THE WILDERNESS. (By S.B.S.) Poem. 1911.

The Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser. NSW : 22 July 1911

1911 THE WILDERNESS.
(By S.B.S.)

One came with weary brow and feet
From greed and turmoil and distress,
From giant brain and shrunken soul,
Into the quiet wilderness.

The evening and the morning light
Lay fair upon the singing stream,
And shadows of the moving vine
Played with the noonday's brighter beam.

From gaudy bed the dying sun,
Embosomed in a scarlet shroud,
Unloosed a veil of purple hue
And flung it o'er the crimson cloud.

Then came upon, the darkening wood
The edges of a silver light.
And flowery meadows of the moon,
Deep-set with daisies of the night.

The wanderer with the tired brow
Lay watching where the shadows creep
The moving shadows; and they came,
Soft-stepping to the land of sleep.

He slept whose city couch had known
The penalty and awful fee
Of beaten brain that would unbar
The secrets of Eternity

Slept still upon the dewy stone
When sank the moonlight, and afar,
Rose on the gloomy line of hills
The mystery of the morning star.

Slept till the twittering of the birds
Grew loud upon the jewelled tree;
Slept on until his tired soul
Came to a sweeter sanity.

That he whose wandering feet had come
From greed and turmoil and distress,
Might here upon the quiet noon
Find wisdom in the wilderness;

Might know upon the mellow breeze;
The touch of angels, and the gloom
Fragrant of Eden, and the smoke,
Of incense in its wild perfume.

And to his freer soul there came,
Unstifled by the clang of men
A sound upon the solitude
That spake of Paradise again.

Some whisper of the wind or tree,
Or fall of dew upon the sod;
Some echo of Eternity—
Be still and know that I am God.

CONVICTS' GRAVES. by RODERIC QUINN. Poetry.1920

The Australian Worker. Sydney, NSW .15 April 1920

CONVICTS' GRAVES.

Where the mountains, ridge and hollow,
Fold and fall in sombre waves,    
Mid the gum trees by the roadside .
Lie the convicts lonely graves.

Mounds of stone, unfenced and barren,  
With no flower nor fern to hide,
Lie the lone graves of the dead men,
Who were dead before they died.

Scarce a stone-throw from them lying,
Winds the road they shaped and built,
In the mountain sunshine silent
As their sorrow and their guilt.

Careless now of lash and jailer,  
Callous now to heat and frost,
Nameless, known of none, they slumber;
They the shadowed and the crossed.  

Were they sad or glad, I wonder,    
When Death called a halt to strife,  
When they put aside their sorrows  
And their cruel Hell-in-life?

Leaf and limb above them brooding,
Stand the gum-trees, white and high,
Puzzling much on their existence,
Asking God the reason why.    

RODERIC QUINN.

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B R E E D I N G B U S H R A N G E R S . Poetry 1883.

Melbourne Punch (Vic. : 1855 - 1900), Thursday 3 May 1883

B R E E D I N G  B U S H R A N G E R S .

[Vide recent Tasmanian and other Episodes.]

INSIDE the untended cot he sat,
His bottle in his hand;
His breast was bare, his matted hair
Was thick with mud and sand.
gain he sacked of the warrior deeds
Done in his native land.

Wide through the landscape of his thoughts
The lordly Kelly rode;
Beneath the gum trees on the plain '
Once more a king he , strode;
And he saw the craven constables
Descend the mountain road.

He saw again that noble four
Call on the traps to stand;
Then heard the shots, and saw them fall
Fall by the brave ones' hand.
" Ah ! ah! my oath, when I can make
One of a blooming band."

The forests, with their myriad tongues,
Shouted of liberty;
And the blast of the wild bush cried aloud,
With a voice so wild and free,
That he started in his cot and smiled
At their tempestuous glee.

Ah! what a glorious life to lead,
Feared by the old and young ;
To shoot all dogs that won't "bail up,"
And to hear your praises sung
By the 'boys' at night round the red camp fire,
Wonder on every tongue.

Then to be shot by blooming traps,
And caught when wounded, lame;
Brought a hero to Melbourne jail
To make for yourself a name.
To be tried by a cove with a big white wig,
And die on the gallows—"game."

Is it come. Poem BY FRANCES BROWN. 1856

Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer NSW
1 March 1856

Is it come
   BY FRANCES BROWN

Is it come they said on the banks of Nile,  
Who looked for the world's long-promised day,              
And saw but the strife of Egypt's toil
With the desert's sands and the granite gray.

From pyramid, temple, and treasured dead
We vainly ask for her wisdom's plan:
They tell of the slave and tyrants dread
Yet there was hope when that day began.

The Chaldee came with his starry lore.
That built up By Babylon's crown and creed ;
And bricks were stamped on the Tigris' shore
With signs which our sages scarce can read.

From Ninus' temple and Nimrod's tower
The rule of the old East empire spread.
Unreasoning faith and unquestioned power
But still, is it come? The watcher said.

The light of the Persian's worshipped flame
On ancient bondage its splendour threw,
And once on the West a sunrise came,
When Greece to her freedom's trust was true.

With dreams to the utmost ages dear,
With human gods and god-like men,
No marvel the far off day seemed near
To eyes that looked through her laurels then.

The Roman conquered and revelled, too,
Till honor and faith and power were gone:
And deeper old Europe's darkness grow
As, wave after wave, the Goth came on.

The gown was learning, the sword was law,
The people served in the oxen's stead;
But over some gleam the watcher saw
And evermore, Is it come? they said.

Poet and Seer that question caught
Above the din of life's fears and frets;
It marched with letters-it toiled with thought,
Through schools and creeds which the earth forgets;

And statesmen trifle, and priests deceive.
And traders barter our worlds away;
Yet hearts to that golden promise cleave.
And still, at times, Is it come? they say.

The days of the nations bear no trace
Of all the sunshine so far foretold;
The cannon speaks in the teacher's place
The age is weary with work and gold;

And high hopes wither and memories wane
On hearths and altars if the fire are dead;
But that brave faith hath not lived in vain:
And this is all that our watcher said.

More of Mrs Brown:-

Los Angeles Star 1856.
The following is the poem that attracted the Attention of the Marquis of Lansdowne. and induced him to make a present of one hundred pounds to the authoress, Mrs Frances Brown.—Edinburgh Ladies' Own.

LINK TO: Los Angeles Star 3 May 1856

History trail:- Frances Browne, “The Blind Poet of Ulster”

LINK TO MY INDEX.

The Ragged School at the Pantomime. Sydney. poem and images. 1882.

The Ragged School at the  Pantomime.

Dirty and ragged, and wild and rude,
Yet you know by their faces a jubilant brood:
As merry, in sooth, as the babes who cling
To a golden mother, a glittering ring.

Glory and glamour and mirth and light
Are their own through the hours of that blessed night.
Packed in the gallery, row and row,
Over the heads of the crowd below;

They look, and they laugh, and they shout and sing
At the wonderful life of the fairy king.
The fairy king with his golden crown,
And the grim black goblin there crouching down,

And the giant as tall as the tallest gum,
And the dwarf just as big as the giant's thumb.
Then the fairy queen ! Was there ever seen
Such a wonderful sight as that fairy queen.

With scarf of crimson, and robe of blue,
And diamond buckles on either shoe;
And a crown of gold in her golden hair
And her face as the face of an angel fair.

And the palm trees branching in boughs of gold,
And the blue sky over the picture rolled,
Lit by strange planets that gleam and glow
Like the coloured lamps in the lake below.

Loudly the urchins will shout and dance,
As the trumpets sound and the troops advance,
And the grim black goblin and giant tall,
To witches and dragons and monsters call,

And the big guns fire and the fight begins,
But the good king's army the battle wins.
Then the drums all beat, and the joy bells ring,
And the princess marries the fairy king.

Are they happy up there in their rags and tags,
Their ribbon-less bonnets and shapeless bags
Are they happy ? Why ask ? They can take their stand,
For an hour in the marvels of fairy land.

Are they happy ? A fool might an answer seek
From eyes that marvel and lips that speak.
Some ragged young rascal's fist may rise;
He would like to blacken his fellow's eyes !
But he's only mad 'cos that 'bother now
"Won't stop for a second his precious row."

They are happy ; ah, friend, do you love to see
That loveable sight of a young child's glee ?
Then think of the children whose lives scarce know,
A day that is shadeless or free from woe,
And give them a chance at this Christmas time,
To laugh till they cry at the pantomime.

Francis Myers.

The Swagman's Family. by Ben Bowyang. cartoon 1935

oxo

AN ACCOMMODATING TREE: THE SWAGMAN'S SHELTER. Image 1919.

Swagman Sen. R.D. Elliott. 1933.

News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), Friday 10 February 1933

LINK.

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Who needs Banjo Patterson. Swagmen poems by other Australians.

The North Western Courier (Narrabri, NSW : 1913 - 1955), Thursday 17 April 1924

The Swagman's Dream
 
Original, poem-written by Alf. Hammound; that received a prize at the Show and is a pupil of the Convent school,
   
Away in the lonely ranges                
a poor old swagman lay
life with all its changes
Seemed to him to say .

Pleasure quickly passes  
Life is very short .
Time goes on forever .
Trifles matter nought.

He saw himself a boy,
Besides his father's knee,  
His mother calls her Roy
His pretty curls to see.      

His little sister Nell,    
So gentle and so sweet
Ah Who can tell,  
If in heaven we shall meet

The scene has changed again  
Upon the road he tramps,    
friendless, poor and old,
And on the hill he camps.

A tear drops forms his eye  
And falls Upon the sand          
The owl whoops a cry        
That echoes through the land.        

LINK

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WHAT'S IN ITS NAME? MILLER'S POINT Sydney NSW, Australia. 1949

The Sunday Herald (Sydney, NSW : 1949 - 1953), Sunday 13 February 1949.

MILLER'S POINT
WHEN Sydney was young, a windmill stood on the headland at the north-eastern  corner of Darling Harbour.
The windmill marked the site of one of the colony's first flour mills. The mill was owned and occupied by a celebrity of the early times, known as Jack the Miller.
"Jack" was a jovial, though somewhat frugal, man whose real name was John Leighton.
Even before his death in 1826, at the age of 56,   legends had grown up about  Jack the Miller.
One story was that the  Governor offered him the  whole of the Point that now  is named for him, if he would build a fence to divide the point from the mainland. Jack thought it would be too expensive a way of getting the land—and so he lost it.
E. OAKES

LINK

Maroubra people and places Betty Atkins 1935

TRUTH SYDNEY. 18 AUG 1935.

LINK

Maroubra, people and places, Gita River Singer, 1963;

The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Wednesday 4 September 1963.

As Gita sits for her Intermediate Certificate at Maroubra Junction Girls' High School

this year, her music must take second place to her studies. But her eventual aim is to succeed as a singer - whether it be opera or pop.

LINK

Maroubra People and places, New's images, THE SUNDAY TIMES SURF GIRL 1920/

Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930), Sunday 22 February 1920

THE SUNDAY TIMES MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL

ABOVE: WINNERS OF THE THREE PRIZES IN THE SUNDAY TIMES SURF GIRL COMPETITION.' THE NAMES ARE, READING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: ETHEL WARREN (2nd) EDITH PICKUP  (1st), DOROTHY WOOLLEY (3rd)

LINK

Maroubra people and places, Beach Girls Caught In Beach Rainstorm 1948.

The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), Wednesday 3 March 1948

Beach Girls Caught  In Beach Rainstorm

Maroubra people and places,GLAMOR GIRLS OF GOLDEN BEACHES, 1957.

The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Wednesday 2 January 1957

     LINK.

LINK

Maroubra people and Places, DEL JULIANA Sings with the Beatles. 1964 .

The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Wednesday 11 March 1964

THE BEATLES GIRL!
Lucky Del, of Maroubra, will sing with them in Australia

LINK

Maroubra people and places, taken from New's images, Two-up 1936

Truth. Sydney, NSW  26 January 1936

AUSTRALIA'S (UNOFFICIAL) NATIONAL PASTIME OF 'HEADING 'EM,' OR 'TWO-UP,' as seen from the air by the eye of Mr. Goya Henry's camera while flying half a mile south of Randwick cemetery, between Coogee and Maroubra, last Sunday afternoon.

Maroubra people and places taken from the New's, Test for new Australian film "Bitter springs" 1949.

Maroubra people and places, New's images. THE SURFING GIRLS AT THE ADELPHI 1915.

THE SURFING GIRLS AT THE ADELPHI 1915.

who figure in the 'On the Beach at Coogee' scene of 'The Babes in the Wood.' Names reading left to right : Nellie Gross (Freshwater), Muriel Willis (Manly Seagulls), Lorna Gowland (Manly), Mabel Sherras (Coogee), Minnie Gross (Collaroy), Mabel Sloane (Bondi), OllieWilton (Cronulla), Dot Howarth (Maroubra),

LINK

Maroubra people and places, from new's images. Tivoli girl 1942.

Truth (Sydney, NSW : 1894 - 1954), Sunday 1 November 1942

Maroubra people places from New;s images, THE HEREWARD ON MAROUBRA BEACH. 1929.

The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW 17 August 1929.

FAMOUS WRECK—

THE HEREWARD ON MAROUBRA BEACH.


The remains of the vessel which was driven ashore during an easterly gale in 1898, are to be blown up shortly in order to improve the beach for bathers. 

LINK

Maroubra people and places, New's images. New War Memorial 1930.

The Sydney Morning Herald NSW 17 Nov 1930.

NEW WAR MEMORIAL HALL AT MAROUBRA.
There was a large gathering at the opening ceremony by the Governor.


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Maroubra people and places, New;s images. A GUARD OF LIFE-SAVERS. 1930.

The Sydney Morning Herald NSW 17 Nov 1930.

A GUARD OF LIFE-SAVERS.
The Governor (Sir Philip Game), inspecting the men at Maroubra Junction.

LINK.