'Tis a yarn I heard of a new-chum 'trap' On the edge of the Never-Never, Where the dead men lie and the black men lie, And the bushman lies for ever. 'Twas the custom still with the local blacks...
We learnt the creed at Hungerford, We learnt the creed at Bourke; We learnt it in the good times And learnt it out of work. We learnt it by the harbour-side And on the billabong:...
'Tis a wonderful time when these hours begin, These long 'small hours' of night, When grass is crisp, and the air is thin, And the stars come close and bright. The moon hangs caught in a silvery veil,...
Lo! the Boar's tail is salted, and the Kangaroo's exalted, And his right eye is extinguished by a man-o'-warsman's cap; He is flying round the fences where the Southern Sea commences,...
If you fancy that your people came of better stock than mine, If you hint of higher breeding by a word or by a sign, If you're proud because of fortune or the clever things you do,...
Oh, do you hear the argument, far up above the skies? The voice of old Saint Peter, in expostulation rise? Growing shrill, and ever shriller, at the thing that's being done;...
Sing the strong, proud song of Labour, Toss the ringing music high; Liberty's a nearer neighbour Than she was in days gone by. Workmen's weary wives and daughters Sing the songs of liberty;...
Man, is the Sea your master? Sea, and is man your slave?, This is the song of brave men who never know they are brave: Ceaselessly watching to save you, stranger from foreign lands,...
Blacksoil plains were grey soil, grey soil in the drought. Fifteen years away, and five hundred miles out; Swag and bag and billy carried all our care Before we were married, and I wish that I were there. ...
Not to the sober and staid, Leading a quiet life, But to men whose paths are laid Ever through storm and strife, Here is a song from me, Sent to the tragic West, Message of sympathy...
Most unpleasantly adjacent to the haunts of lower orders Stood a 'terrace' in the city when the current year began, And a notice indicated there were vacancies for boarders...
So I sit and write and ponder, while the house is deaf and dumb, Seeing visions "over yonder" of the war I know must come. In the corner, not a vision, but a sign for coming days...
The short hour's halt is ended, The red gone from the west, The broken wheel is mended, And the dead men laid to rest. Three days have we retreated The brave old Curse-and-Grin,...
Tell a simple little story of a settler in the West, Where the soldier birds and farmers, and selectors never rest While the sun shines, and they often work in rainy weather, too:...
The theme is ancient as the hills, With all their prehistoric glory; But yet of Corney and his friend, We've often longed to tell the story; And should we jar the reader's ear,...
When you've managed with the tailor for a rig-out of a sort And you find the coat or trousers are an inch or so too short, Do not fret and swear and worry, make the tailor see you through,...
MaCleay Street looks to Mosman, Across the other side, With brave asphalted pavements And roadway clean and wide. Macleay Street hath its mansions, Its grounds and greenery;...
You almost heard the surface bake, and saw the gum-leaves turn, You could have watched the grass scorch brown had there been grass to burn. In such a drought the strongest heart might well grow faint and weak,...
They'd parted but a year before, she never thought he'd come, She stammer'd, blushed, held out her hand, and called him 'Mister Gum.' How could he know that all the while she longed to murmur 'John.'...
Jim Duff was a 'native,'as wild as could be; A stealer and duffer of cattle was he, But back in his youth he had stolen a pearl Or a diamond rather the heart of a girl;...