[Editor: This poem by Rex Ingamells was published in Gumtops (1935).]
The Bullocky
A bullocky came at noon,
With his lumbering team and slow,
Leaving behind a heavy cloud
Of red-dust hanging low.
Up over the ridge he came,
In worn-out, dusty clothes,
Cracking his long, lithe, greenhide whip,
And lustily shouting oaths.
He heard from the country school
Young voices singing come;
“Wo-a!” he cried, and stopped his beasts
Beneath the Leaning Gum.
He listened awhile; the smoke
From his old black pipe curled up;
Then, when the singing ceased, he called
To his blowing team — “Gerrup!”
Source:
Rex Ingamells. Gumtops, F. W. Preece & Sons, Adelaide, 1935, page 22
Editor’s notes:
bullocky = a driver of a bullock team
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