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Muddy
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Muddy is offline
UK
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17-10-2018, 12:00 PM
21

Re: The land of milk and honey - boomerangs and kangas!

I love Banjo Patterson

Here's one of his most well known poems

The Man from Snowy River

There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around
That the colt from old Regret had got away,
And had joined the wild bush horses–he was worth a thousand pound,
So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far
Had mustered at the homestead overnight,
For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are,
And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight.
There was Harrison, who made his pile when Pardon won the cup,
The old man with his hair as white as snow;
But few could ride beside him when his blood was fairly up–
He would go wherever horse and man could go.
And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand,
No better horseman ever held the reins;
For never horse could throw him while the saddle-girths would stand,
He learnt to ride while droving on the plains.
And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast,
He was something like a racehorse undersized,
With a touch of Timor pony–three parts thoroughbred at least–
And such as are by mountain horsemen prized.
He was hard and tough and wiry–just the sort that won’t say die–
There was courage in his quick impatient tread;
And he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery eye,
And the proud and lofty carriage of his head.
But still so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to stay,
And the old man said, ‘That horse will never do
For a long and tiring gallop–lad, you’d better stop away,
Those hills are far too rough for such as you.’
So he waited sad and wistful–only Clancy stood his friend–
‘I think we ought to let him come,’ he said;
‘I warrant he’ll be with us when he’s wanted at the end,
For both his horse and he are mountain bred.
‘He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko’s side,
Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough,
Where a horse’s hoofs strike firelight from the flint stones every stride,
The man that holds his own is good enough.
And the Snowy River riders on the mountains make their home,
Where the river runs those giant hills between;
I have seen full many horsemen since I first commenced to roam,
But nowhere yet such horsemen have I seen.’
So he went–they found the horses by the big mimosa clump–
They raced away towards the mountain’s brow,
And the old man gave his orders, ‘Boys, go at them from the jump,
No use to try for fancy riding now.
And, Clancy, you must wheel them, try and wheel them to the right.
Ride boldly, lad, and never fear the spills,
For never yet was rider that could keep the mob in sight,
If once they gain the shelter of those hills.’
So Clancy rode to wheel them–he was racing on the wing
Where the best and boldest riders take their place,
And he raced his stock-horse past them, and he made the ranges ring
With the stockwhip, as he met them face to face.
Then they halted for a moment, while he swung the dreaded lash,
But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view,
And they charged beneath the stockwhip with a sharp and sudden dash,
And off into the mountain scrub they flew.
Then fast the horsemen followed, where the gorges deep and black
Resounded to the thunder of their tread,
And the stockwhips woke the echoes, and they fiercely answered back
From cliffs and crags that beetled overhead.
And upward, ever upward, the wild horses held their way,
Where mountain ash and kurrajong grew wide;
And the old man muttered fiercely, ‘We may bid the mob good day,
NO man can hold them down the other side.’
When they reached the mountain’s summit, even Clancy took a pull,
It well might make the boldest hold their breath,
The wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full
Of wombat holes, and any slip was death.
But the man from Snowy River let the pony have his head,
And he swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer,
And he raced him down the mountain like a torrent down its bed,
While the others stood and watched in very fear.
He sent the flint stones flying, but the pony kept his feet,
He cleared the fallen timber in his stride,
And the man from Snowy River never shifted in his seat–
It was grand to see that mountain horseman ride.
Through the stringy barks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound,
At the bottom of that terrible descent.
He was right among the horses as they climbed the further hill,
And the watchers on the mountain standing mute,
Saw him ply the stockwhip fiercely, he was right among them still,
As he raced across the clearing in pursuit.
Then they lost him for a moment, where two mountain gullies met
In the ranges, but a final glimpse reveals
On a dim and distant hillside the wild horses racing yet,
With the man from Snowy River at their heels.
And he ran them single-handed till their sides were white with foam.
He followed like a bloodhound on their track,
Till they halted cowed and beaten, then he turned their heads for home,
And alone and unassisted brought them back.
But his hardy mountain pony he could scarcely raise a trot,
He was blood from hip to shoulder from the spur;
But his pluck was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot,
For never yet was mountain horse a cur.
And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise
Their torn and rugged battlements on high,
Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze
At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,
And where around the Overflow the reedbeds sweep and sway
To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide,
The man from Snowy River is a household word to-day,
And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.
Bayardicus
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Australia
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18-10-2018, 11:22 AM
22

Re: The land of milk and honey - boomerangs and kangas!

...Ah...HA....Good stuff, mate...!! The Man From Snowy River...yes. And....something tells me that you can recite the entire verse totally from memory...am i right...?
How about this one....a not so well known verse from the poetic wit of Henry Lawson...
YOU could almost hear the surface bake, and see the green 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...
`Twould frighten Satan to his home....not far from Dingo Creek...!!
gumbud
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australia
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19-10-2018, 03:16 AM
23

Re: The land of milk and honey - boomerangs and kangas!

it's often been claimed that Lawson and Patterson highlighted the mateship and romance of early white settlers in cities and the bush, and ignored completely the plight of the Indigenous peoples. But it's a bit more complex than that as this article illustrates and commends a film about Lawson meeting a famed Indigenous war hero

when blackfella meets whitefella
Bayardicus
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Australia
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21-10-2018, 11:28 AM
24

Re: The land of milk and honey - boomerangs and kangas!

...That could well have been either Pemulwuy...or, Jundamurra, legendary resistance fighters against the spread of white colonialism. Kind of like Australia`s version of Crazy Horse...Or, Geronimo...!!
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australia
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27-10-2018, 12:37 AM
25

Re: The land of milk and honey - boomerangs and kangas!

I live close to Jundamurra country and have visited his hide away cave and rock caverns where he evaded the police but unfortunately was finally shot in battle!

we have now moved into the 'wet' season which starts with no rain - and we watch and wait - waiting for the big wet - which is steamy and not very comfortable and sometimes the lights go out! but at 5-6am it is still a cool 22C and then climbs to 33 now a drop from 37 a few weeks back. I sit and watch the little wallabies through my window - the ones that the dogs are always too slow to catch!
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South Yorkshire
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27-10-2018, 09:44 AM
26

Re: The land of milk and honey - boomerangs and kangas!

Originally Posted by gumbud ->
I live close to Jundamurra country and have visited his hide away cave and rock caverns where he evaded the police but unfortunately was finally shot in battle!

we have now moved into the 'wet' season which starts with no rain - and we watch and wait - waiting for the big wet - which is steamy and not very comfortable and sometimes the lights go out! but at 5-6am it is still a cool 22C and then climbs to 33 now a drop from 37 a few weeks back. I sit and watch the little wallabies through my window - the ones that the dogs are always too slow to catch!
Sounds good to me Gumbud, steamy and all. There is a raging gale here blowing off the North sea and making the 5*C seem like minus five.....It's a good job I don't run on Saturday's....
Bayardicus
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Australia
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28-10-2018, 11:30 AM
27

Re: The land of milk and honey - boomerangs and kangas!

You`re bloody lucky that you`ve got only the wallabies to worry about, GB...I have to contend with quite a large flock of white cockies....And, noisy buggers they can be at the best of times...And...THIS is in the heart of suburbia...!! Would probably be a lot quieter out in the boondocks...!!
I`m in Wurrundjerri country, by the way. i know that only because of the dedication plaques which were stuck up at various places, by courtesy of Kevin Rudd. There`s even one stuck up in a prominent spot at the entrance to the Target store, in the local shopping centre...!! Jeez...Is NOTHING sacred...?!!
gumbud
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australia
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28-10-2018, 04:51 PM
28

Re: The land of milk and honey - boomerangs and kangas!

oh we get the cockies don't worry - they fly over every morn to the magrove orchards and feast and get a bit drunk and then fly over again at 5pm to wherever?? - you can time ya watch to them. the dogs have chased a few goannas up the trees but those bloody things are fast and the dogs always too slow! One of the dogs got bit the other week by either a snake or blue tongue lizard but survived the attack!
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Muddy
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29-10-2018, 08:45 PM
29

Re: The land of milk and honey - boomerangs and kangas!

Originally Posted by Bayardicus ->
...Ah...HA....Good stuff, mate...!! The Man From Snowy River...yes. And....something tells me that you can recite the entire verse totally from memory...am i right...?
How about this one....a not so well known verse from the poetic wit of Henry Lawson...
YOU could almost hear the surface bake, and see the green 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...
`Twould frighten Satan to his home....not far from Dingo Creek...!!
Good one very evocative!

I am always looking for a poem I heard many years it was about some children and a goanna .
The kids killed it I think in the end
Never can find it .
realspeed
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South coast
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29-10-2018, 10:39 PM
30

Re: The land of milk and honey - boomerangs and kangas!

who saw the documentary on the Ghan train yesterday ? what boring scenery to look at for 3 days. All they showed was scrub land, 3 whole days looking at it.

If the program was to promote the journey it failed miserly. Even the information along the way was at one side of the screen and too quick to read as it flashed past

Sorry but it has put me off even wanting to visit down under now. Even Alice Springs which should have seemed exciting to go through and have a trip to Ayres rock. Absolutely nothing there to attract visitors
 
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