There are folk who travel eastwards
And folk who travel west
Just to roam afar from home
Is what they like the best
Some of them are weary
And some of them are sad
Away they go to hide their woe
And make their sad hearts glad.
Oh restless roving lonely folk
Away in far off lands
Who search in vain to ease your pain
Come home to golden sands
To Australia land of sunshine
All green and gold and blue
A young land. A vast land/
Theres a spot here just for you.
A land of wide horizons
Of mountains plain and lake
Theres pleasures here for all of you
Which ever way you take.
So listen and I’ll tell you
Of the bush I love so well
And all the pleasures round about
The spot in which I dwell.
In our palatial residence
Beside a stony creek
To find a happy family
You haven’t far to seek.
There’s Joe and me and Ronda
Our darling baby girl
With eyes of blue and cheeks of pink
And hair that’s going to curl.
And we’ve a faithful watch dog
We call him Samuel Small
He isn’t any special breed
But just a dash of all
He’s white and brown in patches
With a cheerful turn of mind
No matter where you find us
You’ll find him close behind.
{And we have a gallant pony
Brownie is his name
His sleek and brown and shiny
And we have clipped his mane}
We drive him in the jinker
Or for rides on his back
And it’s grand to see him
Come galloping down the track.
Of our palatial residence
Perhaps I should explain
It’s built of sheets of stringy bark
You couldn’t call us vain.
But in our humble little home
Just two rooms and a tent
You’ll find a world of happiness
And nought of discontent.
There’s bushland all around us
So friendly and so green
I’d like to tell you all about
The wonders I have seen
For the bush is full of interest
For those with eyes to see
There’s living things hide in the scrub
And almost every tree.
There’s beauty all about us
From morning until night
In all the green and growing things
Bathed in the gold sunlight
There’s hardy bracken growing
In amongst the trees
Which sigh with softest murmur
When stirred by furtive breeze.
And neath the brackens shelter
A nestling in the grass
Are dainty wee wild violets
Scarce noticed as we pass
Sometimes with the violets
is dainty maiden hair
and often green hood orchids
are hiding with them there.
(In among the bracken fern
…………………heath etc}
In springtime all the wattles
Are clothed in gayist gold
The bush becomes a fairyland
Quite wondrous to behold.
Wild shrubs bedecked in flowers
Of misty mauve and white
Make a pleasing picture
All gilded with sunlight.
Sometimes after heavy rain
The water rises high
And in a roaring river
The floods go swirling by.
The creek ends at the corner
And there begins the lake
And we have worn a little path
Upon the way we take
For we often go for picnics
Down the lake in our canoe
We have the greatest fun down there
And Sam enjoys it too.
Of course, I don’t go now you know
For our baby’s very small
But when she’s bigger she shall come
and help enjoy it all.
I pack them all together
The things we wish to take
A loaf of bread, some butter
The frying pan and steak.
A bottle full of water
A billy for the tea
And we often take the camera
To snap the things we see.
We paddle far off down the lake
Nine miles or so from home
And when we want to stretch our legs
Upon the shore we roam.
Joe takes the gun and whistles Sam
And off they go to see
If they can get some nice wild ducks
And bring them back for tea.
I watch the little parakeets
Hang upside down with ease
As they partake of honey
From the blossoms of the trees
And there’s a mighty wedge tail
A soaring up on high
With scarce a movement of his wings
He floats up in the sky
And so I sit and ponder
Upon the things I see
From the graceful gum tree
to the humble bee.
The silvery shining water
Or dark mysterious shore
The other bathed in sunshine’s gold
Who could ask for more.
In the midst of my reverie
I hear a distant shot
And so I know they’ll soon be back
I hope they’ve got a lot
The sunlight makes a halo
Around a big gum tree
And in it’s dappled shadow
I make a cup of tea.
A mud larks built her next mud nest
Up high upon a bough
And close at hand but lower down
A wagtails building now
Its one of nature’s oddities
That these birds nest in pairs.
Wherever on finds a mud larks nest
There is wagtails building theirs.
And right throughout the nesting time
These birds cooperate
They do not fear if dangers near
But rush to help their mate.
The wag tails but a tiny bird
But game right to the core
He’ll tackle those who are his foes
Ten times his self and more.
And when they hear his angry cries
The mud larks do their best
To help their little neighbours
Chase away the pest
I stand and watch them for a while
Then haste to get some wood
And put some on the fire
Till it is burning good.
Presently from out the scrub
A happy pair appear
Joe hails my crackling fire
With a hearty cheer.
His muddy and his hungry
And Sam is dripping wet
But they have got four nice plump ducks
And praps they’ll get more yet.
We feast on toast and cups of tea
While Joe relates the way
That Sam retrieved two wounded ones
And how one got away.
When we’ve quelled our hungry pangs
And feel at last replete
We shall on our way again
Our journey to complete.
Until we reach our favourite spot
In which we wish to camp
Where it is nice and sheltered
And the ground is not too damp
We haste to bring the things ashore
And get the fire alight
And then Joe gets great piles of wood
To last us through the night.
While I am cooking supper
Joes takes his rod and bait
And goes to do some fishing
Before it gets too late
For the fish bite best at sundown
Just at the close of day
And he often gets some beauties
Though the biggest get away.
Today he’s not so lucky
And only catches two
I’ll go with him tomorrow
And show him what to do.
Mean while we’ll have our supper
Of steak and scrambled eggs
And Sam shall have the tit bits
……………………………….
And when finished eating
And Sammy has been fed
We’ll pack up all the dishes
And prepare ourselves for bed
Away out in the forest
Far from the sound of cars
We’ll be on beds of bracken
Neath a canopy of stars.
For day is done and its grown dark
And we are far from home
And creatures wild from far and near
Have come abroad to roam
There’s a rumble, rumble, rumble
From deep down in a hole
And then a wombat lumbers out
Poor little tailess soul.
A mopoke calls – a plover too
And then a screech owl shrieks
And suddenly the air is full
Of countless little squeaks
Theres bats abroad and bandicoots
And creatures big and small
But whats this sound that fills the air
And chills them one and all?
A mournful wailing chorus
A haunting lonely cry
The dingo pack is on the track
And somethings going to die
Our Sammy’s hair stands up on end
He hears their mournful howls
“They needn’t think they’re coming here”
Says Sam and fiercely growls.
For though our Sam is just a mung’
Whose always in some strife
He’s a truly worthy watch dog
Who’d defend us with his life.
Of course there is no need for this
No need for Sam’s alarm
For a dingo is too cowardly
To try to do us harm.
And so we slumber peacefully
With not a thought of fear
Till night is gone and morning comes
And what is this I hear?
A magpie’s happy warble
And a jacky’s hearty laugh
The twitter of the tiny wrens
To wake my better half.
And see the sun is shining
The world is all aglow
With tiny sparkling dew drops
A gleaming high and low
And all around is peaceful green
And all above is blue
And from a shining she oak
A thrush is singing too
There’s peace here for world weary
And rest for tired eyes
When the wind sings in the tree tops
And the sheoaks softly sighs
Oh! Australia land of sunshine
All green and gold and blue
My heart swells up with happiness
That I belong to you.