Page 5 - eMuse Vol.9 No.02_Classical

I’ve been told by a reliable source (all my mates at the pub are a Then down I come and grab my mare (her feet’s caught in the rein)
reliable source) that the only thing bigger than the Speerwah in this For I’m as keen as mustard now to help my mates again
solar system is the planet Jupiter. Although Jupiter does not look all They was heading straight for the Jackass yard it was clear the way
that big from my place, I’m not one to question a mate’s integrity. they went
Anyway, according to legend, Speerwah is the biggest property They’d torn big trees up by the roots and even the hills looked bent.
in Australia. Everything thing there is bigger than anywhere else. When I come in sight of the there yard I sat there goggle-eyed
Some of my American friends have challenged that claiming
everything is bigger in Texas. I have two points to make in response For the bulls was camped outside the gate and the stockmen was inside.
So when I hear talk of the Dawson days my mind goes back to when
to that:
1. Texas fits neatly inside either Queensland or Western Aus- Them wild bulls of the Speewah scrub used to muster up the men.
tralia with tons of space to spare; and,
2. Alaskans have gone on record advising Texans if they don’t
stop their bragging, then Alaska will cut itself in half and
make Texas the third biggest state in USA.
Anyhow, enough of foreign politics. Speerwah is found at a loca-
tion exactly west of the Great Dividing Range and east of Shark Bay,
West Australia. It’s so big you can’t miss it.
Something that big is bound to attract the occasional legend like
one of the many stories of Crooked Mick and casual observations
like how the Shearer’s cook employed there had his own hot water
bore just to brew the tea supplied with meals.
One of the fascinating things I’ve learned in my unending quest
for knowledge is that you can’t research a single thing without
learning something else (sometimes several something elses).
A case in point is the poem below. I found it when I stumbled
across the website called “An Australian Folk Song A Day” on http://
ozfolksongaday.blogspot.com/2011/10/bulls-of-speewah.html

Orange 360

Bulls of the Speewah Orange NSW All year round

R C Pearce aka Bob Bloodwood Banjo Paterson

Oh all this talk of the Dawson scrub it fairly leaves me cold Australian Poetry
For I tell you them bulls was dinkum cows in the Speewah days of old
More fiercer than the fiercest cat more cunning than the Blacks Festival
I’ve known them tie branches to their tails to cover up their tracks.
When leaving camp you must put out the fires you had last night 16 — 23 Feb 2020
For them bulls carry firesticks in their teeth to set your yards alight
They have the bower-birds squared to bellow to put you off your course
They even have the dingoes trained to heel your bloody horse. www.orange 360.com.au
I remember one day there was six of us to muster to Jackass yard
No finer stockmen in the land and used to riding hard
The boss was up on a raking bay called Casanovas’s Desire Banjo’s Birhday Poets. Banjo Paterson Austral-
And I kidded myself that I looked at home on a horse called Black Maria. Brunch - Yeovil ian Poetry Competition
We sighted a score or more of bulls contented as you please Sunday 16 February Saturday 22 February
Some was sharpening their horns on the sandstone rocks and Banjo’s Birthday Banjo Paterson Festival
some was skewering trees Twilight BBQ Dinner - Molong
Well we made them flaming cattle run as hard as they could lick Monday 17 February Saturday 22 February
But every time I looked behind they seemed to be gaining quick. SIGNATURE EVENTS Banjo Paterson Festival Familiy Market Day
There was one roan bull about a yard behind bowled over my mare Night Market Sunday 23 February
and me Friday 21st February
So to see if me comrades was alright I climbed the nearest tree
Well I’m up here and he’s down there as if he’d like to stay Banjo Poetry Brawl
But seeing I’ve no further use for him I let him drift away. Friday 21st February

February 2020 eMuse 5