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y separately published work icon New Land, New Language : An Anthology of Australian Verse anthology   poetry  
Issue Details: First known date: 1957... 1957 New Land, New Language : An Anthology of Australian Verse
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Contents

* Contents derived from the Melbourne, Victoria,:Oxford University Press , 1957 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Introduction, Judith Wright , single work essay
'Poetry in Australia has found itself faced, from the very beginning, with a task of a rather special kind...'
 (p. x-xiii)
From Five Visions of Captain Cooki"Two chronometers the captain had,", Kenneth Slessor , single work poetry (p. 3)
By Momba Tracksi"The hearts of the everlasting flowers", Roderic Quinn , single work poetry (p. 4-5)
Bora Ringi"The song is gone; the dance", Judith Wright , single work poetry (p. 5-6)
The Waradgeri Tribe The Waragery Tribe The Wadgery Tribe The Waradgery Tribei"Harried we were, and spent,", Mary Gilmore , single work poetry (p. 6)
The Old Prisoni"The rows of cells are unroofed,", Judith Wright , single work poetry (p. 7)
The Cat-o'-Nine-Tails'i"Given the cat, it was not only that he ran", John Blight , single work poetry (p. 8-9)
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. 9-10)
The Teamsi"A cloud of dust on the long, white road,", Henry Lawson , single work poetry (p. 11-12)
Whalin' up the Lachlan (A Landowner's Song)i"I've eaten bitter bread", Louis Esson , single work poetry (p. 13-14)
The Man from Snowy Riveri"There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around", A. B. Paterson , single work poetry (p. 14-18)
The Old Black Billy an' Mei"The sheep are yarded, an' I sit", Louis Esson , single work poetry (p. 19)
Where the Dead Men Liei"Out on the wastes of the Never Never-", Barcroft Boake , single work poetry
A poem about the many man - settlers - who perished in the Australian outback, with allusions to the landscape itself as a possible cause of these deaths. 
 (p. 19-22)
From Burke and Wills (A Play for Radio)i"The silence is strange when the voices eddy and fade", Colin Thiele , single work poetry (p. 22-25)
The Roaring Daysi"The night too quickly passes,", Henry Lawson , single work poetry (p. 25-28)
Harry Pearcei"I sat beside the red stock route", David Campbell , single work poetry (p. 29)
Bullockyi"Beside his heavy-shouldered team,", Judith Wright , single work poetry (p. 30-31)
From A Drum for Ben Boydi"I had never before held death, pale and plished, in my", Francis Webb , single work poetry (p. 31-32)
South of My Daysi"South of my days' circle, part of my blood's country,", Judith Wright , single work poetry (p. 32-34)
Genesisi"`In the beginning,' said the old man,", Ray Mathew , single work poetry (p. 34-35)
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