[Editor: This poem, by Barcroft Boake, was published in The Albury Banner, and Wodonga Express (Albury, NSW), 9 October 1891.]
To Rolf Boldrewood.
I cannot climb fame’s tower and ring
An ever-sounding chime,
I only have the art to string
Poor phrases into rhyme,
Nor can I strike that subtle chord
Of melody flung heavenward,
Like those whose names are deeply scored
Upon the walls of time.
However faint, I yet may catch
A gentle undertone;
However humble, yet a snatch
Of song to call my own —
An echo from that alpine height
Too steep for me, yet still in sight,
Where, emulating swallow flight,
The songs of these have flown.
Take then these verses from afar,
From where the snowy bent
In crystal arching o’er the bar
Thunders in fierce descent,
To where, far-spreading on the plain,
The floods that never see the main,
The waters of the Cooper, drain
Full half a continent;
Where Kosciusko rears himself
Beneath his winter crown,
While from his narrow granite shelf
The eaglehawk swoops down,
Where t’ward the mountains by the sea
The pastures of Monaro flee,
The home of hospitality
And riders of renown.
One with a fragrant scent of pine
Comes from a sandy rise
Northward across the border line
Where poor “Jim Marston” lies,
Near where quaint-featured gums hang low
Pondering o’er the ebb and flow
As the deep-channelled Warrego
Past Cunnamulla flies.
I see the plain that rolls away
Until it meets the sky,
The myalls in their silver-grey
Who watched brave “Starlight” die,
And hear again the martial clang,
The hiss of leaden hail that rang
With deadly import round the “gang”
Who rather fought than fly.
While gallant “Rainbow” tossed his head
On high in proud disdain,
Though from the neck and flank he shed
On earth a crimson rain.
His master by him sternly calm,
The bridle looped upon his arm
And lips whose smile retained its charm
Tho’ flecked with ruddy stain.
And yet a song with other tune,
With other tale to tell,
Whispers of where a yellow moon
Gleams on an earthly hell,
When strings of sullen cattle burst
With weird complainings in their thirst
And wonder why the land is cursed
Beneath an evil spell;
Where “Ernest Neuchamp” watched his beasts
Die daily by the score,
The black crows at their putrid feasts
Outside his station door,
Till rain descended on the earth,
Brought plenty where there had been dearth,
Love — hope — again with pleasant mirth
Where sorrow was before.
Once more I seem to hear the tramp,
The never silent stir,
Of many hoofs upon the camp,
And see the motley blur,
Where on the dusty battlefield
Knights errant, moleskin-suited, wield,
Not sword, nor lance, nor blazon’d shield,
But humble whip and spur.
Another in a different key
Brings hardly less delight,
Telling of one who crossed the sea
To win an up-hill fight.
With him I pace those paths of old,
Wrapt in a glorious shower of gold,
Till I in fancy seem to hold
A magic “Miner’s Right.”
Leaving the cradle where it rocks
In cadence with the stream,
I hear the bleating of the flocks
And catch the Darling’s gleam;
Fair Riverine without a doubt,
So sweet in spring, so fierce in drought,
Where, ’ere misfortune drove him out,
“The squatter dreamt his dream.”
Chieftain, whose banner is unfurled
Upon the Murray’s banks,
You who throughout the lettered world
Have won undying thanks —
A veteran’s honors on your breast,
Deal gently by these lines addressed
By one who must remain at best
A private in the ranks.
B. H. BOAKE.
Source:
The Albury Banner, and Wodonga Express (Albury, NSW), 9 October 1891, p. 16
Editor’s notes:
The phrase “The squatter dreamt his dream” is a reference to the book The Squatter’s Dream: A Story of Australian Life (1890), written by Thomas Alexander Browne (1826-1915), published under his pseudonym of “Rolf Boldrewood”. The book was originally published as Ups and Downs: A Story of Australian Life in 1878, but did not sell well; however, it achieved success when it was re-released under its new title in 1890.
See: “Thomas Alexander Browne”, Wikipedia
blazon’d = (vernacular) blazoned (emblazoned)
Cooper = Cooper Creek (also known as Cooper’s Creek), a river in central-west Queensland and north-east South Australia
See: “Cooper Creek”, Wikipedia
crimson rain = falling blood; the falling of blood
Cunnamulla = a town in the Shire of Paroo, in south-central Queensland, located south of Charlesville (Qld.) and north of Bourke (NSW)
See: “Cunnamulla”, Wikipedia
Darling = the Darling River (in New South Wales)
See: “Darling River”, Wikipedia
dearth = lack, scarcity
’ere = (archaic) before (from the Middle English “er”, itself from the Old English “aer”, meaning early or soon)
Ernest Neuchamp = a fictional character in the novel A Colonial Reformer (1876) by Rolfe Boldrewood (1826-1915)
Jim Marston = a fictional character (and narrator) in the novel Robbery Under Arms (1882-1883) by Rolfe Boldrewood (1826-1915)
See: “Robbery Under Arms”, Wikipedia
Kosciusko = Mount Kosciuszko (New South Wales), the highest mountain peak in Australia (2,228 metres, or 7,310 feet, above sea level); it was named by the Polish explorer Count Strzelecki in 1840 after General Tadeusz Kościuszko of Poland
See: “Mount Kosciuszko”, Wikipedia
leaden hail = lots of bullets being fired through the air; a large amount of bullets or balls (i.e. balls of lead, used in old-style firearms) being shot from pistols, rifles, or other firearms
main = the high sea, the open ocean
martial = of or relating to the military, soldiers, or warfare; having a military bearing; characteristic of a soldier or a warrior (derived from Mars, the Roman god of war)
Miner’s Right = a mining license; miner’s rights were first issued in Victoria in 1855, replacing the earlier gold licenses (which were introduced in 1851), and gave their holders a range of legal and political rights (the other Australian colonies subsequently followed the Victorian system)
See: 1) “The Miner’s Right”, The Institute of Australian Culture
2) “Miner’s Right”, Eurekapedia
3) “Miner’s Right”, Wikipedia
Monaro = a region in the south of New South Wales
See: “Monaro (New South Wales)”, Wikipedia
Murray = the Murray River (also known as the River Murray), a major river which flows through New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia (it serves as the major part of the border between NSW and Victoria)
See: “Murray River”, Wikipedia
myall = an acacia tree (wattle tree), especially the Acacia pendula (weeping myall) which has gray or silver foliage, drooping branches, and which can grow up to 10 metres in height (with a hard heavy fine-grained wood that is especially used for carving and fine woodworking); in another context “myall” can refer to an uncivilized or wild person (from the Aboriginal word “miyal” for stranger)
o’er = (archaic) over (pronounced the same as “oar”, “or”, and “ore”)
Rainbow = Captain Starlight’s horse, in the novel Robbery Under Arms (1882-1883) by Rolfe Boldrewood (1826-1915)
See: “Robbery Under Arms”, Wikipedia
the Riverina = a region of south-central New South Wales, which encompasses Albury, Coolamon, Cootamundra, Deniliquin, Griffith, Gundagai, Hay, Jerilderie, Junee, Leeton, the Murrumbidgee River, Narrandera, Temora, Tocumwal, Tumbarumba, Tumut, Wagga Wagga, and West Wyalong
See: “Riverina”, Wikipedia
Riverine = the Riverina [see: the Riverina]
Rolf Boldrewood = a pseudonym used by Thomas Alexander Browne (born Brown) (1826-1915), a pastoralist, police magistrate, gold commissioner, and author; he is especially known for his novel Robbery Under Arms (1882); he was born in London (England) in 1826, came to Australia in 1831, and died in Melbourne (Victoria) in 1915
See: 1) T. Inglis Moore, “Thomas Alexander Browne (1826–1915)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Thomas Alexander Browne”, Wikipedia
ruddy = red, reddish (can also be an exclamatory expletive, used as a euphemism for “bloody”)
score = [1] twenty (sometimes used in conjunction with a cardinal number, e.g. “threescore”, “fourscore”) (may also refer to an undefined large number)
score = [2] to cut or scratch a line in something; a line created by a cut or scratch; an incision or notch
Starlight = the bushranger Captain Starlight, a fictional character in the novel Robbery Under Arms (1882-1883) by Rolfe Boldrewood (1826-1915)
See: “Robbery Under Arms”, Wikipedia
station = a large rural holding used for raising livestock, usually sheep or cattle (a pastoral property); can also refer to the principal homestead and main business centre of a pastoral property
See: “Station (Australian agriculture)”, Wikipedia
tho’ = (vernacular) though
t’ward = (vernacular) toward
Warrego = the Warrego River (in New South Wales and Queensland)
See: “Warrego River”, Wikipedia
winter crown = (in the context of mountains) snow on the top of a mountain
wrapt = archaic form of “wrapped” (to have enclosed or enveloped something, such as wrapping up an item with cloth or paper)
[Editor: Changed “retained its chaim” to “retained its charm”.]
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