Best Shearers Poems

Oh cripes I’ve gotta tell yer of a horror ride I had,
	That beat any bronc or bull I’ve rode, and I must say I’m glad,
	I’ll never have to ride like that, again to hold me seat.
	Now rodeo is ‘kiddies’ stuff compared to what I beat....

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I'll bet this set of rusty shears have a story they could tell,
of the loneliness and broken backs in a land that's hot as hell,
where hopes and dreams mirrored lives that these shearers led,
here among the ruins of an outback-shearing shed.

I'll bet this set of...

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“And you call yourself a bloody cook”, this mongrel shearer said.
“I oughta ram this rubbish down yer’ throat, it’ll kill a bloke stone dead.”
He’s talking ‘bout the stew I burnt, which I hoped he couldn’t focus.
That he’d gulp it down with ‘red-eye’ wine, and he...

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Waltzing Shearer

Out near Dagworth Station during 1894
Where the Waltzing Matilda, Swagman drowned,
Cos he liked them lamb chops nicely browned,
He was only eating the Masters sheep, scoffing em down,
Disgusting said Squatters and frowned, some more,
In 1894, 

Great Shearers strike was still happening,
Burned down Dagworth shearing shed,...

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 Aub
Aubrey Gordon Joseph Mc'Govern 
by Don Johnson... 
he was born in 1895 to a land so different then, 
one of three boys born at Brenda station, 
near to Hebel up the river near the water on a bend. 
though just a child he told...

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Illusions are smoke and mirrors;
the sky's black, and yet, we see blue.
And like sheep, we're led by shearers;
whose reality blocks our view.

Flashing neon propositions;
young eyes with the night's city lights.
And the lambs rush to the slaughter,
unaware reality bites.

A taboo magic elixir;
drugs hold anxieties in check.
But...

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Scabs in Australian history
The Labor Party came from the early Shearers strike, 1900s,
 where Unions fought for and got fair wages for the workers.
Later in the 1950s the Shearers had trouble with SCABS.
The Australian National Country Party brought in the Scabs to undercut the
wages of...

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The yards behind the shearing shed are overgrown with grass
And the fence posts look a little worse for wear
There’s cobwebs on the tractors that are sitting all forlorn
And a farm cat snoozes gently on a chair

The boards have not been trodden by a shearer’s boot...

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This vetted and fully fettered minute 
 has been supplied by Time-Ex
 - Even before you know it, it's gone

This beautiful garden escape,
 sponsored by the Next apple products 
 Ijuice - A refreshing way to swallow it and by
 Isauce - When you want...

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Alone again and on the road,
Walking with the dusty toed,
Me swag on a back almost bowed,
An outcast me I wonder?

To get a fair wage yes we fought,
From daylight to dark six days for ought,
A slave of the black balled sort, {no job for him}
A persecution...

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A phosphorus attack
                                          ...

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Living in a time of diminished dreams,
we're no longer encouraged to think big.
Conformity is all the rage, it seems,
and cops have attained the status of pig.

Few folks care if the elections are fair,
so, democracy is on a downswing.
And an honest politician is rare,
integrity and vows...

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Barcaldine, Tree of Knowledge

One hundred and seventy years ago,
The shearers had enough you know,
Of working for almost nothing, then,
Decided to form a Union, bend !
The master to cough up a quid or so?
We all got better dough:}
Daylight to dark the men did work,
Maybe Sunday off...

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He chose to live a simple life,
So important was his mission!
Though around him corruption was rife
He never yielded to temptation!
He would cure a serious ailment
But think of no emolument!

He taught: "You must do unto others
As you would have them do unto you."
Today experts, critics, teachers
And...

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Class distinction is always with us,
Dollars are important to the rich,
Jobs went offshore in the 60s ,
Cheaper overseas, for the greedy rich,
In the 50s, scabs were brought in,
To force the shearers wages down,
Black listed were the honest workers,
Bosses wrote names,
black balled the clowns.
2112, still nothing...

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