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Leichardt Poem?
Pam S. is looking for an Australian poem. "This was often spoken by my mother and I cannot find it anywhere. Any help please?"
"... there were others Sturt and Stuart, Leichardt, Kennedy and Grey soldiers had to fight with soldiers, these fought sterner foes than they ..."
I've haven't had any better luck finding the poem. If you know what this is, please email us and I'll pass the info on to her.
Dead Turkey?
Vicki wrote us that her grandmother went to school in Mariba, Queensland in 1913. As a child she learned a poem in school that she's been struggling to remember and wondered if we could help. It's been 80 years and we applaud the fact that she remembers this much ...
"The White Turkey was dead!
How the news through the barn-yard went flying!
Of a mother bereft, four small turkeys were left,
And there case for assistance was crying."
I found the complete poem The Motherless Turkeys by Marian Douglas (1842-1913) in a book called Child Life available online at the University of Florida, USA website.
It's funny the kind of things that get stuck in our heads ... dead turkeys?!
Ye Wearie Wayfarer
Rosemary wrote to us about a poem she saw at the front of the Adam Lindsay Gordon cottage in the Botanical Gardens in Victoria. Unfortunately it didn't give the name of the poem and she couldn't find it on the Internet.
I Found It !
Always up to a challenge, I did find the poem, but it's listed incorrectly on most websites.
They show the poem online with a variety of titles, but the real title of the entire poem is Ye Wearie Wayfarer.
Gordon wrote the very long poem in eight fyttes. This is part of his famous quote from the last fytte called Finis Exoptatus:
Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another’s trouble,
Courage in your own.
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Brave Australian Soldiers Poem
Gayle is looking for a poem she learned in school that starts off with
"On the 25th of April, far across the sea,
Our brave Australian soldiers stormed
Gallipoli. ... "
Update ... Answer to Gayle
Jacob emailed me that the poem Gayle was looking for was written in the early 1900s and can be found in the grades 3 and 4 book called
The School Paper.
Nancy Bowman from Poltallock, South Australia (about 130km west of Adelaide) was only 10 years old when she wrote the poem.
New Update – I Found It !
I finally have the poem for you. Nancy's poem is called
Our Australian Soldiers and it's now on
our website for you to read and enjoy.
Ed. note: We've also found a version of this poem used in the Family Notices in the 25th April 1919 issue of the newspaper The Argus (Melbourne, Victoria)
"FOTHERGILL – In sad and loving memory of our dearly loved son and brother, Jack,
6th Battalion (Anzac), who was killed in action, at Gallipoli, on 25th April, 1915.
On the 25th of April, Far across the sea,
Darling Jack, you stormed Gallipoli,
With comrades dear.
In a loving son's grave you lie,
Far from all who love you;
We often think of you, dear Jack,
And wonder how you died.
Oh, God, shall we never know, for not another word can be learned, though ever so hard we have tried. The dearest spot on earth is where your dear body lies with comrades dear.
Inserted by his loving parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fothergill, sisters, and brother; late of Euroa."
Melbourne Cup Poems
In honour of the Melbourne Cup race this month, I've added a Henry Kendall poem How The Melbourne Cup Was Won. There's also on our website, Banjo Paterson's A Dream of the Melbourne Cup.
For horse racing fans, try Gordon's How We Beat the Favourite or Boarke's How Babs Malone Cut Down the Field
