There are many of Banjo Pattersons verses that are more popular than this
But I'll leave the Kipling Readers to look them up and experience the Bliss.

They are best heard from the mouth of an Aussie,
Than to be told by the lips of a Pommie. 


The Gundaroo Bullock

Oh, there's some that breeds the Devon that's as solid as a stone,
And there's some that breeds the brindle which they call the "Goulburn Roan";
But amongst the breeds of cattle there are very, very few
Like the hairy-whiskered bullock that they bred at Gundaroo.


Far away by Grabben Gullen, where the Murrumbidgee flows,
There's a block of broken countryside where no one ever goes;
For the banks have gripped the squatters, and the free selectors too,
And their stock are always stolen by the men of Gundaroo.


There came a low informer to the Grabben Gullen side,
And he said to Smith the squatter, "You must saddle up and ride,
For your bullock's in the harness-cask of Morgan Donahoo --
He's the greatest cattle-stealer that abides in Gundaroo."


"Oh, ho!" said Smith, the owner of the Grabben Gullen run,
"I'll go and get the troopers by the sinking of the sun,
And down into his homestead to-night we'll take a ride,
With warrants to identify the carcase and the hide."


That night rode down the troopers, the squatter at their head,
They rode into the homestead, and pulled Morgan out of bed.
"Now, show to us the carcase of the bullock that you slew --
The great marsupial bullock that you killed in Gundaroo."


They peered into the harness-cask, and found it wasn't full,
But down among the brine they saw some flesh and bits of wool.
"What's this?" exclaimed the trooper -- "an infant, I declare;"
Said Morgan, "'Tis the carcase of an old man native bear.
I heard that ye were coming, so an old man bear I slew,
Just to give you kindly welcome to my home in Gundaroo.


"The times is something awful, as you can plainly see,
The banks have broke the squatters, and they've broke the likes of me;
We can't afford a bullock -- such expense would never do --
So an old man bear for breakfast is a treat in Gundaroo."


And along by Grabben Gullen, where the rushing river flows,
In the block of broken country where there's no one ever goes,
On the Upper Murrumbidgee they're a hospitable crew,
But you mustn't ask for "bullock" when you go to Gundaroo.

*********************


About the author:
Andrew Barton Paterson was born on 17 February 1864 at Narambla,
New South Wales.  He lived at Illalong station until he was ten,
when he went to Sydney to attend school.  He trained as a solicitor
(a type of lawyer) but also contributed some verse to the Sydney "Bulletin"
under the pseudonym of "The Banjo", taken from the name of a horse.
His first book, "The Man from Snowy River", was published in 1895,
and has sold more copies than any other book of Australian poetry.
He later gave up law to become a journalist, and went to South Africa
to report on the Boer War.  When World War I broke out
he sought work as a war correspondent, but failed to get it.
He then went to work driving an ambulance in France, and later became
a Remount Officer with the Australian forces then in Egypt.
After returning to Australia in 1919 he continued as a writer,
and died in Sydney on 5 February 1941.

Paterson's most famous work is "Waltzing Matilda", written in 1895,
and now an unofficial anthem of Australia.  "The Man from Snowy River"
has since become the inspiration for a well-known movie of the same name,
and even a series on a cable television network.  "Clancy of the Overflow"
is similarly well known.
*************************

You can read a few more in my Celebration of Banjo Patterson 
on my Listbot e-mail Temple Poetry site.

Address:                Translation:
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At 07:50 AM 6/25/99 +0100, you wrote:Dear Ron
>Banjo Patterson sounds intriguing. I wonder how far he stands comparison
>with Rober Service the great chronicler of the Yukon ('A bunch of the boys
>were whooping it up in the Malamute Saloon...' - ''The Ballad of Dangerous
>Dan McGrew') ? Can you give us an example of Patterson's work ?
>
>It might be interesting to do a feature on Kipling and the balladeers ?
>
>Yes indeed, any volunteers.
>
>All good wishes, John Radcliffe
>**********************************



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