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'The 60 poems in this collection appear in their original, or near original, form and are wide-ranging in their subject matter: animals, the countryside, the struggle of bush life, early transport, sport, growing old, being young and having fun with words! But whether they are humorous, serious or playful, they are simply a joy to read!
No matter if we grew up reciting these classic poems at school, quote from them on important occasions or are meeting them for the first time, there is no doubt that these classic poems embody what it is to be Australian.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Contents
- Andy's Gone with Cattlei"Our Andy's gone with cattle now-", single work poetry
- The Ant Exploreri"Once a little sugar ant made up his mind to roam-", single work poetry humour children's
- The Australian Slanguagei"'Tis the everyday Australian", single work poetry humour
- A Ballad of Shearing Shearing at Castlereaghi"The bell is set a-ringing, and the engine gives a toot,", single work poetry
- Bell-Birdsi"By channels of coolness the echoes are calling,", single work poetry
- Brumby's Runi"It lies beyond the western pines", single work poetry
- A Bush Christeningi"On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few", single work poetry humour
- A Bush Christmasi"The sun burns hotly thro' the gums", single work poetry
- The Circusi"Hey, there! Hoop - la! the circus is in town!", single work poetry children's
- Clancy of the Overflowi"I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better", single work poetry
- Days of Cobb and Co., single work column
- The Digger's Songi"Scrape the bottom of the hole: gather up the stuff!", single work poetry
- An Exile's Farewelli"The ocean heaves around us still", single work poetry
-
Freedom on the Wallabyi"Australia's a big country",
single work
poetry
According to Colin Roderick, the poem was inspired by shearing disputes in Western Queensland and written for William Lane, at this time editor of the Brisbane Worker. Several versions of the poem exist.
- Fur and Feathersi"The emus formed a football team", single work poetry humour
- The Geebung Polo Clubi"It was somewhere up the country, in a land of rock and scrub,", single work poetry humour
- Going to Schooli"Did you see them pass today, Billy, Kate and Robin,", single work poetry humour
-
Hist!,
Peter Gouldthorpe
(illustrator),
single work
picture book
children's
'Hist! … Hark! The night is very dark, And we’ve to go a mile or soAcross the Possum Park. Three children cross the dark and gloomy park to get home. Will they make it before their imaginary fears come to life?' (Publication summary)
- How M'Dougal Topped the Scorei"A peaceful spot is Piper's Flat. The folk that live around-", single work poetry humour
- The Last of His Tribei"He crouches, and buries his face on his knees,", single work poetry
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Books
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane News , 15 -21 April no. 730 2009; (p. 22)
— Review of 60 Classic Australian Poems for Children 2009 anthology poetry ; Made in Queensland : A New History 2009 multi chapter work criticism -
60 Classic Australian Poems by Geoff Page
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: JASAL , no. 9 2009; The Poetic Eye : Occasional Writings 1982-2012 2016; (p. 563-569)
— Review of 60 Classic Australian Poems for Children 2009 anthology poetry 'Geoff Page's selection of 'classic Australian' poem's's is a brave effort to display the development and achievement of a body or work that will bear comparison with any in the anglosphere. Page also claims to focus on poems that strike him as "unequivocally enjoyable, even if that enjoyment is sometimes hard-won." I doubt that all his readers will entirely agree. The book occupies a space somewhere along the spectrum of middle-school poetry text and teach-yourself poetry-appreciation manual. The same might be said of his 80 Great Poems from Chaucer to Now. The structure of each is strikingly similar to Ruth Padel's 52 Ways of Looking at a Poem, a concatenation of poems with commentary culled from her UK weekly Independent on Sunday column. Page and Padel are enthusiastic teachers, but the whiff of the classroom is palpable in their methodological rigour and tone.' (Introduction) -
So Very Much Different
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December 2009 - January 2010 no. 317 2009; (p. 73-74)
— Review of Lost! : A True Tale from the Bush 2009 single work children's fiction ; 60 Classic Australian Poems for Children 2009 anthology poetry
-
So Very Much Different
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December 2009 - January 2010 no. 317 2009; (p. 73-74)
— Review of Lost! : A True Tale from the Bush 2009 single work children's fiction ; 60 Classic Australian Poems for Children 2009 anthology poetry -
60 Classic Australian Poems by Geoff Page
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: JASAL , no. 9 2009; The Poetic Eye : Occasional Writings 1982-2012 2016; (p. 563-569)
— Review of 60 Classic Australian Poems for Children 2009 anthology poetry 'Geoff Page's selection of 'classic Australian' poem's's is a brave effort to display the development and achievement of a body or work that will bear comparison with any in the anglosphere. Page also claims to focus on poems that strike him as "unequivocally enjoyable, even if that enjoyment is sometimes hard-won." I doubt that all his readers will entirely agree. The book occupies a space somewhere along the spectrum of middle-school poetry text and teach-yourself poetry-appreciation manual. The same might be said of his 80 Great Poems from Chaucer to Now. The structure of each is strikingly similar to Ruth Padel's 52 Ways of Looking at a Poem, a concatenation of poems with commentary culled from her UK weekly Independent on Sunday column. Page and Padel are enthusiastic teachers, but the whiff of the classroom is palpable in their methodological rigour and tone.' (Introduction) -
Books
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane News , 15 -21 April no. 730 2009; (p. 22)
— Review of 60 Classic Australian Poems for Children 2009 anthology poetry ; Made in Queensland : A New History 2009 multi chapter work criticism