  to 

tell; 
Your  backs  well  bent,  bows  long  and  clean,  that's  what  they 

want  to  see, 
That  your  tallies  may  do  you  credit  in  this  year  of  Jubilee. 

"  This  year  will  pay  the  pound." — A  pound  a  hundred  is 
the  price  for  shearing  sheep,  and  several  bitterly  fought-out 
strikes  have  taken  place  about  it. 

"We'll  take  no  topknots  off  this  year  nor  trim  them  to  the 
toes." — Owing  to  the  amiability  of  the  squatters  and  the 
excellence  of  the  season,  the  shearers  intend  to  leave  some  of 
the  wool  on  the  sheep,  i.e.,  the  topknots  on  the  head  and  the 
wool  down  on  the  legs. 

"  To  steer  sixteen  " — sixteen  horses  in  the  team. 


THE  SHEEP- WASHERS'  LAMENT 
(Air  :  "The  Bonnie  Irish  Boy.") 

COME  now,  ye  sighing  washers  all, 

Join  in  my  doleful  lay, 
Mourn  for  the  times  none  can  recall, 

With  hearts  to  grief  a  prey. 
We'll  mourn  the  washer's  sad  downfall 

In  our  regretful  strain, 
Lamenting  on  the  days  gone  by 

Ne'er  to  return  again. 


When  first  I  went  a-washing  sheep 

The  year  was  sixty-one, 
The  master  was  a  worker  then, 

The  servant  was  a  man  ; 
But  now  the  squatters,  puffed  with  pride, 

They  treat  us  with  disdain  ; 
Lament  the  days  that  are  gone  by 

Ne'er  to  return  again. 


54  THE  SHEEP-WASHERS'  LAMENT 

From  sixty -one  to  sixty -six, 

The  bushman,  stout  and  strong, 
Would  smoke  his  pipe  and  whistle  his  tune, 

And  sing  his  cheerful  song, 
As  wanton  as  the  kangaroo 

That  bounds  across  the  plain. 
Lament  the  days  that  are  gone  by 

Ne'er  to  return  again. 


Supplies  of  food  unstinted,  good, 

No  squatter  did  withhold. 
With  plenty  grog  to  cheer  our  hearts, 

We  feared  nor  heat  nor  cold, 
\Y  ith  six-and-six  per  man  per  day 

We  sought  not  to  complain. 
Lament  the  days  that  are  gone  by 

Ne'er  to  return  again. 


With  perfect  health,  a  mine  of  wealth, 

Our  days  seemed  short  and  sweet, 
On  pleasure  bent  our  evenings  spent, 

Enjoyment  was  complete. 
But  now  we  toil  from  morn  till  night, 

Though  much  against  the  grain, 
Lamenting  on  the  days  gone  by, 

Ne'er  to  return  again. 


THE  SHEEP-WASHERS'  LAMENT  55 

I  once  could  boast  two  noble  steeds, 

To  bear  me  on  my  way, 
My  good  revolver  in  my  belt, 

I  never  knew  dismay. 
But  lonely  now  I  hump  my  drum 

In  sunshine  and  in  rain, 
Lamenting  on  the  days  gone  by 

Ne'er  to  return  again. 


A  worthy  cheque  I  always  earned, 

And  spent  it  like  a  lord. 
My  dress  a  prince's  form  would  grace, 

And  spells  I  could  afford. 
But  now  in  tattered  rags  arrayed, 

My  limbs  they  ache  with  pain, 
Lamenting  on  the  days  gone  by, 

Ne'er  to  return  again. 


May  bushmen  all  in  unity 

Combine  with  heart  and  hand, 
May  cursed  cringing  poverty 

Be  banished  from  the  land. 
In  Queensland  may  prosperity 

In  regal  glory  reign, 
And  washers  in  the  time  to  come 

Their  vanished  rights  regain. 


THE  BROKEN-DOWN  SQUATTER 
(Air :  "  It's  a  fine  hunting  day  ") 

COME,  Stumpy,  old  man,  we  must  shift  while  we  can  ; 

All  our  mates  in  the  paddock  are  dead. 
Let  us  wave  our  farewells  to  Glen  Eva's  sweet  dells 

And  the  hills  where  your  lordship  was  bred  ; 
Together  to  roam  from  our  drought-stricken  home — 

It  seems  hard  that  such  things  have  to  be, 
And  its  hard  on  a  "  hoss  "  when  he's  nought  for  a  boss 

But  a  broken-down  squatter  like  me  ! 

CHORUS 

For  the  banks  are  all  broken,  they  say, 

And  the  merchants  are  all  up  a  tree. 
When  the  bigwigs  are  brought  to  the  Bankruptcy  Court, 

What  chance  for  a  squatter  like  me. 

No  more  shall  we  muster  the  river  for  fats, 

Or  spiel  on  the  Fifteen-mile  plain, 
Or  rip  through  the  scrub  by  the  light  of  the  moon, 

Or  see  the  old  stockyard  again. 

56 


THE  BROKEN-DOWN  SQUATTER  57 

Leave  the  slip-panels  down,  it  won't  matter  much  now, 

There  are  none  but  the  crows  left  to  see, 
Perching  gaunt  in  yon  pine,  as  though  longing  to  dine 

On  a  broken-down  squatter  like  me. 

Chorus  :  For  the  banks,  &c. 

When  the  country  was  cursed  with  the  drought  at  its  worst, 

And  the  cattle  were  dying  in  scores, 
Though  down  on  my  luck,  I  kept  up  my  pluck, 

Thinking  justice  might  temper  the  laws. 
But  the  farce  has  been  played,  and  the  Government  aid 

Ain't  extended  to  squatters,  old  son  ; 
When  my  dollars  were  spent  they  doubled  the  rent, 

And  resumed  the  best  half  of  the  run. 

Chorus  :  For  the  banks,  &c. 

'Twas  done  without  reason,  for  leaving  the  season 

No  squatter  could  stand  such  a  rub  ; 
For  it's  useless  to  squat  when  the  rents  are  so  hot 

That  one  can't  save  the  price  of  one's  grub ; 
And  there's  not  much  to  choose  'twixt  the  banks  and  the  Jews 

Once  a  fellow  gets  put  up  a  tree ; 
No  odds  what  I  feel,  there's  no  court  of  appeal 

For  a  broken-down  squatter  like  me. 

Chorus  :  For  the  banks,  &c. 


THE  FREE  SELECTOR 
(A  Song  of  1861.) 

YE  sons  of  industry,  to  you  I  belong, 
And  to  you  I  would  dedicate  a  verse  or  a  song, 
Rejoicing  o'er  the  victory  John  Robertson  has  won 
Now  the  Land  Bill  has  passed  and  the  good  time  has  come 
Now  the  Land  Bill,  &c. 

No  more  with  our  swags  through  the  bush  need  we  roam 
For  to  ask  of  another  there  to  give  us  a  home, 
Now  the  land  is  unfettered  and  we  may  reside 
In  a  home  of  our  own  by  some  clear  waterside. 
In  a  home  of  our  own,  &c. 

On  some  fertile  spot  which  we  may  call  our  own, 
Where  the  rich  verdure  grows,  we  will  build  up  a  home. 
There  industry  will  nourish  and  content  will  smile, 
While  our  children  rejoicing  will  share  in  our  toil. 
While  our  children,  &c. 

We  will  plant  our  garden  and  sow  our  own  field, 
And  eat  from  the  fruits  which  industry  will  yield, 
And  be  independent,  what  we  long  for  have  strived, 
Though  those  that  have  ruled  us  the  right  long  denied. 

Though  those  that  have  ruled  us,  &c. 
58 


A  NATIONAL  SONG  FOR  AUSTRALIA  FELIX 

DARK  over  the  face  of  Nature  sublime  ! 
Reign'd  tyranny,  warfare,  and  every  crime  ; 
The  world  a  desert — no  oasis  green 
A  man-loving  soul  on  its  surface  had  seen  ; 
Then  mercy  above  a  mandate  sent  forth 
An  Eden  to  form — a  refuge  for  worth. 
From  the  ocean  it  came,  with  halo  so  bright, 
Want,  strife,  and  oppression  were  lost  in  its  sight. 

CHORUS 

First  isle  of  the  sea — brightest  gem  of  the  earth 
In  thee  every  virtue  and  joy  shall  have  birth. 
A  land  of  the  just,  the  brave,  and  the  free, 
Australia  the  happy,  thou  ever  shalt  be. 

So  earth  in  the  flood  no  place  for  rest  gave, 
At  length  a  green  isle  arose  from  the  wave  ; 
The  dove  o'er  the  waters  the  olive  branch  bore, 
To  show  that  one  spot  was  cover'd  no  more  ; 


60    A  NATIONAL  SONG  FOR  AUSTRALIA  FELIX 

Australia  thus  shall  be  sounded  by  fame, 
And  Europe  shall  echo  the  glorious  name  ; 
The  brave,  wise,  and  good,  wherever  oppress 'd, 
Shall  fly  to  thy  shores  as  a  haven  of  rest. 

Chorus  :  First  isle  of  the  sea,  &c. 


Land  of  the  orange,  fig,  olive,  and  vine ; 
'Midst  earth's  fairest  daughters  the  chaplet  is  thine  ; 
No  sick'ning  vapours  are  borne  on  thy  air, 
But  fragrance  and  melody  twine  sweetly  there  ; 
Thy  ever-green  fields  proclaim  plenty  and  peace, 
If  man  doth  his  part,  heaven  sends  the  increase ; 
No  customs  to  fetter,  no  enemy  near, 
Independence  thy  sons  for  ever  must  cheer. 

Chorus  :  First  isle  of  the  sea,  &c. 


SUNNY  NEW  SOUTH  WALES 

WE  often  hear  men  boast  about  the  land  which  gave  them 

birth, 
And  each  one  thinks  his  native  land  the  fairest  spot  on 

earth  ; 

In  beauty,  riches,  power,  no  land  can  his  surpass  ; 
To  his,  all  other  lands  on  earth  cannot  even  hold  a  glass. 
Now,  if  other  people  have  their  boasts,  then,  say,  why  should 

not  we, 
For  we  can  drink  our  jovial  toast  and  sing  with  three  times 

three  ; 
For  there's  not  a  country  in  the  world  where  all  that's  fair 

prevails 
As  here  it  does  in   this  our   land,   our  sunny  New  South 

Wales. 

CHORUS 

Then  toast  with  me  our  happy  land, 

Where  all  that's  fair  prevails, 
Our  colour's  blue  and  our  hearts  are  true, 

In  sunny  New  South  Wales. 

61 


62  SUNNY  NEW  SOUTH  WALES 

Now  let  us  take  a  passing  glance  at  all  that  we  possess. 
That  ours  is  such  a  wealthy  land  no  stranger  e'er  would  guess. 
Why,  we've  land  in  store,  indeed  far  more  than  ever  we  shall 

require, 

And  trees  grow  thick  on  every  side  in  spite  of  axe  and  fire. 
Our  sheep  and  cattle  millions  count,  our  wool  is  classed  Al  ; 
In  beef  and  mutton  our  fair  land  is  not  to  be  outdone. 
Why,  we've  lately  seen  old  England,  who  boasts  her  stock 

ne'er  fails, 
Has  had  to  send  for  wholsome  meat  preserved  in  New  South 

Wales. 

Chorus  :  Then  toast  with  me,  &c. 

In  childhood  California  was  to  us  a  land  of  gold, 

And  people  said  its  riches  were  so  vast,  immense,  untold. 

But  time  has  proved  that  mineral  wealth  exists  not  there 

alone, 

For  New  South  Wales  possesses  gold  in  many,  many  a  stone. 
And  when  the  gold  is  taken  from  out  its  quartzy  veins 
A  heap  of  silver,  copper,  tin,  as  a  residue  remains. 
In  fact  we  are  a  mass  of  wealth  in  all  our  hills  and  dales. 
There's  not  a  country  half  as  rich  as  sunny  New   South 

Wales. 

Chorus  :  Then  toast  with  me,  &c. 

Our  climate's  good,  that  all  admit,  our  flowers  are  sweet  and 

rare  ; 
And  scenes  abound  on  every  hand  so  marvellously  fair. 


SUNNY  NEW  SOUTH  WALES  63 

Shame  on  the  men  who  went  away  and  of  us  wrote  such 

lies. 
Why,  when  Anthony  TroUope  came  out  here  he  nearly  lost 

his  eyes. 

Our  native  girls  are  fair  and  good,  their  hearts  are  pure  and 

true  ; 
And  to  their  colour  stick  like  bricks,  the  bright  Australian 

blue. 

Some  never  loved  a  roving  life,  nor  blest  the  ocean's  gales  ; 
But  they  bless  the  breeze  that  blew  them  to  a  life  in  New 

South  Wales. 

Chorus  :  Then  toast  with  me,  &c. 


BRINGING  HOME  THE  COWS 

SHADOWS  of  the  twilight  falling 

On  the  mountain's  brow, 
To  each  other  birds  are  calling, 

In  the  leafy  bough. 
Where  the  daisies  are  a-springing, 
And  the  cattle  bells  are  ringing, 
Comes  my  Mary,  gaily  singing, 

Bringing  home  the  cows. 

By  a  bush  the  pathway  skirted, 

Room  for  two  allows. 
All  the  cornfields  are  deserted, 

Idle  are  the  ploughs. 
Striving  for  wealth's  spoil  and  booty, 
Farmer  boys  have  finished  duty, 
When  I  meet  my  little  beauty, 

Bringing  home  the  cows. 

Tender  words  and  kind  addresses, 

Most  polite  of  bows, 
Rosy  cheeks  and  wavy  tresses 

Do  my  passions  rouse 
64 


BRINGING  HOME  THE  COWS  65 

Dress  so  natty  and  so  cleanly, 
Air  so  modest  and  so  queenly. 
Oh  !  so  haughty,  yet  serenely, 

Bringing  home  the  cows. 

. 

Arm-in-arm  together  walking, 

While  the  cattle  browse, 
Earnestly  together  talking, 

Plighting  lovers'  vows. 
Where  the  daisies  are  a-springing, 
Wedding  bells  will  soon  be  ringing, 
Then  we'll  watch  our  servant  bringing 

Mine  and  Mary's  cows. 


THE  DYING  STOCKMAN 
(Air :  "  The  Old  Stable  Jacket.") 

A  STRAPPING  young  stockman  lay  dying, 

His  saddle  supporting  his  head  ; 
His  two  mates  around  him  were  crying, 

As  he  rose  on  his  pillow  and  said  : 

CHORUS 
1 '  Wrap  me  up  with  my  stockwhip  and  blanket, 

And  bury  me  deep  down  below, 
Where  the  dingoes  and  crows  can't  molest  me, 

In  the  shade  where  the  coolibahs  grow. 

"Oh  1  had  I  the  flight  of  the  bronzewing, 

Far  o'er  the  plains  would  I  fly, 
Straight  to  the  land  of  my  childhood, 

And  there  would  I  lay  down  and  die. 
Chorus  :  Wrap  me  up,  &c. 

"  Then  cut  down  a  couple  of  saplings, 

Place  one  at  my  head  and  my  toe, 
Carve  on  them  cross,  stockwhip,  and  saddle, 

To  show  there's  a  stockman  below. 

Chorus  :  Wrap  me  up,  &c. 
66 


THE  DYING  STOCKMAN  67 

"  Hark  !  there's  the  wail  of  a  dingo, 

Watchful  and  weird — I  must  go, 
For  it  tolls  the  death-knell  of  the  stockman 

From  the  gloom  of  the  scrub  down  below. 
Chorus  :  Wrap  me  up,  &c. 

"There's  tea  in  the  battered  old  billy ; 

Place  the  pannikins  out  in  a  row, 
And  we'll  drink  to  the  next  merry  meeting, 

In  the  place  where  all  good  fellows  go. 
Chorus  :  Wrap  me  up,  &c. 

"  And  oft  in  the  shades  of  the  twilight, 
When  the  soft  winds  are  whispering  low, 

And  the  dark'ning  shadows  are  falling, 
Sometimes  think  of  the  stockman  below." 
Chorus  :  Wrap  me  up,  &c. 


MY  MATE  BILL 

THAT'S  his  saddle  on  the  tie-beam, 
And  them's  his  spurs  up  there 

On  the  wall-plate  over  yonder — 
You  ken  see  they  ain't  a  pair. 

For  the  daddy  of  all  the  stockmen 
As  ever  eome  mustering  here 

Was  killed  in  the  flaming  mulga, 
A-yarding  a  bald-faced  steer. 

They  say  as  he's  gone  to  heaven, 
And  shook  off  all  worldly  cares 

But  I  can't  sight  Bill  in  a  halo 
Set  up  on  three  blinded  hairs. 

In  heaven  !  what  next  I  wonder, 
For  strike  me  pink  and  blue, 

If  I  see  whatever  in  thunder 
They'll  find  for  Bill  to  do. 


MY  MATE  BILL 

He'd  never  make  one  of  them  angels, 

With  faces  as  white  as  chalk. 
All  wool  to  the  toes  like  hoggets, 

And  wings  like  an  eagle-hawk. 

He  couldn't  'arp  for  apples, 

His  voice  had  tones  as  jarred, 
And  he'd  no  more  ear  than  a  bald-faced  steer, 

Or  calves  in  a  branding  yard. 

He  could  sit  on  a  bucking  brumbie 

Like  a  nob  in  an  easy  chair, 
And  chop  his  name  with  a  greenhide  fall 

On  the  flank  of  a  flying  steer. 

He  could  show  them  saints  in  glory 
The  way  that  a  fall  should  drop, 

But  sit  on  a  throne— not  William, 
Unless  they  could  make  it  prop. 

He  mightn't  freeze  to  the  seraphs, 

Or  chum  with  the  cherubim, 
But  if  ever  them  seraph  johnnies 

Get  a-poking  it  like  at  him — 

Well !  if  there's  hide  in  heaven, 

And  silk  for  to  make  a  lash, 
He'll  yard  'em  all  in  the  Jasper  Lake 

In  a  blinded  lightning  flash. 


70  MY  MATE  BILL 

If  the  heavenly  hosts  get  boxed  now, 
As  mobs  most  always  will, 

Who'll  cut  'em  out  like  William, 
Or  draft  on  a  camp  like  Bill  ? 

An  'orseman  would  find  it  awkward 
At  first  with  a  push  that  flew, 

But  blame  my  cats  if  I  know  what  else 
They'll  find  for  Bill  to  do. 

It's  hard  if  there  ain't  no  cattle, 
And  perhaps  they'll  let  him  sleep, 

And  wake  him  up  at  the  judgment 
To  draft  those  goats  and  sheep. 

It's  playing  it  low  on  William, 
But  perhaps  he'll  buckle  to, 

To  show  them  high-toned  seraphs 
What  a  Mulga  man  can  do. 

If  they  saddles  a  big-boned  angel, 
With  a  turn  of  speed,  of  course, 

As  can  spiel  like  a  four-year  brumbie, 
And  prop  like  an  old  camp  horse, 

And  puts  Bill  up  with  a  snaffle, 

A  four  or  five  inch  spur, 
And  eighteen  foot  of  greenhide 

To  chop  the  blinded  fur — 

He'll  yard  them  blamed  Angoras 
In  a  way  that  it's  safe  to  swear 

Will  make  them  tony  seraphs 
Sit  back  on  their  thrones  and  stare. 


SAM  HOLT 
(Air:  "Ben  Bolt.") 

OH  !  don't  you  remember  Black  Alice,  Sam  Holt — 

Black  Alice,  so  dusky  and  dark, 
The  Warrego  gin,  with  the  straw  through  her  nose, 

And  teeth  like  a  Moreton  Bay  shark. 

The  terrible  sheepwash  tobacco  she  smoked 

In  the  gunyah  down  there  by  the  lake, 
And  the  grubs  that  she  roasted,  and  the  lizards  she  stewed, 

And  the  damper  you  taught  her  to  bake. 

Oh  !  don't  you  remember  the  moon's  silver  sheen, 

And  the  Warrego  sand-ridges  white  ? 
And  don't  you  remember  those  big  bull-dog  ants 

We  caught  in  our  blankets  at  night  ? 

Oh  !  don't  you  remember  the  creepers,  Sam  Holt, 

That  scattered  their  fragrance  around  ? 
And  don't  you  remember  that  broken-down  colt 

You  sold  me,  and  swore  he  was  sound  ? 

71 


72  SAM  HOLT 

And  don't  you  remember  that  fiver,  Sam  Holt, 

You  borrowed  so  frank  and  so  free, 
When  the  publican  landed  your  fifty-pound  cheque 

At  Tambo  your  very  last  spree  ? 

Luck  changes  some  natures,  but  yours,  Sammy  Holt, 

Was  a  grand  one  as  ever  I  see, 
And  I  fancy  I'll  whistle  a  good  many  tunes 

Ere  you  think  of  that  fiver  or  me. 

Oh  !  don't  you  remember  the  cattle  you  duffed, 

And  your  luck  at  the  Sandy  Creek  rush, 
And  the  poker  you  played,  and  the  bluffs  that  you  bluffed, 

And  your  habits  of  holding  a  flush  ? 

And  don't  you  remember  the  pasting  you  got 

By  the  boys  down  in  Callaghan's  store, 
When  Tim  Hooligan  found  a  fifth  ace  in  his  hand, 

And  you  holding  his  pile  upon  four  ? 

You  were  not  the  cleanest  potato,  Sam  Holt, 

You  had  not  the  cleanest  of  fins. 
But  you  made  your  pile  on  the  Towers,  Sam  Holt, 

And  that  covers  the  most  of  your  sins. 

They  say  you've  ten  thousand  per  annum,  Sam  Holt, 

In  England,  a  park  and  a  drag ; 
Perhaps  you  forget  you  were  six  months  ago 

In  Queensland  a-humping  your  swag. 


SAM  HOLT  73 

But  who'd  think  to  see  you  now  dining  in  state 

With  a  lord  and  the  devil  knows  who, 
You  were  flashing  your  dover,  six  short  months  ago, 

In  a  lambing  camp  on  the  Barcoo. 

When's  my  time  coming  ?    Perhaps  never,  I  think, 

And  it's  likely  enough  your  old  mate 
Will  be  humping  his  drum  on  the  Hughenden-road 

To  the  end  of  the  chapter  of  fate. 


THE  BUSHMAN 
(Air  :  "  Wearing  of  the  Green.") 

WHEN  the  merchant  lies  down,  he  can  scarce  go  to  sleep 
For  thinking  of  his  merchandise  upon  the  fatal  deep  ; 
His  ships  may  be  cast  away  or  taken  in  a  war, 
So  him  alone  we'll  envy  not,  who  true  bushmen  are. 

Chorus  :  Who  true  bushmen  are, 
Who  true  bushmen  are, 
So  him  alone  we'll  envy  not,  who  true  bushmen  are  ! 

When  the  soldier  lies  down,  his  mind  is  full  of  thought 
O'er  seeking  that  promotion  which  so  long  he  has  sought  ; 
He  fain  would  gain  repose  for  mortal  wound  or  scar, 
So  him  also  we'll  envy  not,  who  true  bushmen  are. 

Chorus  :  Who  true  bushmen  are,  &c. 

When  the  sailor  lies  down,  his  mind  he  must  prepare 
To  rouse  out  in  a  minute  if  the  wind  should  prove  unfair. 
His  voyage  may  be  stopped  for  the  want  of  a  spar, 
So  him  also  we'll  envy  not,  who  true  bushmen  are. 

Chorus  :  Who  true  bushmen  are,  &c. 

74 


THE  BUSHMAN  75 

When  the  bush  man  lies  down,  his  mind  is  free  from  care, 
He  knows  his  stock  will  furnish  him  with  meat,  wear  and  tear. 
Should  all  commerce  be  ended  in  the  event  of  a  war, 
Then  bread  and  beef  won't  fail  us  boys,  who  true  bushmen  are. 

Chorus  :  Who  true  bushmen  are,  &c. 

Then  fill,  fill  your  glasses,  a  toast  I'll  give  you,  then, 

To  you  who  call  yourselves  true-hearted  men. 

Here's  a  health  to  the  soldier  and  e'en  the  jolly  tar, 

And  may  they  always  meet  as  good  friends  as  we  bushmen  are. 

Chorus  :  Who  true  bushmen  are, 
Who  true  bushmen  are, 
And  may  they  always  meet  as  good  friends  as  we  bushmen  are. 


HAWKING 
(Air:  "Bow,  Wow,  Wow.") 

Now,  shut  your  mouths,  you  loafers  all, 

You  vex  me  with  your  twaddle, 
You  own  a  nag  or  big  or  small, 

A  bridle  and  a  saddle  ; 
I  you  advise  at  once  be  wise 

And  waste  no  time  in  talking, 
Procure  some  bags  of  damaged  rags 

And  make  your  fortune  hawking. 

CHORUS 

Hawk,  hawk,  hawk. 

Our  bread  to  win,  we'll  all  begin 

To  hawk,  hawk,  hawk. 


The  stockmen  and  the  bushmen  and 

The  shepherds  leave  the  station, 
And  the  hardy  bullock-punchers  throw 

Aside  their  occupation  ; 
76 


HAWKING  77 

While  some  have  horses,  some  have  drays, 

And  some  on  foot  are  stalking  j 
We  surely  must  conclude  it  pays 

When  all  are  going  hawking. 

Chorus  :  Hawk,  hawk,  hawk,  &c. 


A  life  it  is  so  full  of  bliss 

'Twould  suit  the  very  niggers, 
And  lads  I  know  a-hawking  go 

Who  scarce  can  make  the  figures  ; 
But  penmanship's  no  requisite, 

Keep  matters  square  by  chalking 
With  pencil  or  with  ruddle,  that's 

Exact  enough  for  hawking. 

Chorus :  Hawk,  hawk,  hawk,  &c. 


The  hawker's  gay  for  half  the  day, 

While  others  work  he's  spelling, 
Though  he  may  stay  upon  the  way, 

His  purse  is  always  swelling ; 
With  work  his  back  is  never  bent 

His  hardest  toil  is  talking  ; 
Three  hundred  is  the  rate  per  cent. 

Of  profit  when  a-hawking. 

Chorus  :  Hawk,  hawk,  hawk,  &c. 


78  HAWKING 

Since  pedlaring  yields  more  delight 

Than  ever  digging  gold  did, 
And  since  to  fortune's  envied  height 

The  path  I  have  unfolded, 
We'll  fling  our  moleskins  to  the  dogs 

And  don  tweeds  without  joking, 
And  honest  men  as  well  as  rogues 

We'll  scour  the  country  hawking. 

Chorus  :  Hawk,  hawk,  hawk,  &c. 


COLONIAL  EXPERIENCE 

[By  A  NEW  CHUM] 
(Air  :  "  So  Early  in  the  Morning.") 

WHEN  first  I  came  to  Sydney  Cove 
And  up  and  down  the  streets  did  rove, 
I  thought  such  sights  I  ne'er  did  see 
Since  first  I  learnt  my  A,  B,  C. 

CHORUS 

Oh  !  it's  broiling  in  the  morning, 
It's  toiling  in  the  morning, 
It's  broiling  in  the  morning, 
It's  toiling  all  day  long. 


Into  the  park  I  took  a  stroll — 

I  felt  just  like  a  buttered  roll. 

A  pretty  name  "  The  Sunny  South  ! " 

A  better  one  "  The  Land  of  Drouth  !  " 

Chorus  :  Oh  !  it's  broiling,  &c. 

79 


80  COLONIAL  EXPERIENCE 

Next  day  into  the  bush  I  went, 
On  wild  adventure  I  was  bent, 
Dame  Nature's  wonders  I'd  explore, 
All  thought  of  danger  would  ignore. 

Chorus  :  Oh  !  it's  broiling,  &c. 


The  mosquitoes  and  bull-dog  ants 
Assailed  me  even  through  my  pants. 
It  nearly  took  my  breath  away 
To  hear  the  jackass  laugh  so  gay  ! 

Chorus  :  Oh  !  it's  broiling,  &c. 


This  lovely  country,  I've  been  told, 
Abounds  in  silver  and  in  gold. 
You  may  pick  it  up  all  day, 
Just  as  leaves  in  autumn  lay  ! 

Chorus  :  Oh  !  it's  broiling,  &c. 


Marines  will  chance  this  yarn  believe, 
But  bluejackets  you  can't  deceive. 
Such  pretty  stories  will  not  fit, 
Nor  can  I  their  truth  admit. 

Chorus  :  Oh  !  it's  broiling,  &c. 


COLONIAL  EXPERIENCE  81 

Some  say  there's  lots  of  work  to  do. 
Well,  yes,  but  then,  'twixfc  me  and  you, 
A  man  may  toil  and  broil  all  day — 
The  big,  fat  man  gets  all  the  pay. 

Chorus  :  Oh  !  it's  broiling,  &c. 


Mayhap  such  good  things  there  may  be, 
But  you  may  have  them  all,  for  me, 
Instead  of  roaming  foreign  parts 
I  wish  I'd  studied  the  Fine  Arts  ! 

Chorus  :  Oh  !  it's  broiling,  &c. 


THE  STOCKMEN  OF  AUSTRALIA 

THE  stockmen  of  Australia,  what  rowdy  boys  are  they, 
They  will  curse  and  swear  an  hurricane  if  you  come  in  their 

way. 

They  dash  along  the  forest  on  black,  bay,  brown,  or  grey, 
And  the  stockmen  of  Australia,  hard-riding  boys  are  they. 
Chorus  :  And  the  stockmen,  &c. 

By  constant  feats  of  horsemanship,  they  procure  for  us  our 

grub, 
And  supply  us  with  the  fattest  beef  by  hard  work  in  the 

scrub. 

To  muster  up  the  cattle  they  cease  not  night  nor  day, 
And  the  stockmen  of  Australia,  hard-riding  boys  are  they. 
Chorus  :  And  the  stockmen,  &c. 

Just  mark  him  as  he  jogs  along,  his  stockwhip  on  his  knee, 
His  white  mole  pants  and  polished  boots  and  jaunty  cabbage- 
tree. 

His  horsey-pattern  Crimean  shirt  of  colours  bright  and  gay, 
And  the  stockmen  of  Australia,  what  dressy  boys  are  they. 
Chorus  :  And  the  stockmen,  &c. 


THE  STOCKMEN  OF  AUSTRALIA  83 

If  you  should  chance  to  lose  yourself  and  drop  upon  his  camp, 
He's  there  reclining  on  the  ground,  be  it  dry  or  be  it  damp. 
He'll  give  you  hearty  welcome,  and  a  stunning  pot  of  tea, 
For  the  stockmen  of  Australia,  good-natured  boys  are  they. 

Chorus  :  For  the  stockmen,  &c. 

If  down  to  Sydney  you  should  go,  and  there  a  stockman 

meet, 
Remark  the  sly  looks  cast  on  him  as  he  roams  through  the 

street. 
From  the  shade  of  lovely  bonnets  steal  forth  those  glances 

gay* 

For  the  stockmen  of  Australia,  the  ladies'  pets  are  they. 
Chorus  :  For  the  stockmen,  &c. 

Whatever  fun  is  going  on,  the  stockman  will  be  there, 

Be  it  theatre  or  concert,  or  dance  or  fancy  fair. 

To  join  in  the  amusements  be  sure  he  won't  delay, 

For  the  stockmen  of  Australia,  light-hearted  boys  are  they. 

Chorus  :  For  the  stockmen,  &c. 

Then  here's  a  health  to  every  lass,  and  let  the  toast  go  round, 
To  as  jolly  a  set  of  fellows  as  ever  yet  were  found. 
And  all  good  luck  be  with  them,  for  ever  and  to-day, 
Here's  to  the  stockmen  of  Australia — hip,  hip,  hooray  1 

Chorus  :  Here's  to  the  stockmen,  &c. 


IT'S  ONLY  A  WAY  HE'S  GOTc 

(As  sung  by  the  camp  fire. ) 

No  doubt  the  saying's  all  abroad, 

And  rattling  through  the  land, 
We  hear  it  at  the  mangle,  too, 

With  "  What  are  you  going  to  stand  ?  " 
I'm  sure  I  don't  know  which  to  choose, 

There's  really  such  a  lot — 
But  I  hope  my  song  you'll  not  refuse, 

For  it's  only  a  way  I've  got. 

Chorus  :  Tol,  lol,  litter,  tol,  lol. 
Tol,  lol,  the  rol,  lay. 

In  Sydney  town  a  gal  I  met, 

Her  dress  was  rather  gay, 
I  think  the  place,  it  was  Pitt  Street, 

Or  somewhere  near  that  way. 
Says  she,  "  The  night  is  very  cold, 

Pray,  stand  a  drop  of  Hot. 
I  hope  my  freedom  you'll  excuse, 

For  it's  only  a  way  I've  got." 

Chorus  :  Tol,  lol,  &c. 
84 


IT'S  ONLY  A  WAY  HE'S  GOT  85 

The  drink  we  soon  put  out  of  sight, 

And  off  for  home  did  walk, 
When  a  fellow  came  up  and  quite  polite 

To  her  began  to  talk. 
He  drew  my  ticker  from  my  fob, 

And  bolted  like  a  shot. 
Says  she,  "  Oh,  take  no  notice,  Bob, 

It's  only  a  way  he's  got." 

Chorus  :  Tol,  lol,  &c. 

Says  I,  "  I'll  soon  catch  you,  my  chap," 

And  arter  him  I  flies, 
When  another  stepped  up  and  knocked  my  hat 

Completely  o'er  my  eyes. 
He  from  my  pocket  drew  my  purse, 

And  off  with  it  did  trot ; 
Says  she,  "  It's  well  it  is  no  worse, 

But  it's  only  a  way  he's  got." 

Chorus  :  Tol,  lol,  &c. 

A  little  further  on  we  went. 

I  had  got  rather  shy. 
Then  a  butcher  ran  his  tray 

Right  bang  into  my  eye. 
The  fellow  said  it  was  my  fault, 

Called  me  a  drunken  sot. 
Then,  like  a  thief,  he  slunk  away, 

'Twas  only  a  way  he'd  got  ! 

Chorus  :  Tol,  lol,  &c. 


IT'S  ONLY  A  WAY  HE'S  GOT 

Now,  as  we  walked  along  the  street, 

A  lot  of  chaps  we  met. 
I  saw  they  on  a  game  were  bent ; 

Says  they,  "  How  fat  you  get ! " 
I  got  from  them  some  ugly  pokes, 

They  made  me  a  regular  Scot. 
They  said,  "  Oh,  never  mind  our  jokes, 

It's  only  a  way  we've  got !  " 

Chorus  :  Tol,  lol,  &c. 

I  have  grown  tired  of  Sydney  town 

Since  I've  lost  all  my  cash, 
And  so  will  up  the  country  go, 

And  tell  them  of  my  smash. 
Oh,  then  we'll  have  such  lots  of  fun, 

I'll  court  Miss  Polly  Scott ; 
And  if  she  asks  me  what  I  mean 

I'll  tell  her  it's  a  way  I've  got. 
Chorus  :  Tol,  lol,  &c. 


THE  LOAFERS'  CLUB 

A  CLUB  there  is  established  here,  whose  name  they  say  is 

Legion 
From  Melbourne  to  the  Billabong,  they're  known  in  every 

region. 

They  do  not  like  the  cockatoos,  but  mostly  stick  to  stations, 
Where  they  keep  themselves   from    starving    by    cadging 

shepherds'  rations. 

The  rules  and  regulations,  they're  not  difficult  of  learning, 
They  are  to  live  upon  the  cash  which  others  have  been 

earning. 

To  never  let  a  chance  go  by  of  being  in  a  shout,  sir, 
And  if  they  see  a  slant  to  turn  your  pockets  inside  out,  sir. 

They'll  cadge  your  baccy,  knife,  and  pipe,  and  tell  a  tale  of 

sorrow 

Of  how  they  cannot  get  a  job,  but  mean  to  start  to-morrow. 
But  that  to-morrow  never  comes,  until  they  see  quite  plainly 
That  it's  completely  up  the  spout  with  Messrs.  Scrase  and 

Ainley. 

87 


88  THE  LOAFER'S  CLUB 

If,  feeling  thirsty,  you  should  go  to  take  a  little  suction, 

I'll  swear  they'll  not  be  long  before  they'll  force  an  intro- 
duction. 

One  knew  you  here,  one  knew  you  there,  all  love  you  like  a 
brother, 

And  if  one  plan  will  not  succeed,  they'll  quickly  try  another. 

I  knew  one  poor,  unhappy  wight,  having  a  little  ready, 
Entered  a  Smeaton  public-house,  determined  to  keep  steady. 
A  celebrated  loafer  there  determined  upon  showing  him 
That  he  once  had  the  pleasure  and  the  privilege  of  knowing 
him. 

Through  hills  and  dales,   by  lakes  and  streams,  he  close 

pursued  his  victim, 

Until  the  miserable  man  confessed  that  he  quite  licked  him. 
In  vain  the  quarry  tried  to  turn,  pursuit  was  far  too  strong, 

sir, 
The  loafer  followed  up  the  scent  and  earthed  him  in  Geelong, 

sir. 

The  noble  art  of  lambing  down  they  know  in  all  its  beauty, 
And  if  they  do  not  squeeze  you  dry,  they'll  think  they've 

failed  in  duty. 

But,  truth  to  say,  they  seldom  fail  to  do  that  duty  neatly, 
And  very  few  escape  their    hands  who're  not  cleared  out 

completely. 


THE  OLD  KEG  OF  RUM 

MY  name  is  old  Jack  Palmer, 

I'm  a  man  of  olden  days, 
And  so  I  wish  to  sing  a  song 

To  you  of  olden  praise. 
To  tell  of  merry  friends  of  old 

When  we  were  gay  and  youijg  ; 
How  we  sat  and  sang  together 

Round  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

CHORUS 

Oh  !  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  !   the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  ! 
How  we  sat  and  sang  together 
Round  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

There  was  I  and  Jack  the  plough-boy, 

Jem  Moore  and  old  Tom  Hines, 
And  poor  old  Tom  the  fiddler, 

Who  now  in  glory  shines  ; 

91 


90  THE  OLD  KEG  OF  RUM 

And  several  more  of  our  old  chums, 

Who  shine  in  Kingdom  Come, 
We  all  associated  round  the 

Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

CHORUS 

Oh  !   the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  !   the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  ! 
We  all  associated  round  the 
Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

And  when  harvest  time  was  over, 

And  we'd  get  our  harvest  fee, 
We'd  meet,  and  quickly  rise  the  keg, 

And  then  we'd  have  a  spree. 
We'd  sit  and  sing  together 

Till  we  got  that  blind  and  dumb 
That  we  couldn't  find  the  bunghole 

Of  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

CHORUS 

Oh  !  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  !   the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  ! 
That  we  couldn't  find  the  bunghole 
Of  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

Its  jovially  together,  boys— 

We'd  laugh,  we'd  chat,  we'd  sing  ; 
Sometimes  we'd  have  a  little  row 

Some  argument  would  bring. 


THE  OLD  KEG  OF  RUM  91 

And  oftimes  in  a  scrimmage,  boys, 

I've  corked  it  with  my  thumb, 
To  keep  the  life  from  leaking 

From  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

CHORUS 

Oh  !   the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  !   the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  ! 
To  keep  the  life  from  leaking 
From  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

But  when  our  spree  was  ended,  boys, 

And  waking  from  a  snooze, 
For  to  give  another  drain 

The  old  keg  would  refuse. 
We'd  rap  it  with  our  knuckles— 

If  it  sounded  like  a  drum, 
We'd  know  the  life  and  spirit 

Had  left  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

CHORUS 

Oh  !  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  !  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  ! 
We'd  know  the  life  and  spirit 
Had  left  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

Those  happy  days  have  passed  away, 

I've  seen  their  pleasures  fade ; 
And  many  of  our  good  old  friends 

Have  with  old  times  decayed. 


92  THE  OLD  KEG  OF  RUM 

But  still,  when  on  my  travels,  boys, 

If  I  meet  with  an  old  chum, 
We  will  sigh,  in  conversation, 

Of  the  Grand  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

CHORUS 

Oh  !  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  !  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  ! 
We  will  sigh,  in  conversation, 
Of  the  Grand  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 

So  now,  kind  friends,  I  end  my  song, 

I  hope  we'll  meet  again, 
And,  as  I've  tried  to  please  you  all, 

I  hope  you  won't  complain. 
You  younger  folks  who  learn  my  sojig, 

Will,  perhaps,  in  years  to  come, 
Remember  old  Jack  Palmer 

And  the  OLD  KEG  or  RUM. 

CHORUS 

Oh  !   the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  !   the  Old  Keg  of  Rum  ! 
Remember  old  Jack  Palmer 
And  the  Old  Keg  of  Rum. 


THE  MURRUMBIDGEE  SHEARER 

COME,  all  you  jolly  natives,  and  I'll  relate  to  you 

Some  of  my  observations— adventures,  too,  a  few. 

I've  travelled  about  the  country  for  miles,  full  many  a  score, 

And  oft-times  would  have  hungered,  but  for  the  cheek  I  bore. 

I've  coasted  on  the  Barwon — low  down  the  Darling,  too, 
I've  been  on  the  Murrumbidgee,  and  out  on  the  Paroo  ; 
I've  been  on  all  the  diggings,  boys,  from  famous  Ballarat ; 
I've  loafed  upon  the  Lachlan  and  fossicked  Lambing  Flat. 

I  went  up  to  a  squatter,  and  asked  him  for  a  feed, 

But  the  knowledge  of  my  hunger  was  swallowed  by  his 


He  said  I  was  a  loafer  and  for  work  had  no  desire, 
And  so,  to  do  him  justice,  I  set  his  shed  on  fire. 

Oh,  yes,  I've  touched  the  shepherd's  hut,  of  sugar,  tea,  and 

flour  ; 

And  a  tender  bit  of  mutton  I  always  could  devour. 
I  went  up  to  a  station,  and  there  I  got  a  job  ; 
Plunged  in  the  store,  and  hooked  it,  with  a  very  tidy  lob. 


94  THE  MURRUMBIDGEE  SHEARER 

Oh,  yes,  my  jolly  dandies,  I've  done  it  on  the  cross. 
Although  I  carry  bluey  now,  I've  sweated  many  a  horse. 
I've  helped  to  ease  the  escort  of  many's  the  ounce  of  gold ; 
The  traps  have  often  chased  me,  more  times  than  can  be  told. 

Oh,  yes,  the  traps  have  chased  me,  been  frightened  of  their 

stripes  ; 
They  never  could  have  caught  me,  they  feared  my  cure  for 

gripes. 

And  well  they  knew  I  carried  it,  which  they  had  often  seen 
A-glistening  in  my  flipper,  chaps,  a  patent  pill  machine. 

I've  been  hunted  like  a  panther  into  my  mountain  lair. 
Anxiety  and  misery  my  grim  companions  there. 
I've  planted  in  the  scrub,  my  boys,  and  fed  on  kangaroo, 
And  wound  up  my  avocations  by  ten  years  on  Cockatoo. 

So  you  can  understand,  my  boys,  just  from  this  little  rhyme, 
I'm  a  Murrumbidgee  shearer,  and  one  of  the  good  old  time. 


THE  SWAGMAN 


KIND  friends,  pray  give  attention 

To  this,  my  little  song. 
Some  rum  things  I  will  mention, 

And  I'll  not  detain  you  long. 
Up  and  down  this  country 

I  travel,  don't  you  see, 
I'm  a  swagman  on  the  wallaby, 

Oh  !  don't  you  pity  me. 
I'm  a  swagman  on  the  wallaby, 

Oh  !  don't  you  pity  me. 

At  first  I  started  shearing, 

And  I  bought  a  pair  of  shears. 
On  my  first  sheep  appearing, 

Why,  I  cut  off  both  its  ears. 
Then  I  nearly  skinned  the  brute, 

As  clean  as  clean  could  be. 
So  I  was  kicked  out  of  the  shed, 

Oh  !  don't  you  pity  me,  &c. 


96  THE  SWAGMAN 

I  started  station  loafing, 

Short  stages  and  took  my  ease  ; 
So  all  day  long  till  sundown 

I'd  camp  beneath  the  trees. 
Then  I'd  walk  up  to  the  station, 

The  manager  to  see. 
"  Boss,  I'm  hard  up  and  I  want  a  job, 

Oh  !  don't  you  pity  me,"  &c. 

Says  the  overseer  :  "  Go  to  the  hut. 

In  the  morning  I'll  tell  you 
If  I've  any  work  about 

I  can  find  for  you  to  do." 
But  at  breakfast  I  cuts  off  enough 

For  dinner,  don't  you  see, 
And  then  my  name  is  Walker. 

Oh  !  don't  you  pity  me. 
I'm  a  swagman,  &c. 

And  now,  my  friends,  I'll  say  good-bye, 

For  I  must  go  and  camp. 
For  if  the  Sergeant  sees  me 

He  may  take  me  for  a  tramp  ; 
But  if  there's  any  covey  here 

What's  got  a  cheque,  d'ye  see, 
I'll  stop  and  help  him  smash  it. 

Oh  !  don't  you  pity  me. 
I'm  a  swagman  on  the  wallaby, 

Oh  !  don't  you  pity  me. 

"  A  Swagman  on  the  Wallaby." — A  nomad  following  the 
track  of  the  wallaby,  i.e.,  loafing  aimlessly. 


THE  STOCKMAN 
(Air  :  "  A  wet  sheet  and  a  flowing  sea.") 

A  BRIGHT  sun  and  a  loosened  rein, 

A  whip  whose  pealing  sound 
Rings  forth  amid  the  forest  trees 

As  merrily  forth  we  bound — 
As  merrily  forth  we  bound,  my  boys, 

And,  by  the  dawn's  pale  light, 
Speed  fearless  on  our  horses  true 

From  morn  till  starry  night. 

"  Oh  !  for  a  tame  and  quiet  herd," 

I  hear  some  crawler  cry  ; 
But  give  to  me  the  mountain  mob 

With  the  flash  of  their  tameless  eye — 
With  the  flash  of  their  tameless  eye,  my  boys, 

As  down  the  rugged  spur 
Dash  the  wild  children  of  the  woods, 
And  the  horse  that  mocks  at  fear. 
G  97 


98  THE  STOCKMAN 

There's  mischief  in  yon  wide-horned  steer, 

There's  danger  in  yon  cow ; 
Then  mount,  my  merry  horsemen  all, 

The  wild  mob's  bolting  now — 
The  wild  mob's  bolting  now,  my  boys, 

But  'twas  never  in  their  hides 
To  show  the  way  to  the  well-trained  nags 

That  are  rattling  by  their  sides. 

Oh  !  'tis  jolly  to  follow  the  roving  herd 

Through  the  long,  long  summer  day, 
And  camp  at  night  by  some  lonely  creek 

When  dies  the  golden  ray. 
Where  the  jackass  laughs  in  the  old  gum  tree, 

And  our  quart-pot  tea  we  sip  ; 
The  saddle  was  our  childhood's  home, 

Our  heritage  the  whip. 


THE  MARANOA  DROVERS 
(Air  :  "  Little  Sally  Waters.") 

THE  night  is  dark  and  stormy,  and  the  sky  is  clouded  o'er  ; 

Our  horses  we  will  mount  and  ride  away, 
To  watch  the  squatters'  cattle  through  the  darkness  of  the 
night, 

And  we'll  keep  them  on  the  camp  till  break  of  day. 

CHORUS 

For  we're  going,  going,  going  to  Gunnedah  so  far, 
And  we'll  soon  be  into  sunny  New  South  Wales  ; 

We  shall  bid  farewell  to  Queensland,  with  its  swampy 

coolibah — 
Happy  drovers  from  the  sandy  Maranoa. 

When  the  fires  are  burning  bright  through  the  darkness  of 

the  night, 

And  the  cattle  camping  quiet,  well,  I'm  sure 
That  I  wish  for  two  o'clock  when  I  call  the  other  watch — 
This  is  droving  from  the  sandy  Maranoa. 

99 


100  THE  MARANOA  DROVERS 

Our  beds  made  on  the  ground,  we  are  sleeping  all  so  sound 
When  we're  wakened  by  the  distant  thunder's  roar, 

And  the  lightning's  vivid  flash,  followed  by  an  awful  crash- 
It's  rough  on  drovers  from  the  sandy  Maranoa. 

We  are  up  at  break  of  day,  and  we're  all  soon  on  the  way, 
For  we  always  have  to  go  ten  miles  or  more  ; 

It  don't  do  to  loaf  about,  or  the  squatter  will  come  out- 
He's  strict  on  drovers  from  the  sandy  Maranoa. 

We  shall  soon  be  on  the  Moonie,  and  we'll  cross  the  Barwon, 

too; 

Then  we'll  be  out  upon  the  rolling  plains  once  more  ; 
We'll  shout  "  Hurrah  !  for  old  Queensland,  with  its  swampy 

coolibah, 
And  the  cattle  that  come  off  the  Maranoa." 


RIVER  BEND 
(Am:   "Belle  Mahone.") 

AT  River  Bend,  in  New  South  Wales, 
All  alone  among  the  whales, 
Busting  up  some  post  and  rails, 

Sweet  Belle  Mahone. 
In  the  blazing  sun  we  stand, 
Cabbage-tree  hat,  black  velvet  band, 
Moleskins  stiff  with  sweat  and  sand, 

Sweet  Belle  Mahone. 

CHORUS  :  Sweet  Belle  Mahone,  &c. 

In  the  burning  sand  we  pine, 
No  one  asks  us  to  have  a  wine, 
'Tis  a  jolly  crooked  line, 

Sweet  Belle  Mahone. 
When  I  am  sitting  on  a  log, 
Looking  like  a  great  big  frog, 
Waiting  for  a  Murray  cod, 

Sweet  Belle  Mahone. 

101 


102  RIVER  BEND 

Land  of  snakes  and  cockatoos, 
Native  bears  and  big  emus, 
Ugly  blacks  and  kangaroos, 

Sweet  Belle  Mahone. 
Paddymelons  by  the  score, 
Wild  bulls,  you  should  hear  them  roa 
They  all  belong  to  Johnny  Dore, 

Sweet  Belle  Mahone. 


"River  Bend." — This  song  certainly  cannot  boast  of 
antiquity,  as  it  is  a  parody  on  a  recent  sentimental  song,  but 
so  many  correspondents  sent  it  in  that  it  was  decided  to  in- 
clude it.  Perhaps  it  is  to  its  obvious  sincerity  of  sentiment 
that  it  owes  it  popularity. 


SONGIOF  THE  SQUATTER 

[The  subjoined  is  one"of  the  "  Songs  of  the  Squatters," 
written  by  the  Hon.  Robert  Lowe  (afterwards  Viscount 
Sherbrooke),  while  resident  in  New  South  Wales.] 


THE  Commissioner  bet  me  a  pony— I  won  ; 
So  he  cut  off  exactly  two-thirds  of  my  run  ; 
For  he  said  I  was  making  a  fortune  too  fast, 
And  profit  gained  slower  the  longer  would  last. 


He  remarked  as  devouring  my  mutton  he  sat, 
That  I  suffered  my  sheep  to  grow  sadly  too  fat ; 
That  they  wasted  waste  land,  did  prerogative  brown, 
And  rebellious! y  nibbled  the  droits  of  the  Crown  ; — 


That  the  creek  that  divided  my  station  in  two 

Showed  that  Nature  designed  that  two  fees  should  be  due. 

Mr.  Riddle  assured  me  'twas  paid  but  for  show  ; 

But  he  kept  it  and  spent  it ;  that's  all  that  I  know. 

103 


104  SONG  OF  THE  SQUATTER 

The  Commissioner  fined  me  because  I  forgot 

To  return  an  old  ewe  that  was  ill  of  the  rot, 

And  a  poor  wry-necked  lamb  that  we  kept  for  a  pet ; 

And  he  said  it  was  treason  such  things  to  forget. 


The  Commissioner  pounded  my  cattle  because 

They  had  mumbled  the  scrub  with  their  famishing  jawa 

On  the  part  of  the  run  he  had  taken  away  ; 

And  he  sold  them  by  auction  the  costs  to  defray. 


The  Border  Police  they  were  out  all  the  day 

To  look  for  some  thieves  who  had  ransacked  my  dray  ; 

But  the  thieves  they  continued  in  quiet  and  peace, 

For  they'd  robbed  it  themselves— had  the  Border  Police  ! 


When  the  white  thieves  had  left  me  the  black    thieves 

appeared, 

My  shepherds  they  waddied,  my  cattle  they  speared  ; 
But  for  fear  of  my  licence  I  said  not  a  word, 
For  I  knew  it  was  gone  if  the  Government  heard. 


The  Commissioner's  bosom  with  anger  was  filled 
Against  me  because  my  poor  shepherd  was  killed  ; 
So  he  straight  took  away  the  last  third  of  my  run, 
And  got  it  transferred  to  the  name  of  his  son. 


SONG  OF  THE  SQUATTER  105 

The  son  had  from  Cambridge  been  lately  expelled, 
And  his  licence  for  preaching  most  justly  withheld  ! 
But  this  is  no  cause,  the  Commissioner  says, 
Why  he  should  not  be  fit  for  a  licence  to  graze. 


The  cattle  that  had  not  been  sold  at  the  pound 
He  took  with  the  run  at  five  shillings  all  round  ; 
And  the  sheep  the  blacks  left  me  at  sixpence  a  head — 
"  A  very  good  price,"  the  Commissioner  said. 


The  Governor  told  me  I  justly  was  served, 

That  Commissioners  never  from  duty  had  swerved  ; 

But  that  if  I'd  a  fancy  for  any  more  land 

For  one  pound  an  acre  he'd  plenty  on  hand. 


I'm  not  very  proud  !    I  can  dig  in  a  bog, 
Feed  pigs,  or  for  firewood  can  split  up  a  log, 
Clean  shoes,  riddle  cinders,  or  help  to  boil  down — 
Or  whatever  you  please,  but  graze  lands  of  the  Crown. 


WALLABI  JOE 

(Air  :  "  The  Mistletoe  Bough.") 

THE  saddle  was  hung  on  the  stockyard  rail, 
And  the  poor  old  horse  stood  whisking  his  tail, 
For  there  never  was  seen  such  a  regular  screw 
As  Wallabi  Joe,  of  Bunnagaroo  ; 
Whilst  the  shearers  all  said,  as  they  say,  of  course, 
That  Wallabi  Joe's  a  fine  lump  of  a  horse  ; 
But  the  stockmen  said,  as  they  laughed  aside, 
He'd  barely  do  for  a  Sunday's  ride. 

CHORUS  :  Oh  !  poor  Wallabi  Joe. 

0— oh  !  poor  Wallabi  Joe. 


"I'm  weary  of  galloping  now,"  he  cried, 
"  I  wish  I  were  killed  for  my  hide,  my  hide  ; 
For  my  eyes  are  dim,  and  my  back  is  sore, 
And  I  feel  that  my  legs  won't  stand  much  more." 
106 


WALLABI  JOE  107 

Now  stockman  Bill,  who  took  care  of  his  nag, 
Put  under  the  saddle  a  soojee  bag, 
And  off  he  rode  with  a  whip  in  his  hand 
To  look  for  a  mob  of  the  R.  J.  brand. 

Chorus  :  Oh  !  poor  Wallabi  Joe,  &c. 

Now  stockman  Bill  camped  out  that  night, 

And  he  hobbled  his  horse  in  a  sheltered  bight ; 

Next  day  of  old  Joe  he  found  not  a  track, 

So  he  had  to  trudge  home  with  his  swag  on  his  back. 

He  searched  up  and  down  every  gully  he  knew, 

But  he  found  not  a  hair  of  his  poor  old  screw, 

And  the  stockmen  all  said  as  they  laughed  at  his  woe, 

"  Would  you  sell  us  the  chance  of  old  Wallabi  Joe." 

Chorus  :  Oh  !  poor  Wallabi  Joe,  &c. 

Now  as  years  sped  by,  and  as  Bill  grew  old, 
It  came  into  his  head  to  go  poking  for  gold  ; 
So  away  he  went  with  a  spade  in  his  fist, 
To  hunt  for  a  nugget  among  the  schist. 
One  day  as  a  gully  he  chanced  to  cross, 
He  came  on  the  bones  of  his  poor  old  horse  ; 
The  hobbles  being  jammed  in  a  root  below 
Had  occasioned  the  death  of  poor  Wallabi  Joe. 

Chorus  :  Oh  !  poor  Wallabi  Joe,  &c. 


THE  SQUATTER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME 
(Air  :  "  A  fine  old  English  gentleman.") 

I'LL  sing  to  you  a  fine  new  song,  made  by  my  blessed  mate, 
Of  a  fine  Australian  squatter  who  had  a  fine  estate, 
Who  swore  by  right  pre-emptive  at  a  sanguinary  rate 
That  by  his  rams,  his  ewes,  his  lambs,  Australia  was  made 

great — 
Like  a  fine  Australian  squatter,  one  of  the  olden  time. 


His  hut  around  was  hung  with  guns,  whips,  spurs,  and  boots 

and  shoes, 

And  kettles  and  tin  pannikins  to  hold  the  tea  he  brews  ; 
And  here  his  worship  lolls  at  ease  and  takes  his  smoke  and 

snooze, 
And  quaffs   his  cup  of  hysonskin,  the  beverage  old  chums 

choose — 

Like  a  fine  Australian  squatter,  one  of  the  olden  time. 
108 


THE  SQUATTER  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME        109 

And  when  shearing  time  approaches  he  opens  hut  to  all, 
And  though  ten  thousand  are  his  flocks,  he  featly  shears 

them  all, 

Even  to  the  scabby  wanderer  you'd  think  no  good  at  all ; 
For  while  he  fattens  all  the  great,  he  boils  down  all  the 

small — 
Like  a  fine  old  Murray  squatter,  one  of  the  olden  time. 


And  when  his  worship  comes  to  town  his  agents  for  to  see, 
His  wool  to  ship,  his  beasts  to  sell,  he  lives  right  merrily  ; 
The  club  his  place  of  residence,  as  becomes  a  bush  J.P., 
He  darkly  hints  that  Thompson's  run  from  scab  is  scarcely 

free — 
This  fine  old  Murray  settler,  one  of  the  olden  time. 


And  now  his  fortune  he  has  made  to  England  straight  goes  he, 
But  finds  with  grief  he's  not  received  as  he  had  hoped  to  be. 
His  friends  declare  his  habits  queer,  his  language  much  too 

free, 
And  are  somewhat  apt  to  cross  the  street  when  him  they 

chance  to  see — 
This  fine  Australian  squatter,  the  boy  of  the  olden  time. 


THE  STOCKMAN'S  LAST  BED 

BE  ye  stockmen  or  no,  to  my  story  give  ear. 
Alas  !  for  poor  Jack,  no  more  shall  we  hear 
The  crack  of  his  stockwhip,  his  steed's  lively  trot, 
His  clear  "  Go  ahead,  boys,"  his  jingling  quart  pot. 

CHORUS 

For  we  laid  him  where  wattles  their  sweet  fragrance  shed, 
And  the  tall  gum  trees  shadow  the  stockman's  last  bed. 

Whilst  drafting  one  day  he  was  horned  by  a  cow. 
"Alas  !  "  cried  poor  Jack,  "  it's  all  up  with  me  now, 
For  I  never  again  shall  my  saddle  regain, 
Nor  bound  like  a  wallaby  over  the  plain. " 

His  whip  it  is  silent,  his  dogs  they  do  mourn, 
His  steed  looks  in  vain  for  his  master's  return ; 
No  friend  to  bemoan  him,  unheeded  he  dies  ; 
Save  Australia's  dark  sons,  few  know  where  he  lies. 

Now,  stockman,  if  ever  on  some  future  day 
After  the  wild  mob  you  happen  to  stray, 
Tread  softly  where  wattles  their  sweet  fragrance  spread, 
Where  alone  and  neglected  poor  Jack's  bones  are  laid. 
110 


MUSTERING  SONG 
(Air  :  "  So  Early  in  the  Morning.") 

v 

THE  boss  last  night  in  the  hut  did  say — 
"  We  start  to  muster  at  break  of  day  ; 
So  be  up  first  thing,  and  don't  be  slow ; 
Saddle  your  horses  and  off  you  go. " 

CHORUS 

So  early  in  the  morning,  so  early  in  the  morning, 
So  early  in  the  morning,  before  the  break  of  day. 

Such  a  night  in  the  yard  there  never  was  seen 
(The  horses  were  fat  and  the  grass  was  green) ; 
Bursting  of  girths  and  slipping  of  packs 
As  the  stockmen  saddled  the  fastest  hacks. 

Chorus  :  So  early  in  the  morning,  &c. 

Across  the  plain  we  jog  along 
Over  gully,  swamp,  and  billabong  ; 
We  drop  on  a  mob  pretty  lively,  too  ; 
We  round  'em  up  and  give  'em  a  slue. 

Chorus  :  So  early  in  the  morning,  &c. 

Ill 


112  MUSTERING  SONG 

Now  the  scrub  grows  thick  and  the  cattle  are  wild, 

A  regular  caution  to  this  'ere  child — 

A  new  chum  man  on  an  old  chum  horse, 

Who  sails  through  the  scrub  as  a  matter  of  course. 

Chorus  :  So  early  in  the  morning,  &c. 

I  was  close  up  stuck  in  a  rotten  bog  ; 

I  got  a  buster  jumping  a  log  ; 

I  found  this  scouting  rather  hot, 

So  I  joined  the  niggers  with  the  lot  we'd  got. 

Chorus  :  So  early  in  the  morning,  &c. 

A  long-haired  shepherd  we  chanced  to  meet    v  • 
With  a  water  bag,  billy,  and  dog  complete  ; 
He  came  too  close  to  a  knocked  up  steer, 
Who  up  a  sapling  made  him  clear. 

Chorus  :  So  early  in  the  morning,  &c. 

Now  on  every  side  we  faintly  hear 
The  crack  of  the  stockwhip  drawing  near  ; 
To  the  camp  the  cattle  soon  converge, 
As  from  the  thick  scrub  they  emerge. 

Chorus  :  So  early  in  the  morning,  &c. 

We  hastily  comfort  the  inner  man 
With  the  warm  contents  of  the  billy  can  ; 
The  beef  and  damper  are  passed  about 
Before  we  tackle  the  cutting  out. 

Chorus  :  So  early  in  the  morning,  &c. 


MUSTERING  SONG  113 

We're  at  it  now— that  bally  calf 

Would  surely  make  a  sick  man  laugh  ; 

The  silly  fool  can't  take  a  joke  ; 

I  hope  some  day  in  the  drought  he'll  croak. 

Chorus  :  So  early  in  the  morning,  &c. 

We've  got  'em  now — the  cows  and  calves 
(Things  here  are  never  done  by  halves) ; 
Strangers,  workers,  and  milkers,  too, 
Of  scrubbers  also  not  a  few. 

Chorus  :  So  early  in  the  morning,  &c. 

It's  getting  late,  we'd  better  push  ; 
'Tis  a  good  long  way  across  the  bush, 
And  the  mob  to  drive  are  middling  hard  ; 
I  do  not  think  we'll  reach  the  yard. 

Chorus  :  So  early  in  the  morning,  &c. 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  STOCKMAN 

THE  sun  peers  o'er  yon  wooded  ridge  and  thro'  the  forest 

dense, 
Its  golden  edge  o'er  the  mountain  ledge  looks  down  on  the 

stockyard  fence, 

Looks  down,  looks  down,  looks  down  on  the  stockyard  fence  ; 
And  dark  creeks  rush  thro'  the  tangled  brush,  when  their 

shuddering  shadows  throng 
Until  they   chime  in  the   rude   rough    rhyme  of  the  wild 

goburra's  song.    , 

CHORUS 
Till  they  chime,  ha  !  ha  !  till  they  chime,  ha  !  ha  !  in  the 

wild  goburra's  song ; 
Till  they  chime,  ha  !  ha  !  till  they  chime,  ha  !  ha  !  in  the 

wild  goburra's  song. 

The  night  owl  to  her  home  hath  fled,  to  shun  the  glorious 

pomp 
Of  golden  day  she  speeds  away  to  her  nest  in  the  tea-tree 

swamp  j 

Away,  away  to  her  nest  in  the  tea-tree  swamp. 
114 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  STOCKMAN  115 

The  dingo  looks  with  a  timid  stare  as  he  stealthily  prowls 

along, 
And  his  pattering  feet  in  concert  beat  with  the  wild  goburra's 

song. 

Chorus  :  And  they  beat,  ha  !  ha  !  &c. 

Oh  !  let  them  boast  their  city's  wealth,  who  toil  in  a  dusty 

town; 
Give  me  the  beam  on  the  mountain  stream,  and  the  range's 

dark-faced  frown — 

The  stream,  the  stream,  and  the  range's  dark-faced  frown. 
When  our  steed  shall  pass  o'er  the  quiv'ring  grass,   and  the 

crack  of  the  sounding  thong 
Shall  bid  the  startled  echoes  join  the  wild  goburra's  song. 

Chorus  :  And  they  join,  ha  !  ha  !  &c. 


THE  SHEPHERD 
(Air :  "She  Wore  a  Wreath  of  Roses.") 

HE  wore  an  old  blue  shirt  the  night  that  first  we  met, 
An  old  and  tattered  cabbage-tree  concealed  his  locks  of  jet ; 
His  footsteps  had  a  languor,  his  voice  a  husky  tone  ; 
Both  man  and  dog  were  spent  with  toil  as  they  slowly 
wandered  home. 

CHORUS 

I  saw  him  but  a  moment — yet  methinks  I  see  him  now — 
While  his  sheep  were  gently  feeding  'neath  the  rugged 
mountain  brow. 

When  next  we  met,  the  old  blue  shirt  and  cabbage-tree  were 

gone; 

A  brand  new  suit  of  tweed  and  "  Doctor  Dod  "  he  had  put  on ; 
Arm  in  arm  with  him  was  one  who  strove,  and  not  in  vain, 
To  ease  his  pockets  of  their  load  by  drinking  real  champagne. 

I  saw  him  but  a  moment,  and  he  was  going  a  pace, 
Shouting  nobbier  after  nobbier,  with  a  smile  upon  his 

face. 
116 


THE  SHEPHERD  117 

When  next  again  I  saw  that  man  his  suit  of  tweed  was  gone, 
The  old  blue  shirt  and  cabbage-tree  once  more  he  had  put  on ; 
Slowly  he  trudged  along  the  road  and  took  the  well-known 

track 
From  the  station  he  so  lately  left  with  a  swag  upon  his  back. 

I  saw  him  but  a  moment  as  he  was  walking  by 
With  two  black  eyes  and  broken  nose  and  a  tear-drop 
in  his  eye. 


THE  OVERLANDER 

THERE'S  a  trade  you  all  know  well — 

It's  bringing  cattle  over — 
I'll  tell  you  all  about  the  time 

When  I  became  a  drover. 
I  made  up  my  mind  to  try  the  spec, 

To  the  Clarence  I  did  wander, 
And  bought  a  mob  of  duffers  there 

To  begin  as  an  overlander. 

CHORUS 

Pass  the  wine  cup  round,  my  boys  ; 

Don't  let  the  bottle  stand  there, 
For  to-night  we'll  drink  the  health 

Of  every  overlander. 

Next  morning  counted  the  cattle, 
Saw  the  outfit  ready  to  start, 

Saw  all  the  lads  well  mounted, 

And  their  swags  put  in  a  cart. 
118 


THE  OVERLANDER  119 

All  kinds  of  men  I  had 

From  France,  Germany,  and  Flanders  ; 
Lawyers,  doctors,  good  and  bad, 

In  the  mob  of  overlanders. 


Next  morning  I  set  out 

When  the  grass  was  green  and  young  ; 
And  they  swore  they'd  break  my  snout 

If  I  did  not  move  along. 
I  said,  "  You're  very  hard  ; 

Take  care,  don't  raise  my  dander, 
For  I'm  a  regular  knowing  card, 

The  Queensland  over  lander." 

'Tis  true  we  pay  no  license, 

And  our  run  is  rather  large  ; 
'Tis  not  often  they  can  catch  us, 

So  they  cannot  make  a  charge. 
They  think  we  live  on  store  beef, 

But  no,  I'm  not  a  gander ; 
When  a  good  fat  stranger  joins  the  mob, 

"  He'll  do,"  says  the  overlander. 

One  day  a  squatter  rode  up. 

Says  he,  "  You're  on  my  run  ; 
I've  got  two  boys  as  witnesses. 

Consider  your  stock  in  pound." 


120  THE  OVERLANDER 

I  tried  to  coax,  then  bounce  him, 
But  my  tin  I  had  to  squander, 

For  he  put  threepence  a  head 
On  the  mob  of  the  overlander. 


The  pretty  girls  in  Brisbane 

Were  hanging  out  their  duds. 
I  wished  to  have  a  chat  with  them, 

So  steered  straight  for  the  tubs. 
Some  dirty  urchins  saw  me, 

And  soon  they  raised  my  dander, 
Crying,  "  Mother,  quick  !  take  in  the  clothes, 

Here  comes  an  overlander  ! " 

In  town  we  drain  the  wine  cup, 

And  go  to  see  the  play, 
And  never  think  to  be  hard  up 

For  how  to  pass  the  day. 
Each  has  a  sweetheart  there, 

Dressed  out  in  all  her  grandeur- 
Dark  eyes  and  jet  black  flowing  hair. 

"  She's  a  plum,"  says  the  overlander. 


A  THOUSAND  MILES  AWAY 
(Air:  "Ten  Thousand  Miles  Away.") 

HURRAH  for  the  Roma  railway  !  Hurrah  for  Cobb  and  Co., 
And  oh  !  for  a  good  fat  horse  or  two  to  carry  me  Westward 

Ho— 
To  carry  me  Westward  Ho  !  my  boys,  that's  where  the  cattle 

stray 
On  the  far  Barcoo,  where  they  eat  nardoo,  a  thousand  miles 

away. 

CHORUS 

Then  give  your  horses  rein  across  the  open  plain, 
We'll  ship  our  meat  both  sound  and  sweet,  nor  care  what 

some  folks  say ; 

And  frozen  we'll  send  home  the  cattle  that  now  roam 
On  the  far  Barcoo  and  the  Flinders  too,  a  thousand  miles 

away. 

Knee -deep  in  grass  we've  got  to  pass— for  the  truth  I'm 

bound  to  tell — 
Where  in  three  weeks  the  cattle  get  as  fat  as  they  can  swell— 

121 


A  THOUSAND  MILES  AWAY  122 

As  fat  as  they  can  swell,  my  boys  ;  a  thousand  pounds  they 

weigh, 
On  the  far  Barcoo,  where  they  eat  nardoo,  a  thousand  miles 

away. 

Chorus  :  Then  give  your  horses  rein,  &c. 

No  Yankee  hide  e'er  grew  outside  such  beef  as  we  can  freeze  ; 
No  Yankee  pastures  make  such  steers  as  we  send  o'er  the 


As  we  send  o'er  the  seas,  my  boys,  a  thousand  pounds  they 

weigh — 
From  the  far  Barcoo,  where  they  eat  nardoo,   a   thousand 

miles  away. 

Chorus :  Then  give  your  horses  rein,  &c. 


THE  FREEHOLD  ON  THE  PLAIN 
(Air  :  "  The  Little  Old  Log  Cabin  in  the  Lane.") 

I'M  a  broken-down  old  squatter,  my  cash  it  is  all  gone, 

Of  troubles  and  bad  seasons  I  complain  ; 
My  cattle  are  all  mortgaged,  of  horses  I  have  none, 

And  I've  lost  that  little  freehold  on  the  plain. 

CHORUS 

The    stockyard's    broken    down,     and    the    woolshed' 
tumbling  in  ; 

I've  written  to  the  mortgagees  in  vain  ; 
My  wool  it  is  all  damaged  and  it  is  not  worth  a  pin, 

And  I've  lost  that  little  freehold  on  the  plain. 

I  commenced  life  as  a  squatter  some  twenty  years  ago, 

When  fortune  followed  in  my  train ; 
But  I  speculated  heavy  and  I'd  have  you  all  to  know 

That  I've  lost  that  little  freehold  on  the  plain. 

Chorus  :  The  stockyard's  broken  down,  &c. 

123 


124  THE  FREEHOLD  ON  THE  PLAIN 

I  built  myself  a  mansion,  and  chose  myself  a  wife  ; 

Of  her  I  have  no  reason  to  complain  ; 
For  I  thought  I  had  sufficient  to  last  me  all  my  life, 

But  I've  lost  that  little  freehold  on  the  plain. 

Chorus  :  The  stockyard's  broken  down,  &c. 

And  now  I  am  compelled  to  take  a  drover's  life, 
To  drive  cattle  through  the  sunshine  and  the  rain, 

And  to  leave  her  behind  me,  my  own  dear  loving  wife 
We  were  happy  on  that  freehold  on  the  plain. 

Chorus :  The  stockyard's  broken  down,  &c. 


THE  WALLABY  BRIGADE 

You  often  have  been  told  of  regiments  brave  and  bold, 
But  we  are  the  bravest  in  the  land  ; 

We're  called  the  Tag-rag  Band,  and  we  rally  in  Queensland, 
We  are  members  of  the  Wallaby  Brigade. 

CHORUS 

Tramp,  tramp,  tramp  across  the  borders, 

The  swagmen  are  rolling  up,  I  see. 

When  the  shearing's  at  an  end  we'll  go  fishing  in  a  bend. 

Then  hurrah  !  for  the  Wallaby  Brigade. 


When  you  are  leaving  camp,  you  must  ask  some  brother  tramp 

If  there  are  any  jobs  to  be  had, 

Or  what  sort  of  a  shop  that  station  is  to  stop 

For  a  member  of  the  Wallaby  Brigade. 

CHORUS  :  Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  &c. 

125 


126  THE  WALLABY  BRIGADE 

You  ask  me  if  they  want  men,  you  ask  for  rations  then, 
If  they  don't  stump  up  a  warning  should  be  made  ; 
To  teach  them  better  sense— why,  "  Set  fire  to  their  fence  " 
Is  the  war  cry  of  the  Wallaby  Brigade. 

CHORUS  :  Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  &c. 

The  squatters  thought  us  done  when  they  fenced  in  all  their 

run, 

But  a  prettier  mistake  they  never  made  ; 
You've  only  to  sport  your  dover  and  knock  a  monkey  over— 
There's  cheap  mutton  for  the  Wallaby  Brigade. 

CHORUS  :  Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  &c. 

Now  when  the  shearing's  in  our  harvest  will  begin, 

Our  swags  for  a  spell  down  will  be  laid ; 

But  when  our  cheques  are  drank  we  will  join  the  Tag-rag 

rank, 
Limeburners  in  the  Wallaby  Brigade. 

CHORUS  :  Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  &c. 


To  knock  a  monkey  over  is  to  kill  a  sheep,  monkey  being 
slang  for  sheep  in  many  parts  of  the  bush. 


MY  RELIGION 

LET  Romanists  all  at  the  Confessional  kneel, 
Let  the  Jew  with  disgust  turn  from  it, 

Let  the  mighty  Crown  Prelate  in  Church  pander  zeal, 
Let  the  Mussulman  worship  Mahomet. 

From  all  these  I  differ — truly  wise  is  my  plan, 
With  my  doctrine,  perhaps,  you'll  agree, 

To  be  upright  and  downright  and  act  like  a  man, 
That's  the  religion  for  me. 

I  will  go  to  no  Church  and  to  no  house  of  Prayer 

To  see  a  white  shirt  on  a  preacher. 
And  in  no  Courthouse  on  a  book  will  I  swear 

To  injure  a  poor  fellow-creature. 

For  parsons  and  preachers  are  all  a  mere  joke, 
Their  hands  must  be  greased  by  a  fee  ; 

But  with  the  poor  toiler  to  share  your  last  "toke,"* 
That's  the  religion  for  me. 

*"  Toke  "  is  a  slang  word  for  bread. 

127 


128  MY  RELIGION 

Let  Psalm -singing  Churchmen  and  Lutheran  sing, 
They  can't  deceive  God  with  their  blarney  ; 

They  might  just  as  well  dance  the  Highland  Fling, 
Or  sing  the  fair  fame  of  Kate  Kearney. 

But  let  man  unto  man  like  brethren  act, 

My  doctrine  this  suits  to  a  T, 
The  heart  that  can  feel  for  the  woes  of  another, 

Oh,  that's  the  religion  for  me. 


BOURKE'S  DREAM 

LONELY  and  sadly  one  night  in  November 

I  laid  down  my  weary  head  in  search  of  repose 
On  my  wallet  of  straw,  which  I  long  shall  remember, 
Tired  and  weary  I  fell  into  a  doze. 

Tired  from  working  hard 

Down  in  the  labour  yard, 
Night  brought  relief  to  my  sad,  aching  brain. 

Locked  in  my  prison  cell, 

Surely  an  earthly  hell, 
I  fell  asleep  and  began  for  to  dream. 

I  dreamt  that  I  stood  on  the  green  fields  of  Erin, 

In  joyous  meditation  that  victory  was  won. 
Surrounded  by  comrades,  no  enemy  fearing, 

"  Stand,"  was  the  cry,  "  every  man  to  his  gun." 
On  came  the  Saxons  then, 
Fighting  our  Fenian  men, 

Soon  they'll  reel  back  from  our  piked  volunteers. 
Loud  was  the  fight  and  shrill, 
Wexford  and  Vinegar  Hill, 

Three  cheers  for  Father  Murphy  and  the  bold  cavaliers. 
I  129 


130  BOURKE'S   DREAM 

I  dreamt  that  I  saw  our  gallant  commander 

Seated  on  his  charger  in  gorgeous  array. 
He  wore  green  trimmed  with  gold  and  a  bright  shining 

sabre 

On  which  sunbeams  of  Liberty  shone  brightly  that  day. 
"  On,"  was  the  battle  cry, 
"  Conquer  this  day  or  die, 
Sons  of  Hibernia,  fight  for  Liberty  ! 
Show  neither  fear  nor  dread, 
Strike  at  the  foeman's  head, 
Cut  down  horse,  foot,  and  artillery  !  " 


I  dreamt  that  the  night  was  quickly  advancing, 

I  saw  the  dead  and  dying  on  the  green  crimson  plain. 
Comrades  I  once  knew  well  in  death's  sleep  reposing, 
Friends  that  I  once  loved  but  shall  ne'er  see  again. 
The  green  flag  was  waving  high, 
Under  the  bright  blue  sky, 
And  each  man  was  singing  most  gloriously. 
"  Come  from  your  prison,  Bourke, 
We  Irishmen  have  done  our  work, 
God  has  been  with  us,  and  old  Ireland  is  free. " 

I  dreamt  I  was  homeward,  back  over  the  mountain  track, 
With  joy  my  mother  fainted  and  gave  a  loud  scream. 

With  the  shock  I  awoke,  just  as  the  day  had  broke, 
And  found  myself  an  exile,  and  'twas  all  but  a  dream. 


BILLY  BARLOW  IN  AUSTRALIA 

WHEN  I  was  at  home  I  was  down  on  my  luck, 
And  I  earned  a  poor  living  by  drawing  a  truck  ; 
But  old  aunt  died,  and  left  me  a  thousand — "  Oh,  oh, 
I'll  start  on  my  travels,"  said  Billy  Barlow. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

So  off  to  Australia  came  Billy  Barlow. 

When  to  Sydney  I  got,  there  a  merchant  I  met, 
Who  said  he  would  teach  me  a  fortune  to  get ; 
He'd  cattle  and  sheep  past  the  colony's  bounds, 
Which  he  sold  with  the  station  for  my  thousand  pounds. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

He  gammon'd  the  cash  out  of  Billy  Barlow. 

When  the  bargain  was  struck,  and  the  money  was  paid, 
He  said,  "  My  dear  fellow,  your  fortune  is  made  ; 
I  can  furnish  supplies  for  the  station,  you  know, 
And  your  bill  is  sufficient,  good  Mr.  Barlow." 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

A  gentleman  settler  was  Billy  Barlow. 

131 


132  BILLY  BARLOW  IN  AUSTRALIA 

So  I  got  my  supplies,  and  I  gave  him  my  bill, 
And  for  New  England  started,  my  pockets  to  fill ; 
But  by  bushrangers  met,  with  my  traps  they  made  free, 
Took  my  horse,  and  left  Billy  bailed  to  a  tree. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

"  I  shall  die  of  starvation,"  thought  Billy  Barlow. 

At  last  I  got  loose,  and  I  walked  on  my  way  ; 

A  constable  came  up,  and  to  me  did  say, 

11  Are  you  free  ?"     Says  I,  "  Yes, to  be  sure;  don't  you  know?" 

And  I  handed  my  card,  "  Mr.  William  Barlow." 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

He  said,  "  That's  all  gammon,"  to  Billy  Barlow. 

Then  he  put  on  the  handcuffs,  and  brought  me  away 
Right  back  down  to  Maitland,  before  Mr.  Day. 
When  I  said  I  was  free,  why  the  J.P.  replied, 
"  I  must  send  you  down  to  be  i — dentified." 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

So  to  Sydney  once  more  went  poor  Billy  Barlow. 

They  at  last  let  me  go,  and  I  then  did  repair 
For  my  station  once  more,  and  at  length  I  got  there  ; 
But  a  few  days  before,  the  blacks,  you  must  know, 
Had  spear'd  all  the  cattle  of  Billy  Barlow. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

"  It's  a  beautiful  country,"  said  Billy  Barlow. 


BILLY  BARLOW  IN  AUSTRALIA  133 

And  for  nine  months  before  no  rain  there  had  been, 
So  the  devil  a  blade  of  grass  could  be  seen  ; 
And  one-third  of  my  wethers  the  scab  they  had  got, 
And  the  other  two-thirds  had  just  died  of  the  rot. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

"  I  shall  soon  be  a  settler,"  said  Billy  Barlow. 

And  the  matter  to  mend,  now  my  bill  was  near  due, 
So  I  wrote  to  my  friend,  and  just  asked  to  renew  ; 
He  replied  he  was  sorry  he  couldn't,  because 
The  bill  had  passed  into  a  usurer's  claws. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

"  But  perhaps  he'll  renew  it,"  said  Billy  Barlow. 

I  applied  ;  to  renew  he  was  quite  content, 
If  secured,  and  allowed  just  three  hundred  per  cent.; 
But  as  I  couldn't  do,  Barr,  Rodgers,  and  Co. 
Soon  seut  up  a  summons  for  Billy  Barlow. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

They  soon  settled  the  business  of  Billy  Barlow. 

For  a  month  or  six  weeks  I  stewed  over  my  loss, 
And  a  tall  man  rode  up  one  day  on  a  black  horse ; 
He  asked,  "  Don't  you  know  me  ?"     I  answered  him  "  No." 
"Why,"     said  he,    "my  name's  Kinsmill;  how  are  you, 
Barlow?" 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

He'd  got  a/,  fa.  for  poor  Billy  Barlow. 


134  BILLY  BARLOW  IN  AUSTRALIA 

What  I'd  left  of  my  sheep  and  my  traps  he  did  seize, 
And  he  said,   •'  They  won't  pay  all  the  costs  and  my  fees 
Then  he  sold  off  the  lot,  and  I'm  sure  'twas  a  sin, 
At  sixpence  a  head,  and  the  station  giv'n  in. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

"  I'll  go  back  to  England,"  said  Billy  Barlow. 

My  sheep  being  sold,  and  my  money  all  gone, 
Oh,  I  wandered  about  then  quite  sad  and  forlorn  ; 
How  I  managed  to  live  it  would  shock  you  to  know, 
And  as  thin  as  a  lath  got  poor  Billy  Barlow. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

Quite  down  on  his  luck  was  poor  Billy  Barlow. 

And  in  a  few  weeks  more,  the  sheriff,  you  see, 
Sent  the  tall  man  on  horseback  once  more  unto  me  ; 
Having  got  all  he  could  by  the  writ  olfi.  /«., 
By  way  of  a  change  he'd  brought  up  a  ca.  sa. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

He  seized  on  the  body  of  Billy  Barlow. 


He  took  me  to  Sydney,  and  there  they  did  lock 
Poor  unfortunate  Billy  fast  "  under  the  clock  ;" 
And  to  get  myself  out  I  was  forced,  you  must  know 
The  schedule  to  file  of  poor  Billy  Barlow. 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

In  the  list  of  insolvents  was  Billy  Barlow. 


BILLY  BARLOW  IN  AUSTRALIA  135 

Then  once  more  I  got  free,  but  in  poverty's  toil ; 
I've  no  "  cattle  for  salting,"  no  "sheep  for  to  boil ;" 
I  can't  get  a  job — though  to  any  I'd  stoop, 
If  it  was  only  the  making  of  portable  soup." 

Oh  dear,  lackaday,  oh, 

Pray  give  some  employment  to  Billy  Barlow. 


Websdale,  Shoosrnith  &  Co.,  Printers,  Sydney. 


November,  1905. 

SELECTED    LIST    OF    BOOKS 

PUBLISHED    BY 

ANGUS   &    ROBERTSON 

PUBLISHERS   TO   THE    UNIVERSITY 

89  CASTLEREAGH  STREET,  SYDNEY 
A  BUSH  GIRL'S  SONGS. 

By  'RENA  WALLACE. 

With  portrait.     Crown  8vo.,  cloth  gilt,  gilt 

top,  5s.  (post  free  5s.  4d.). 

Sydney  Daily  Telegraph :  "  There  is  passion  as 
well  as  melody  in  ( A  Bush  Girl's  Songs  ' ;  and  there 
is  thought  also  —  real  thought,  that  underlies  the 
music  of  the  verse  and  gives  the  writer  something 
definite  to  communicate  to  her  readers  on  the  great 
universal  subjects  that  are  the  province  of  true  poetry, 
as  distinct  from  mere  verse.  One  cannot  help  remark- 
ing with  pleasure  the  prevailing  note  of  hopefulness, 
a  sunshiny  charm,  that  is  felt  throughout  all  this  fresh 
young  writer's  work.  Miss  'Rena  Wallace  knows  how 
to  be  pathetic  without  being  gloomy,  and  the  morbid 
pessimism,  which  marks  so  much  of  modern  verse,  is 
delightfully  absent." 

Wellington  (N.Z.)  Mail:  "Endowed  with  a  musical 
ear,  and  gifted  with  a  facility  of  expression,  our 
authoress  has  woven  together  much  that  at  once 
strikes  the  ear  as  pleasing  and  musical  verse." 

Adelaide  Advertiser  :  "  There  is  melody  and  sweet- 
ness and  rhythm  in  them,  and  they  are  fresh  from 
nature's  school." 


THE  COMMONWEALTH  SERIES 

Crown  Svo.,  Is.  each  (post  free  Is.  3d.  each). 
JOE  WILSON  :  New  Stories.  By  HENRY  LA  WSON 


JOE  WILSON'S  MATES :  New  Stories.    By  HENRY  LA  WSON 
ON  THE  TRACK  :  Stories.  By  HENRY  LA  WSON 

OVER  THE  SLIPRAILS  :  Stories.        By  HENRY  LA  WSON 
POPULAR  VERSES.  By  HENRY  LA  WSON 

HUMOROUS  VERSES.  By  HENRY  LA  WSON 

WHILE  THE  BILLY  BOILS  :  Australian  Stories. 

First  Series.    By  HENRY  LA  WSON 


WHILE  THE  BILLY  BOILS  :  Australian  Stories. 

Second  Series.    By  HENRY  LA  WSON 


MY  CHINEE  COOK  AND  OTHER  HUMOROUS  VERSES. 

By  B  RUN  TON  STEPHENS 

HISTORY  OF  AUSTRALASIA  :  From  the  Earliest  Times  to 
the  Inauguration  of  the  Commonwealth. 

By  A.   W,  JOSE 

HISTORY  OF  AUSTRALIAN  BUSHRANGING. 

By  CHARLES  WHITE 

PART       I. — THE  EARLY  DAYS. 

PART  II.— 1850  TO   1862. 

PART  III.— 1863   TO   1869. 

PART  IV.— 1869   TO   1878. 

%*  For  press  notices  of  these  books  see  the  cloth-bound  editions 
on  pages  3,  4,  5,  7,  10,  14,  and  17  of  this  catalogue. 


JOE  WILSON  AND  HIS  MATES. 

BY  HENRY  LAWSON,  Author  of  "  While  the  Billy 
Boils";  "When  the  World  was  Wide  and  Other 
Verses  "  ;  "  Verses,  Popular  and  Humorous  " ;  "  On 
the  Track  and  Over  the  Sliprails." 

Crown  8 vo,  cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d.  (post  Jree  4s.)  ; 
in  paper  covers,  2s.  6d.  (post  free  3s.) 

For  Cheaper  Edition  see  Commonwealth  Series,  page  2. 

The  Athenaeum  (London)  :  "  This  is  a  long  way 
the  best  work  Mr.  Lawson  has  yet  given  us.  These 
stories  are  so  good  that  (from  the  literary  point  of 
view,  of  course)  one  hopes  they  are  not  autobio- 
graphical. As  autobiography  they  would  be  good  ; 
as  pure  fiction  they  are  more  of  an  attainment/' 

The  ArgUS  :  "  More  tales  of  the  Joe  Wilson  series 
are  promised,  and  this  will  be  gratifying  to  Mr. 
Lawson' s  admirers,  for  on  the  whole  the  sketches  are 
the  best  work  the  writer  has  so  far  accomplished." 

The  Academy  :  "  I  have  never  read  anything  in 
modern  English  literature  that  is  so  absolutely  demo- 
cratic in  tone,  so  much  the  real  thing,  as  Joe  Wilson's 
Courtship  ;  and  so  with  all  Lawson's  tales  and  sketches. 
Tolstoy  and  Howells,  and  Whitman  and  Kipling,  and 
Zola  and  Hauptmann  and  Gorky  have  all  written 
descriptions  of  f  democratic  '  life,  but  none  of  these 
celebrated  authors,  not  even  Maupassant  himself,  has 
so  absolutely  taken  us  inside  the  life  as  do  the  tales 
Joe  Wilson's  Courtship  and  A  Double  Buggy  at  Lahey's 
Creek,  and  it  is  this  rare  convincing  tone  of  this 
Australian  writer  that  gives  him  a  great  value.  The 
most  casual  '  newspapery  '  and  apparently  artless  art 
of  this  Australian  writer  carries  with  it  a  truer,  finer, 
more  delicate  commentary  on  life  than  all  the  idealistic 
works  of  any  of  our  genteel  school  of  writers/' 


ON  THE  TRACK  AND  OVER 
THE  SLIPRAILS. 

STORIES  BY  HENRY  LAWSON,  Author  of  "  While 
the  Billy  Boils,"  "Joe  Wilson  and  his  Mates," 
"When  the  World  Was  Wide  and  Other  Verses," 
and  "  Verses,  Popular  and  Humorous." 

Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d.  (post  free  4s.). 

For  Cheaper  Edition  see  Commonwealth  Series,  page  2. 

Daily  Chronicle  :  "  Will  well  sustain  the  reputation 
its  author  has  already  won  as  the  best  writer  of 
Australian  short  stories  and  sketches  the  literary 
world  knows.  Henry  Lawson  has  the  art,  possessed 
in  such  an  eminent  degree  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Barrie,  of 
sketching  in  a  character  and  suggesting  a  whole  life- 
story  in  a  single  sentence." 

Pall  Mall  Gazette  :  "  The  volume  now  received  will 
do  much  to  enhance  the  author's  reputation.  There 
is  all  the  quiet  irresistible  humour  of  Dickens  in  the 
description  of  '  The  Darling  River/  and  the  creator  of 
'  Truthful  James'  never  did  anything  better  in  the  way 
of  character  sketches  than  Steelman  and  Mitchell. 
Mr.  Lawson  has  a  master's  sense  of  what  is  dramatic, 
and  he  can  bring  out  strong  effects  in  a  few  touches. 
Humour  and  pathos,  comedy  and  tragedy,  are  equally 
at  his  command/' 

Glasgow  Herald :  "  Mr.  Lawson  must  now  be 
regarded  as  facile  princeps  in  the  production  of  the 
short  tale.  Some  of  these  brief  and  even  slight 
sketches  are  veritable  gems  that  would  be  spoiled  by 
an  added  word,  and  without  a  word  that  can  be  looked 
upon  as  superfluous." 

Melbourne  Punch  :  "  Often  the  little  stories  are 
wedges  cut  clean  out  of  life,  and  presented  with 
artistic  truth  and  vivid  colour." 


WHILE  THE  BILLY  BOILS. 

STORIES  BY  HENRY  LAWSON,  Author  of  "When 
the  World  Was  Wide  and  Other  Verses,"  "Joe 
Wilson  and  his  Mates,"  "On  the  Track  and  Over 
the  Sliprails,"  and  "Verses,  Popular  and  Humorous." 

Twenty-third  Thousand.  With  eight  plates 
and  vignette  title,  by  F.  P.  Mahony.  Crown 
8vo,  cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d.  (post  free  4s.). 

For  Cheaper  Edition  see  Commonwealth  Series,  page  2. 

The  Academy :  "  A  book  of  honest,  direct,  sympa- 
thetic, humorous  writing  about  Australia  from  within 
is  worth  a  library  of  travellers'  tales.  .  .  .  The 
result  is  a  real  book — a  book  in  a  hundred.  His 
language  is  terse,  supple,  and  richly  idiomatic.  He 
can  tell  a  yarn  with  the  best." 

Literature  :  "  A  book  which  Mrs.  Campbell  Praed 
assured  me  made  her  feel  that  all  she  had  written  of 
bush  life  was  pale  and  ineffective." 

The  Spectator  :  "  It  is  strange  that  one  we  would 
venture  to  call  the  greatest  Australian  writer  should 
be  practically  unknown  in  England.  Mr.  Lawson 
is  a  less  experienced  writer  than  Mr.  Kipling,  and 
more  unequal,  but  there  are  two  or  three  sketches  in 
this  volume  which  for  vigour  and  truth  can  hold  their 
own  with  even  so  great  a  rival." 

The  Times  :  "  A  collection  of  short  and  vigorous 
studies  and  stories  of  Australian  life  and  character. 
A  little  in  Bret  Harte's  manner,  crossed,  perhaps,  with 
that  of  Guy  de  Maupassant." 

The  Scotsman  :  "  There  is  no  lack  of  dramatic 
imagination  in  the  construction  of  the  tales ;  and  the 
best  of  them  contrive  to  construct  a  strong  sensational 
situation  in  a  couple  of  pages." 


WHEN  THE  WORLD  WAS  WIDE 
AND  OTHER  VERSES. 

BY  HENRY  LA  WSON,  Author  of  "  While  the  Billy 
Boils,"  "Joe  Wilson  and  his  Mates,"  "On  the 
Track  and  Over  the  Sliprails,"  and  "  Verses,  Popular 
and  Humorous." 

Twelfth  Thousand.  With  photogravure 
portrait  and  vignette  title.  Crown  8vo, 
cloth  gilt,  gilt  top,  5s.  (post  free  5s.  5d.). 

The  Speaker  (LONDON)  :  "  There  are  poems  in  '  In 
the  Days  when  the  World  was  Wide '  which  are  of  a 
higher  mood  than  any  yet  heard  in  distinctively  Aus- 
tralian poetry." 

The  Academy :  "These  ballads  (for  such  they  mostly 
are)  abound  in  spirit  and  manhood,  in  the  colour  and 
smell  of  Australian  soil.  They  deserve  the  popularity 
which  they  have  won  in  Australia,  and  which,  we 
trust,  this  edition  will  now  give  them  in  England." 

Newcastle  Weekly  Chronicle :  "  Swinging,  rhyth- 
mic verse." 

Sydney  Morning-  Herald:  "The  verses  have 
natural  vigour,  the  writer  has  a  rough,  true  faculty 
of  characterisation,  and  the  book  is  racy  of  the  soil 
from  cover  to  cover." 

Bulletin:  "How  graphic  he  is,  how  natural,  how 
true,  how  strong." 

OtagfO  Witness  :  "  It  were  well  to  have  such  books 
upon  our  shelves.  .  .  .  They  are  true  history." 


VERSES:  POPULAR  AND 
HUMOROUS. 

By  HENRY  LAWSON,  Author  of  « When  the 
World  was  Wide,  and  Other  Verses,"  "Joe  Wilson 
and  His  Mates,"  "  On  the  Track  and  Over  the  Slip- 
rails,"  and  "  While  the  Billy  Boils." 

Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d.     (post  free  4s.). 

For  Cheaper  Edition  see  Commonwealth  Series,  page  3. 

FRANCIS  THOMPSON,  in  The  Daily  Chronicle  :  "  He 
is  a  writer  of  strong  and  ringing  ballad  verse,  who 
gets  his  blows  straight  in,  and  at  his  best  makes  them 
all  tell.  He  can  vignette  the  life  he  knows  in  a  few 
touches,  and  in  this  book  shows  an  increased  power  of 
selection/' 

Academy :  "  Mr.  Lawson's  work  should  be  well 
known  to  our  readers ;  for  we  have  urged  them  often 
enough  to  make  acquaintance  with  it.  He  has  the 
gift  of  movement,  and  he  rarely  offers  a  loose  rhyme. 
Technically,  short  of  anxious  lapidary  work,  these 
verses  are  excellent.  He  varies  sentiment  and  humour 
very  agreeably." 

New  York  Evening  Journal :  "  Such  pride  as  a 
man  feels  when  he  has  true  greatness  as  his  guest, 
this  newspaper  feels  in  introducing  to  a  million 
readers  a  man  of  ability  hitherto  unknown  to  them. 
Henry  Lawson  is  his  name." 

The  Book  Lover  :  "  Any  book  of  Lawson's  should 
be  bought  and  treasured  by  all  who  care  for  the  real 
beginnings  of  Australian  literature.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  he  is  the  one  Australian  literary  product,  in  any 
distinctive  sense." 


THE  MAN  FROM  SNOWY  RIVER 
AND  OTHER  VERSES. 

BY  A,   B.  PATERSON. 

Thirty-first  Thousand.  With  photogravure 
portrait  and  vignette  title.  Crown  8vo, 
cloth  gilt,  gilt  top,  5s.  (post  free  5s.  5d.). 

The  Literary  Year  Book :  "  The  immediate 
success  of  this  book  of  bush  ballads  is  without  parallel 
in  Colonial  literary  annals,  nor  can  any  living  English 
or  American  poet  boast  so  wide  a  public,  always 
excepting  Mr.  Eudyard  Kipling." 

The  Times  :  "At  his  best  he  compares  not  unfavour- 
ably with  the  author  of  '  Barrack  Room  Ballads.'  " 

Spectator  :  "  These  lines  have  the  true  lyrical  cry 
in  them.  Eloquent  and  ardent  verses." 

Athenaeum  :  "  Swinging,  rattling  ballads  of  ready 
humour,  ready  pathos,  and  crowding  adventure. 
.  .  .  Stirring  and  entertaining  ballads  about  great 
rides,  in  which  the  lines  gallop  like  the  very  hoofs  of 
the  horses." 

Mr.  A.  PATCHETT  MARTIN,  in  Literature  (London)  : 
"In  my  opinion,  it  is  the  absolutely  un-English, 
thoroughly  Australian  style  and  character  of  these 
new  bush  bards  which  has  given  them  such  immediate 
popularity,  such  wide  vogue,  among  all  classes  of  the 
rising  native  generation." 

London:  MacmUlan  tfe  Co.,  Limited. 
8 


RIO  GRANDE'S  LAST  RACE  AND 
OTHER  VERSES. 

BY  A.  B.  PATERSON. 

Fifth  Thousand.      Crown  8vo,    cloth   gilt, 
gilt  top,  5s.  (post  free  5s.  5d.). 

Spectator :  "  There  is  no  mistaking  the  vigour  of 
Mr.  Paterson's  verse ;  there  is  no  difficulty  in  feeling 
the  strong  human  interest  which  moves  in  it." 

Daily  Mail :  "  Every  way  worthy  of  the  man  who 
ranks  with  the  first  of  Australian  poets." 

Scotsman  :  { '  At  once  naturalistic  and  imaginative, 
and  racy  without  being  slangy,  the  poems  have  always 
a  strong  human  interest  of  every-day  life  to  keep 
them  going.  They  make  a  book  which  should  give 
an  equal  pleasure  to  simple  and  to  fastidious  readers. " 

Bookman  :  ' '  Now  and  again  a  deeper  theme,  like 
an  echo  from  the  older,  more  experienced  land,  leads 
him  to  more  serious  singing,  and  proves  that  real 
poetry  is,  after  all,  universal.  It  is  a  hearty  book." 

Daily  Chronicle  :  "  Mr.  Paterson  has  powerful  and 
varied  sympathies,  coupled  with  a  genuine  lyrical 
impulse,  and  some  skill,  which  make  his  attempts 
always  attractive  and  usually  successful." 

Glasgow  Herald  :  ' '  These  are  all  entertaining,  their 
rough  and  ready  wit  and  virility  of  expression  making 
them  highly  acceptable,  while  the  dash  of  satire  gives 
point  to  the  humour." 

London:  MacmiUan  &  Co.,  Limited 


THE  POETICAL  WORKS  OF 
BRUNTON  STEPHENS. 

New  edition,  with  photogravure  portrait. 
Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  gilt  top,  5s.  (post 
free  5s.  5d.). 

See  also  Commonwealth  Series,  page  2. 

The  Times  (London) :  "  This  collection  of  the  works 
of  the  Queensland  poet,  who  has  for  a  generation 
deservedly  held  a  high  place  in  Australian  literature, 
well  deserves  study." 

The  Athenaeum:  "Brunton  Stephens,  ....  well 
known  to  all  those  who  are  curious  in  Australian 
literature,  as  being,  on  the  whole,  the  best  of 
Australian  poets." 

Daily  News:  "In  turning  over  the  pages  of  this 
volume  one  is  struck  by  his  breadth,  his  versatility, 
his  compass,  as  evidenced  in  theme,  sentiment,  and 
style." 

St.  James'  Gazette :  "  This  substantial  volume  of 
verse  contains  a  great  deal  that  is  very  fresh  and 
pleasing,  whether  grave  or  gay." 

Manchester  Guardian  :  "  He  shows  a  capacity  for 
forceful  and  rhetorical  verse,  which  makes  a  fit 
vehicle  for  Imperial  themes." 

Speaker  :  "  We  gladly  recognise  the  merit  of  much 
that  appears  in  The  Poetical  Works  of  Mr.  Brunton 

Stephens In  the  more  ambitious  pieces 

(and  in  these  the  author  is  most  successful)  he  models 
himself  on  good  masters,  and  his  strains  have  power 
and  dignity." 

10 


WINSLOW  PLAIN. 

By  SARAH  P.  McL.  GREENE,  Author  of  "  Flood- 
Tide,"  "  Vesty  of  the  Basins,"  &c. 

Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  with  portrait,  3s.  6d. 
(post  free  4s.). 

Sydney  Daily  Telegraph :  "  It  is  brimful  of  actu- 
ality set  with  delicate  embroidery  of  imagination  and 
of  humour.  It  is  pervaded  by  boys  prankish,  irresis- 
tible, genuine." 

Melbourne  Age :  "  The  Studies  of  New  England 
Life  and  Character  presented  to  us  in  '  Winslow 
Plain '  are  fresh,  vigorous  and  original." 


FLOOD-TIDE. 

BY  SARAH  P.  McL.  GREENE,  Author  of  "  Vesty 
of  the  Basins,"  &c. 

Cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d.  (post  free  4s.). 

The  Times  (MINNEAPOLIS)  :  "  For  gentle  humour 
that  steals  away  all  the  cares  and  worries  of  living,  I 
can  commend  this  book." 


VESTY  OF  THE  BASINS. 

BY  SARAH  P.  McL,  GREENE,  Author  of  "  Wins 
low  Plain,"  &c. 

Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d.  (post  free  4s.). 
11 


RHYMES  FROM  THE  MINES 
AND  OTHER  LINES. 

BY  EDWARD  DYSON,  Author  of  "A  Golden  Shanty." 

Second  Thousand.  With  photogravure 
portrait  and  vignette  title.  Crown  8vo, 
cloth  gilt,  gilt  top,  5s.  (post  free  5s.  5d.). 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  BUSH  FIRE 
AND  OTHER  AUSTRALIAN  FAIRY 
TALES. 

BY  J.  M.  WHITFELD. 

Second  Thousand.  With  32  illustrations 
by  G.  W.  Lambert.  Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt, 
2s.  6d.  (post  free  3s.). 

Sydney  Morning  Herald :  "  It  is  frankly  written 
for  the  young  folks,  and  the  youngster  will  find  a 
delight  in  Miss  Whitfeld/s  marvellous  company." 


PRESBYTERIAN  WOMEN'S 
MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION 
COOKERY  BOOK. 

Eighth  Edition,  enlarged,  completing  the 
60th  Thousand.  Crown  8vo,  cloth,  Is. 
(post  free  Is.  3d.). 


12 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  EMPIRE. 

A  Handbook  to  the  History  of  Greater  Britain. 

BY  ARTHUR  W.  JOSE,  Author  of  "  A  Short  History 
of  Australasia." 

Second  Edition.     With  14  Maps.      Crown 
8vo,  cloth  gilt,  5s.  (post  free  5s.  6d.). 

Morning1  Post :  "  This  book  is  published  in  Sydney, 
but  it  deserves  to  be  circulated  throughout  the  United 
Kingdom.  The  picture  of  the  fashion  in  which  British 
enterprise  made  its  way  from  settlement  to  settlement 
has  never  been  drawn  more  vividly  than  in  these  pages. 
Mr.  Jose's  style  is  crisp  and  pleasant,  now  and  then 
even  rising  to  eloquence  on  his  grand  theme.  His 
book  deserves  wide  popularity,  and  it  has  the  rare 
merit  of  being  so  written  as  to  be  attractive  alike  to 
the  young  student  and  to  the  mature  man  of  letters." 

Literature  :    "  He    has    studied    thoroughly,    and 
writes  vigorously.     .     .     .    Admirably  done. 
We  commend  it  to  Britons  the  world  over." 

Saturday  Review  :  "  He  writes  Imperially ;  he  also 
often  writes  sympathetically.  .  .  .  We  cannot 
close  Mr.  Jose's  creditable  account  of  our  misdoings 
without  a  glow  of  national  pride." 

Yorkshire  Post :  "  A  brighter  short  history  we  do 
not  know,  and  this  book  deserves  for  the  matter  and 
the  manner  of  it  to  be  as  well  known  as  Mr. 
McCarthy's  <  History  of  Our  Own  Times/  " 

The  Scotsman:  "This  admirable  work  is  a  solid 
octavo  of  more  than  400  pages.  It  is  a  thoughtful, 
well  written,  and  well-arranged  history.  There  are 
fourteen  excellent  maps  to  illustrate  the  text." 

13 


HISTORY  OF  AUSTRALASIA. 

From  the  Earliest  Times  to  the  Inauguration  of  the 
Com  monwealth. 

BY  ARTHUR  W.  JOSE,  Author  of  "  The  Growth  of 
the  Empire."  The  chapter  on  Federation  revised  by 
R.  R.  Garran,  C.M.G. 

With  6  maps  and  64  portraits  and  illustra- 
tions. Crown  8vo,  cloth,  Is.  6d.  (post 
free  Is.  10d.). 

For  Cheaper  Edition  see  Commonwealth  Series,  page  %. 

The  Book  Lover :  "  The  ignorance  of  the  average 
Australian  youth  about  the  brief  history  of  his  native 
land  is  often  deplorable.  '  A  Short  History 

of  Australasia/  by  Arthur  W.  Jose,  just  provides  the 
thing  wanted.  Mr.  Jose's  previous  historical  work 
was  most  favourably  received  in  England,  and  this 
story  of  our  land  is  capitally  done.  It  is  not  too 
long,  and  it  is  brightly  written.  Its  value  is  consider- 
ably enhanced  by  the  useful  maps  and  interesting 
illustrations." 

Victorian  Education  Gazette:  "The  language  is 
graphic  and  simple,  and  there  is  much  evidence  of 
careful  work  and  acquaintance  with  original  docu- 
ments, which  give  the  reader  confidence  in  the 
accuracy  of  the  details.  The  low  price  of  the  book 
leaves  young  Australia  no  excuse  for  remaining  in 
ignorance  of  the  history  of  their  native  land." 

Town  and  Country  Journal:  "The  language  is 
graphic  and  simple,  and  he  has  maintained  the  unity 
and  continuity  of  the  story  of  events  despite  the 
necessity  of  following  the  subject  along  the  seven 
branches  corresponding  with  the  seven  separate 
colonies." 

14 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  SYDNEY  AND 
THE  BLUE  MOUNTAINS. 

A  Popular  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Australian 
Geology. 

BY  REV.  J.  MILNE  CURRAN,  late  Lecturer  in 
Chemistry  and  Geology,  Technical  College,  Sydney. 

Second  Edition.  With  a  Glossary  of  Scien- 
tific terms,  a  Reference  List  of  commonly- 
occurring  Fossils,  2  coloured  maps,  and  83 
illustrations.  Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  6s. 
(post  free  6s.  6d.) 

Nature  :  "  This  is,  strictly  speaking,  an  elementary 
manual  of  geology.  The  general  plan  of  the  work  is 
good ;  the  book  is  well  printed  and  illustrated  with 
maps,  photographic  pictures  of  rock  structure  and 
scenery,  and  figures  of  fossils  and  rock  sections." 

Saturday  Review:  "His  style  is  animated  and 
inspiring,  or  clear  and  precise,  as  occasion  demands. 
The  people  of  Sydney  are  to  be  congratulated  on  the 
existence  of  such  a  guide  to  their  beautiful  country." 


SIMPLE  TESTS  FOR  MINERALS; 

Or,  Every  Man  his  Own  Analyst. 

BY  JOSEPH  CAMPBELL,  M.A.,  F.G.S.,  M.I.M.E. 

Fourth  Edition,  revised  and  enlarged  (com- 
pleting the  ninth  thousand).  With  illus- 
trations. Cloth,  round  corners,  3s.  6d. 
(post  free  3s.  9d.). 

15 


THE  JUSTICES'   MANUAL 
AND   POLICE   GUIDE: 

A  synopsis  of  offences  punishable  by  indictment 
and  on  summary  conviction,  definitions  of 
crimes,  meanings  of  legal  phrases,  hints  on 
evidence,  procedure,  police  duties,  &c. 

Compiled  by  DANIEL  STEPHEN,  Sergeant  of  Police. 

Foolscap  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  round  corners,  5s. 
(post  free  5s.  3d.). 

Sydney  Morning:  Herald  :  "  Justices  of  the  peace 
and  others  concerned  in  the  administration  of  the  law 
will  find  the  value  of  this  admirably  arranged  work." 

Town  and  Country  Journal:  "The  author  has 
put  together  a  vast  amount  of  useful  and  generally 
practical  information,  likely  to  be  interesting,  as  well 
as  valuable,  to  justices  of  the  peace,  policemen,  and 
all  others  concerned  in  the  administration  of  the  law." 

Sydney  Mail:  "A  well  got  up  handbook  that 
should  prove  of  decided  value  to  a  large  section  of 
the  community.  .  .  .  Primarily  intended  for 
justices  of  the  peace  and  policemen,  it  is  so  handily 
arranged,  so  concise,  and  so  comprehensive,  that  it 
should  appeal  to  everyone  who  wants  to  know  just 
how  he  stands  in  regard  to  the  law  of  the  land." 

Sydney  Wool  and  Stock  Journal:  "The  book 
practically  makes  every  man  his  own  lawyer,  and 
enables  him  to  see  at  a  glance  what  the  law  is  upon 
any  given  point,  and  will  save  more  than  its  cost  at 
the  first  consultation." 

Stock  and  Station  Journal :  "  To  speak  of  a  work 
of  this  kind  as  being  interesting  would  doubtless 
cause  surprise;  but  it  most  certainly  is  a  very 
interesting  book.  We  strongly  recommend  it." 

16 


THE  ANNOTATED  CONSTITU- 
TION OF  THE  AUSTRALIAN 
COMMONWEALTH. 

By  Sir  JOHN  QUICK  AND  R.  R.  GARRAN,  C.M.G. 
Royal  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  21s, 

The  Times :  "  The  Annotated  Constitution  of  the 
Australian  Commonwealth  is  a  monument  of  industry. 
.  .  .  Dr.  Quick  and  Mr.  Garran  have  collected 
with  patience  and  enthusiasm,  every  sort  of  infor- 
mation, legal  and  historical,  which  can  throw  light  on 
the  new  measure.  The  book  has  evidently  been  a 
labour  of  love." 


HISTORY  OF  AUSTRALIAN 
BUSHRANGING. 

By  CHARLES  WHITE. 

In  two  vols.    Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d. 
each  (postage  6d.  each). 

For  Cheaper  Edition  see  Commonwealth  Series,  page  2. 

Year  Book  of  Australia :  "  There  is  '  romance  ' 
enough  about  it  to  make  it  of  permanent  interest  as  a 
peculiar  and  most  remarkable  stage  in  our  social 
history." 

Queenslander :  "  Mr.  White  has  supplied  material 
enough  for  twenty  such  novels  as  '  Robbery  Under 
Arms/" 

17 


THE   MAKING   OF 
SHAKESPEARE,   AND 
OTHER  PAPERS. 

By   HENEY  GULLETT,  President  of  the  Shake- 
speare Society  of  New  South  Wales. 

Demy  8vo,  2s.  6d.  (post  free,  2s.  8d.) 

ESSAYS   ON    ECONOMICS. 

By  H.   STANLEY  JEVONS    M.A.,  B.Sc.,  F.G.S. 

With  numerous  diagrams,  crown  8vo,  cloth 
gilt,  6s.  6d.  (post  jree  7s.) 


TABLES   FOR  QUALITATIVE 
CHEMICAL  ANALYSIS. 

Arranged  for  the  use  of  Students  by  A.  LI  VERSIDGE, 
M.A.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the 
University  of  Sydney. 

Second  edition,  Royal  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  4s.  6d. 
(post  free  4s.  9d. ). 


QUALITATIVE  ANALYSIS: 

Notes  and  Tables  for  the  Use  of  Students. 

By  Rev.  J.  MILNE  CURRAN,  late  Lecturer  in 
Chemistry  and  Geology,  Technical  College,  Sydney, 
Author  of  "The  Geology  of  Sydney  and  the  Blue 
Mountains." 

With  illustrations.  Demy  8vo,  cloth  gilt, 
4s.  6d.  (post  free  5s.). 

18 


AN    INTRODUCTION   TO   THE 
INFINITESIMAL   CALCULUS. 

By    H.    S.    CARSLAW,   M.A.,    D.Sc.,    Professor   of 
Mathematics  in  the  University  of  Sydney. 

Demy  8vo,  price  5s.  (post  free  5s.  3d.). 


ABRIDGED    MATHEMATICAL 
TABLES. 

By  S.  H.  BARRAOLOUGH,  B.E.,  M.M.E.,  Assoc. 
M.  Inst.  C.E. 

Demy  8vo,  cloth,  Is.  (post  free  Is.  Id.). 
Logarithms,  &c.,  published  separately,  price 
6d.  (post  free  7d.). 


ELEMENTARY  GEOMETRY, 

Practical  and  Theoretical. 

By  C.  GODFREY,  M.A.,  and  A.  W.  SIDDONS,  M.A. 

Complete  edition  (Books  I. -IV.), crown  8vo, 
cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d.  (post  free  4s.).  Vol.  I. 
(Books  I.  and  II.),  2s.  Vol.  II.  (Books 
III,  and  IV.),  2s.  (postage  3d.).  Answers 
in  separate  volume,  price  4d.  (post  free  5d.) 

19 


ENGLISH  GRAMMAR,  COMPOSI- 
TION, AND  PRECIS  WRITING. 

For  Use  by  Candidates  for  University  and  Public 
Service  Examinations. 

BY  JAMES  CONWAY,  Headmaster  at  Cleveland- 
street  Superior  Public  School,  Sydney. 

Prescribed  by  the  Department  of  Public 
Instruction,  N.S.W.,  for  First  and  Second 
Class  Teachers'  Certificate  Examinations. 
New  edition,  revised  and  enlarged. 
Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d.  (post  free 
3s. 


A  SMALLER  ENGLISH 
GRAMMAR,  COMPOSITION, 
AND  PRECIS  WRITING. 

BY  JAMES  CONWAY. 

Prescribed  by  the  Department  of  Public 
Instruction,  N.S.W.,  for  Third  Class  and 
Pupil  Teachers'  Examinations.  New 
edition,  revised  and  enlarged.  Crown  8vo, 
cloth,  Is.  6d.  (post  free  Is.  9d.). 

N.S.W.  Educational  Gazette  :  "  The  abridgment 
is  very  well  done.  One  recognises  the  hand  of  a  man 
who  has  had  long  experience  of  the  difficulties  of  this 
subject." 


CAUSERIE8  FAMILIERES  ;  OR 

FRIENDLY     CHATS.        A  Simple   and 
Deductive  French  Course. 

BY  MRS.  S,  C.  BOYD. 

Prescribed  for  use  in  schools  by  the  Department  of 
Public  Instruction,  New  South  Wales.  Pupils'  Edition, 
containing  all  that  need  be  in  the  hands  of  the  learner. 
Crown  8vo,  cloth,  limp,  Is.  6d.  (post  free  Is.  8d.). 
Teachers'  Edition,  containing  grammatical  summaries, 
exercises,  a  full  treatise  on  pronunciation,  French- 
English  and  English-French  Vocabulary,  and  other 
matter  for  the  use  of  the  teacher  or  of  a  student 
without  a  master.  Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d. 
(post  free  3s.  10d.)t 

The  London  Spectator:  "A  most  excellent  and 
practical  little  volume,  evidently  the  work  of  a  trained 
teacher.  It  combines  admirably  and  in  an  entertain- 
ing form  the  advantages  of  the  conversational  with 
those  of  the  grammatical  method  of  learning  a 
language." 

GEOGRAPHY  OF  NEW  SOUTH 

WALES.       BY   J.    M.    TAYLOR,    M.A.,    LL.B. 

New  Edition,  revised.  With  37  illustrations 
and  6  folding  maps.  Crown  8vo,  cloth 
gilt,  3s.  6d.  (post  free  3s.  10d.). 

Sydney  Morning1  Herald :  "  Something  more  than 
a  school  book ;  it  is  an  approach  to  an  ideal  geography." 

Review  of  Reviews  :  "  It  makes  a  very  attractive 
handbook.  Its  geography  is  up-to-date ;  it  is  not 
overburdened  with  details,  and  it  is  richly  illustrated 
with  geological  diagrams  and  photographs  of  scenery 
reproduced  with  happy  skill." 

21 


THE  AUSTRALIAN   OBJECT 
LESSON    BOOK. 

Part  I. — For  Infant  and  Junior  Classes 
With   43  illustrations.      Crown  8vo,  cloth 
gilt,  3s.  6d. ;    paper  cover,  2s.  6d.   (postage, 
4d.). 

N.S.W.  Educational  Gazette:  "Mr.  Wiley  has 
wisely  adopted  the  plan  of  utilising  the  services  of 
specialists.  The  series  is  remarkably  complete,  and 
includes  almost  everything  with  which  the  little 
learners  ought  to  be  made  familiar.  Throughout  the 
whole  series  the  lessons  have  been  selected  with  judg- 
ment and  with  a  due  appreciation  of  the  capacity  of 
the  pupils  for  whose  use  they  are  intended." 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  OBJECT 
LESSON  BOOK. 

Part  II. — For  advanced  classes.  With  113 
illustrations.  Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d.; 
paper  cover,  2s.  6d.  (postage  4d.). 

Victorian  Education  Gazette  :  "Mr.  Wiley  and  his 
colleagues  have  provided  a  storehouse  of  useful  infor- 
mation on  a  great  number  of  topics  that  can  be  taken 
up  in  any  Australian  school." 

N.S.W.  Educational  Gazette  :  "  The  Australian 
Object  Lesson  Book  is  evidently  the  result  of  infinite 
patience  and  deep  research  on  the  part  of  its  compiler, 
who  is  also  to  be  commended  for  the  admirable 
arrangement  of  his  matter." 

22 


CIVICS  AND  MORALS. 

By  PERCIVAL  R.  COLE,  M.A.,  Frazer  Scholar  in 
Modern  History,  University  Medallist  in  Logic  and 
Mental  Philosophy,  late  Lecturer  in  the  Training 
College,  Fort-street,  Sydney. 

Second  Edition,  revised  and  enlarged. 
Crown  8vo,  cloth,  2s.  (post  free  2s.  3d.). 
Also  in  two  Parts  : — Part  I. — Classes  I. 
and  II.  ;  Part  II.— Classes  III.,  IV.  and 
V. ;  cloth,  Is.  each  (postjree  Is.  2d.  each}. 

The  N.S.  W.  Educational  Gazette  :  "  In  our  issue  of 
March,  1905,  we  announced  with  approval  the  appear- 
ance of  the  first  edition  of  this  useful  and  practical 
work  and  anticipated  a  wide  appreciation  on  the  part 
of  our  teachers.  The  issue  of  a  new  edition  within 
seven  months  of  the  original  publication  amply  verifies 
this  prediction.  .  .  .  We  note  the  addition  of 
supplementary  lessons  on  Simple  Proverbs,  Yote  by 
Ballot,  the  State  Government  of  New  South  Wales, 
and  the  Federal  Government  of  Australia.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  a  book  which  so  closely  interprets 
the  spirit  of  the  New  Syllabus  will  find  a  place  in 
every  Public  School  in  this  State." 


COMMERCIAL  ARITHMETIC. 

By  G.  E.  DENCH,  B.A. 

Prescribed  by  the  N.S.W.  Department  of 
Public  Instruction.  Crown  8vo,  cloth, 
2s.  6d.  (post  free  2s.  10d.). 


23 


SOLUTIONS  OF  TEACHERS' 
ALGEBRA  PAPERS. 

Set  at  1st  and  2nd  Class  Teachers'  Examinations  from 
1894  to  1901  (inclusive),  by  W.  L.  ATKINS,  B.  A. 
Crown  8vo.,  cloth,  2s.  6d. 


SOLUTIONS  OF  TEACHERS' 
ARITHMETIC  PAPERS. 

Set  at  1st,  2nd,  and  3rd  Class  Teachers'  Examinations 
from  1894  to  1901  (inclusive),  by  J.  M.  TAYLOR, 
M.A.,  LL.B.  Crown  8vo.,  cloth,  2s.  6d. 

N.S.W.  Educational  Gazette:  "Both  may  be  at 
once  pronounced  indispensable  to  teachers  preparing 
for  any  of  these  grades.  The  solutions  throughout 
are  neat,  clear,  and  concise,  and  will  show  intending 
candidates  not  only  how  to  obtain  the  desired  results, 
but  how  to  do  so  in  a  manner  calculated  to  secure 
full  marks  from  the  examiners." 


GUIDE  TO  THE 
MUSICAL  EXAMINATIONS. 

Held  by  the  N.S.W.  Department  of  Public  Instruction 
for  Teachers  and  Pupil  Teachers  in  all  grades.  By 
G.  T.  COTTERILL,  Headmaster  at  Paddington 
Superior  Public  School. 

Part  I.  The  papers  set  in  1898,  1899,  and  1900,  and 
Answers  thereto.  Crown  8vo,  cloth,  2s.  (post  free 
2s.  2d.).  Part  II.  The  Papers  set  in  1901,  and  Answers 
thereto.  Crown  8vo,  sewn,  Is.  (post  free  Is.  Id.). 

N.S.W.  Educational  Gazette:  "We  would  earn- 
estly urge  upon  teachers  and  pupil  teachers  intending 
to  sit  for  examination  the  wisdom  of  mastering  the 
principles  so  clearly  enunciated  in  these  valuable  text- 
books." 

-4 


A   NEW  BOOK  OF   SONGS   FOR 
SCHOOLS  AND  SINGING 
CLASSES. 

BY     HUGO     ALPEN,    Superintendent     of    Music, 
Department  of  Public  Instruction,  New  South  Wales. 

8vo,  paper  cover.     Is.  (post  free  Is.  2d.). 


THE  AUSTRALIAN 
PROGRESSIVE  SONG  STER. 

By  S.  McBURNEY,  Mus.  Doc.,  Fellow  T.S.F.  College. 

Containing  graded  Songs,  Rounds  and  Exer- 
cises in  Staff  Notation,  Tonic  Sol-fa  and 
Numerals,  with  Musical  Theory.  Price,  6d. 
each  part;  combined,  Is.  (postage  Id.  each 
part). 

No.  1. — For  Junior  Classes. 
N0.42.— For  Senior  Classes. 


AUSTRALIAN  SONGS  FOR 
AUSTRALIAN  CHILDREN. 

BY  MES.  MAYBANKE  ANDERSON. 

All  the  songs  are  set  to  music,  while  to 
some  of  them  appropriate  calisthenic  exer- 
cises are  given.  Demy  4to,  picture  cover,  Is. 
(postjree  Is.  Id.) 


25 


PUPILS'  TEXT    BOOKS. 

GEOGRAPHY  OF  AUSTRALIA  AND 
NEW  ZEALAND. 

With  Definitions  of  Geographical  Terms. 

Revised    Edition,  with    8  maps  and  19  illustrations. 
64  pages.     6d.  (post  free  7d) 


GEOGRAPHY  OF  EUROPE,   ASIA, 
AFRICA,  AND  AMERICA. 

Revised  Edition,  with  18  relief  and  other  maps,  and 
17  illustrations  of  transcontinental  views,  distribution 
of  animals,  <fec.  88  pages.  6d.  (post  free  7d.). 


GEOGRAPHY   OF  NEW  SOUTH   WALES. 

With  five  folding  maps.     48  pages.    6d.  (post  free  yd.). 


GEOGRAPHY  OF  AFRICA. 

With  five  maps  in  relief,  &c.    64  pages.  6d.  (post  free  7d.) 


ELEMENTARY   PRACTICAL  GEOMETRY. 

For  Classes  II.  and  III.     With  Diagrams.    Price  2d. 
For  Class  IV.     With  Diagrams.     Price  2d. 


GEOMETRY,  PRACTICAL  AND  THEORETICAL 

Books  I.  and  II.     Price  6d.  each. 


THE   COMMONWEALTH 
SCHOOL    PAPER. 

Issued  at  the  beginning  of  each  month  in  four  numbers. 
(Classes  I.  and  II.— III.— IV.— V.  and  VI.)  Price 
Id.  each. 

26 


THE  METRIC   SYSTEM  OF 
WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES,  AND 
DECIMAL  COINAGE. 

BY  J.  M.  TAYLOR,  M.A,,  LL.B. 

With  Introductory  Notes  on  the  nature  of 
Decimals,  and  contracted  methods  for  the 
Multiplication  and  Division  of  Decimals. 
Crown  8vo,  6d.  (post  free  7d.).  ANSWERS,  6d. 

N.S.W.  Educational  Gazette:  "A  masterly  and 
elaborate  treatise  for  the  use  of  schools  on  a  subject 
of  world-wide  interest  and  importance.  ...  In 
commercial  life  a  knowledge  of  the  metric  system  has 
been  for  some  years  essential,  and  it  is,  therefore, 
fitting  that  its  underlying  principles  should  be  taught 
in  our  schools  concurrently  with  reduction,  and  prac- 
tised systematically  in  the  more  advanced  grades. 
For  this  purpose  the  book  is  unquestionably  the  best 
we  have  seen/' 


THE  AUSTRALASIAN 
CATHOLIC  SCHOOL  SERIES. 

History  of  Australia  and  New  Zealand  for  Catholic 

Schools,  128  pages.      4d. 

Pupil's    Companion    to   the   Australian   Catholic 
First  Reader,   32  pages.    Id. 

Pupil's    Companion    to   the    Australian   Catholic 
Second  Reader,  64  pages.    2d. 

Pupil's    Companion    to   the    Australian   Catholic 
Third  Reader,  112  pages.    3d. 

Pupil's    Companion    to    the    Australian  Catholic 
Fourth  Reader,  160  pages.    4d. 

27 


AUSTRALIAN    SCHOOL   SERIES. 

Grammar  and  Derivation  Book.    64  pages.    2d. 
Test  Exercises  in  Grammar  for  3rd  Class,  1st  Year. 

64  pages.     2d.     2nd  Year,  64  pages.     2d. 

Table  Book  and  Mental  Arithmetic.    48  pages,  id. 
Chief  Events  and  Dates  in  English  History.    Pare 

I.  From  55  B.C.  to  1485  A.D.    50  pages.     2d. 

Chief  Events  and  Dates  in  English  History.    Part 

II.  From  Henry  VII.  (1485)  to  Victoria  (1900).    64 
pages.     2d. 

History  Of  Australia.     80  pages.     4d.     Illustrated. 
Geography.     Part   I.     Australasia   and   Polynesia.       64 

pages.     2d. 
Geography.  Part  II.    Europe,  Asia,  America,  and  Africa. 

66  pages.     2d. 
Euclid.     Book  I.     With  Definitions,   Postulates,   Axioms, 

&c.     64  pages.     2d. 
Euclid.     Book  II.     With    Definitions    and    Exercises    on 

Books  I.  and  II.     32  pages.     2d. 
Euclid.     Book  III.     With  University   "  Junior  "  Papers 

1891-1897.     60  pages.     2d. 

Arithmetic  and  Practical  Geometry— Exercises  for 

ClaSS  II.      50  pages.      3d. 

Arithmetic— Exercises  for  Class  III.  50  pages.  3d. 
Arithmetic— Exercises  for  Class  IV,  50  pages.  3d. 
Arithmetic  and  Mensuration— Exercises  for  Class 

V.  With  the  Arithmetic  Papers  set  at  the  Sydney 
University  Junior,  the  Public  Service,  the  Sydney 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  the  Bankers'  Institute 
Examinations,  &c.  (New  Edition  in.  the  press.) 

Algebra.     Part  I.     64  pages.     4d.     Answers,  4d. 

Algebra.  Part  II.  To  Quadratic  Equations.  Contains 
over  twelve  hundred  Exercises,  including  the  Univer- 
sity Junior,  the  Public  Service,  the  Sydney  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  and  the  Bankers'  Institute  Examination 
Papers  to  1900,  &c.  112  pages.  4d.  Answers,  4d. 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  COPY  BOOK. 

Approved  by  the  Departments  of  Public  Instruction  in 
New  South  Wales,  Queensland  and  Tasmania,  by  the 
Public  Service  Board  of  New  South  Wales,  and  by  the 
Chief  Inspector  of  Catholic  Schools.  In  10  carefully 
graded  numbers,  and  a  book  of  Plain  and  Ornamental 
Lettering,  Mapping,  &c.  (No.  11).  Price,  2d.  each. 
Numerals  are  given  in  each  number. 

A.O.B.  Blotter  (fits  all  sizes),  Id. 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  PUPIL 
TEACHERS'  COPY  BOOK. 

A  selection  of  pages  from  the  Australian  Copy  Book 
arranged  for  use  of  Pupil  Teachers.  48  pages.  Price,  6d. 


CHAMBERS'S  GOVERNMENT 
HAND  COPY  BOOKS. 

Approved  by  the  Department  of  Public 
Instruction.  In  12  carefully  graded  numbers 
and  a  book  for  Pupil  Teachers  (No.  13). 
Price,  2d.  each. 

*m*  The  Letters  are  continuously  joined  to  each  other,  so 
that  the  pupil  need  not  lift  the  pen  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  each  word.  The  Spaces  between  the 
letters  are  wide,  each  letter  thus  standing  out  boldly 
and  distinctly  by  itself.  The  Slope  is  gentle,  but 
sufficient  to  prevent  the  pupil  from  acquiring  a  back 
hand.  The  Curves  are  well  rounded,  checking  the 
tendency  to  too  great  angularity.  The  Writing  is  not 
cramped  and  confined,  plenty  of  space  being  allowed 
for  each  word.  The  Words  are  spaced  by  perpendi- 
cular lines,  and  the  lengths  of  the  letters  are  indicated 
by  horizontal  lines  in  the  early  numbers  of  the  series. 

29 


ANGUS  AND  ROBERTSON'S 
PENCIL  COPY  BOOK. 

Approved  by  the  N.S.W.  Department  of 
Public  Instruction.  In  nine  numbers.  Id. 
each. 

No.  1,  Initiatory  lines,  curves,  letters,  figures ;  2  and  3, 
Short  letters,  easy  combinations,  figures;  4,  Long  letters, 
short  words,  figures ;  5,  Long  letters,  words,  figures ; 
6,  7,  and  8,  Capitals,  words,  figures ;  9,  Short  sentences, 
figures. 

THE  AUSTRALIAN  LETTERING 
BOOK. 

Containing  the  Alphabets  most  useful  in 
Mapping,  Exercise  Headings,  &c.,  with 
practical  applications,  Easy  Scrolls,  Flou- 
rishes, Borders,  Corners,  Rulings,  &c. 
Second  Edition.  New  Edition,  revised  and 
enlarged,  cloth  limp,  6d.  (post  free  7d.). 


CALENDAR  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  SYDNEY. 

8vo,    linen,    2s.    6d. ;     paper     cover,     Is. 
(postage  8d.) 

MANUAL  OF  PUBLIC 
EXAMINATIONS  HELD  BY 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  SYDNEY. 

8vo,  paper  cover,  Is.  (post  free  Is.  3d.). 


ANNOUNCEMENTS. 

WHEN  I  WAS  KING,  AND  OTHER 
VERSES. 

By  HENRY  LAWSON,  Author  of  "  In  the  Days 
when  the  World  was  Wide,"  "  While  the  Billy  Boils," 
&c,,  <fec. 

About  270  pages,  crown  8vo.,  cloth  gilt, 
3s.  6d. 

This  volume  will  also  be  issued  in  the  "  Common- 
wealth Series  "  in  two  parts,  under  the  titles,  "  When 
I  Was  King  "  and  "  The  Elder  Son,"  Picture  Covers, 
Is.  eaeh. 

[Immediately. 


THE  OLD  BUSH  SONGS: 

Originally  composed  and  sung  in  the  Bushranging, 
Digging,  and  Overlanding  Days. 

Now  first  collected  and  edited  by  A.  B.  PATERSON, 
Author  of  "The  Man  from  Snowy  River,"  "Rio 
Grande's  Last  Race,"  <fee. 

Crown  8vo.,  picture  cover  (Common- 
wealth Series),  Is. 

[Immediately. 

PARSIFAL, 

A  Romantic  Mystery-Drama  in  Four  Acts. 

Written  and  adapted  from  the  Ancient  Legends  by 
T.  HILHOUSE  TAYLOR. 

Crown  8vo.,  cloth  gilt,  3s.  6d. 

[Immediately. 
31 


ANNOUNCEMENTS— Continued. 

HOW  HE  DIED,  AND  OTHER 
POEMS. 

By  JOHN   FARRELL. 

With  Memoir,  Appreciations,  and  Photo- 
gravure Portrait.  Crown  8vo.,  cloth  gilt, 
gilt  top  ("Snowy  River"  Series),  5s. 

[Immediately. 

THE  PLANTS  OF  NEW  SOUTH 
WALES: 

An  Analytical  Key  to  the  Flowering  Plants  (except 
Grasses  and  Rushes)  and  Perns  of  the  State,  set 
out  in  an  original  method,  with  an  up-to-date  list 
of  native  and  introduced  flora. 

By  W.  A.  DIXON,  F.T.C.,  F.O.S. 

About  300  pages,  with  diagrams,   foolscap 

8VO.,  Cloth  gilt,   6S.  [Nearly Ready. 

THE  LAND  AND  INCOME  TAX 
LAW  OF  NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 

By  M.  M.  D'ARCY  IRVINE,  B.A,  Solicitor  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  N.S.W. 

About  600  pages,  demy  8vo.,  cloth  gilt, 

42S.  [Immediately. 


THE   LAW  OF    LANDLORD  AND 
TENANT  IN  NEW  SOUTH 
WALES. 

By  J.  H.  HAMMOND,  B.A,  LL.B.,  and  C.  G.  W. 
DAVIDSON,  B.A.,  LL.B.,  Barristers-at-Law. 

About  400  pages,  demy   8vo.,  cloth  gilt, 

[In  the  Press 


PR 

9560 

P38 


Pater son,   Andrew  Barton 
The  old  bush  songs 


PLEASE  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
CARDS  OR  SLIPS  FROM  THIS  POCKET 


UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY