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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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
youth as...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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A phosphorus attack
                      ...

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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...

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

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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...

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Integrity

I suppose you think it’s all worthwhile,
To crawl to the rich, if that’s your style,
To swing your vote, left, right and center,
On a whim, just...

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