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y separately published work icon The Bushwackers Australian Song Book anthology   poetry   short story   extract   humour  
Issue Details: First known date: 1988... 1988 The Bushwackers Australian Song Book
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Contents

* Contents derived from the South Yarra, South Yarra - Glen Iris area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,:Sphere , 1988 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
On the Wallabyi"Now the tent poles are rotting, the camp-fires are dead,", Henry Lawson , single work poetry (p. 9)
Jim Jones Jim Jones at Botany Bayi"O listen for a moment, lads, and hear me tell my tale,", single work poetry (p. 10-11)
Moreton Bayi"One Sunday morning as I went walking, by Brisbane waters I chanced to stray;", single work poetry (p. 12-13)
The Wild Colonial Boyi"'Tis of a wild Colonial boy, Jack Doolan was his name", single work poetry

'The Wild Colonial Boy' is a traditional Irish/Australian ballad of which there are many different versions. It has been argued that the original version was really about Jack Donahoe (variously spelled Donahoo or Donahue), an Irish transport who arrived at Sydney Cove in 1825, and was subsequently convicted of highway robbery and sentenced to death. He escaped and waged a guerrilla war against the wealthy for more than two years in the country around Sydney. On September 1st 1830 he was ambushed by a police party near Cambelltown and shot dead, his companions Webber and Warmsley escaping into the bush. This version was eventually outlawed as seditious so the name of the protagonist changed.

The resulting Irish version is about a young emigrant, named Jack Duggan, who left the town of Castlemaine, County Kerry, Ireland, for Australia in the 1800s. According to the song (and in keeping with the true story of Jack Donahoe), he spent his time there 'robbing from the rich to feed the poor'. In the song, the protagonist is fatally wounded in an ambush when his heart is pierced by the bullet of Fitzroy.

The Australian version has Jack Doolan (or sometimes Jack Dowling) as the protagonist, and here Castlemaine refers to the Australian town in Victoria. In both versions variation in the wording and language occurs across different sources.

In his Old Bush Songs, Banjo Patterson wrote: "it will be noticed that the same chorus is sung to both 'The Wild Colonial Boy' and 'Bold Jack Donahoo'. Several versions of both songs were sent in, but the same chorus was always made to do duty for both songs." This chorus, included in some (not all) Australian versions is as follows:


Come, all my hearties,

we'll roam the mountains high,

Together we will plunder,

together we will die.

We'll wander over valleys,

and gallop over plains,

And we'll scorn to live in

slavery, bound down with iron chains.

(p. 14-15)
Denis O'Reillyi"When first I left old Ireland's shore,", single work poetry (p. 18-19)
The Shores of Botany Bayi"Oh, I'm on my way down to the quay where a big ship now does lay,", single work poetry (p. 20-21)
Bullocky-Oi"I draw for Speckle's Mill, bullocky-O, bullocky-O,", single work poetry (p. 22-23)
The Lime-Juice Tubi"When shearing comes lay down your drums", single work poetry humour (p. 24-25)
Five Miles from Gundagaii"I'm used to punchin' bullock teams", single work poetry (p. 26-27)
Maranoa Droversi"Oh, the night is dark and stormy, and the sky is clouded o'er;", A. W. Davis , single work poetry (p. 28-29)
The Shearer's Nightmarei"Old Bill the shearer had been phoned to catch the train next day -", Anonymous (fl. 1978) , single work poetry humour (p. 30-31)
Poor Ned Kellyi"When Ned was a lad, sixteen years old,", 'Smiling' Billy Blinkhorn , single work poetry (p. 32-33)
Stringybark Creeki"A sergeant and three constables set out from Mansfield town", single work poetry (p. 34-35)
Woolloomooloo Lairi"On the day that I was born", single work poetry (p. 38-40)
The New Chumi"The new chum toils with heart and soul,", single work poetry (p. 41)
The Man from Ironbarki"It was the man from Ironbark who struck the Sydney town,", A. B. Paterson , single work poetry humour (p. 42-43)
Waltzing Matilda "Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong," Waltzing Matilda : Carrying a Swagi"Oh! there once was a swagman camped in the billabong,", A. B. Paterson , single work poetry (p. 46-47)
And the Band Played Waltzing Matildai"When I was a young man I carried a pack", Eric Bogle , single work poetry (p. 48-50)
The Romance of the Swag, Henry Lawson , extract short story (p. 52-53)
Jog Along Till Shearingi"The truth, it's in my song so clear,", single work poetry (p. 54-55)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Notes:
illus; map; music; portraits
    • South Yarra, South Yarra - Glen Iris area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Sphere , 1988 .
      image of person or book cover 6319168489261785347.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Amazon
      Extent: 1vp.
      Note/s:
      • Published 1 January 1978
      ISBN: 9780170053938
    • Prahran, South Yarra - Glen Iris area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Hardie Grant Books , 2021 .
      image of person or book cover 2107304977867641452.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Alternative title: The Bushwackers Big Australian Song Book
      Extent: 232p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 29 September 2021
      ISBN: 9781743797846

Works about this Work

Rollicking Good Fun and Song Ron Saw , 1978 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 14 November vol. 99 no. 5135 1978; (p. 86) The Bulletin , 23 January vol. 99 no. 5144 1979; (p. 46)

— Review of The Bushwackers Australian Song Book 1988 anthology poetry short story extract
Rollicking Good Fun and Song Ron Saw , 1978 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 14 November vol. 99 no. 5135 1978; (p. 86) The Bulletin , 23 January vol. 99 no. 5144 1979; (p. 46)

— Review of The Bushwackers Australian Song Book 1988 anthology poetry short story extract
Last amended 8 Jul 2021 08:48:32
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