In Memory of the Drovers

IN MEMORY OF THE DROVERS

Out by the Conkleberry bushes, where the big buck Spinifex grows,

Over breakaway country and ridges; where Kimberley Rivers flow.

Where wild donkeys gather and the frill neck lizards run,

And the dingoes stay in hiding till day is nearly done.

By secluded waterholes, where the brumbies come to drink,

In the full moon's eerie glow, you'll see a hundred ghosts I think.

Perhaps of old Tom Quilty or others who came before,

Men who loved the bush and never heard the slamming of a door.

You might see the drover's herds as they feed across the plain;

Heading north and west; never to see New South Wales again.

Maybe led by Patsy Durack, or others of his kind,

Men with a new land's vision, men who were not blind.

And if you look real careful, you'll see packs upon their mules,

Packed by men of substance, who won't tolerate the fools.

And if you listen hard you might hear their whips begin to crack,

Used by men who go forward, seldom turning back.

You might even hear them singing as they ride night watch on the herd;

But when the cattle rush, they'll ride hard, saying not a word.

Men who tamed the outback; who reaped just what they sowed,

Who put the herds together and with pride they fairly glowed.

Then the images fade, as the moon goes behind a cloud,

And the wild horses run into nights' darkened shroud.

And left behind I wonder, if the past is really gone,

For I'm sure there are men today who show the spirit of old Tom.

This poem is dedicated to the memory of

Charles Torrance MacMicking (22.07.28 - 20.06.95).

The last of the true Kimberley drovers.

© Corin Linch 29th June 1995 - Rewrite 16/1/07

    Old Mac was my wife’s step father, when I first went to Moola Bulla he had a contract mustering plant, in the earlier years he had walked fat bullocks from the stations in the Halls Creek area up to the Wyndham meat-works. His reputation as a drover was second to none, he was the last of the Kimberley drovers. Tom Quilty and Patsy Durack should need no introduction to anyone familiar with Australian bush history.