Bush Poetry: Poor Old Grandad!

When seeing the dunny in the previous post, I couldn't help but remember this bush poem:

Poor Old Grandad!

Poor old Granddad's passed away, cut off in his prime,
He never had a day off crook - gone before his time,
We found him in the dunny, collapsed there on the seat,
A startled look upon his face, his trousers around his feet,
The doctor said his heart was good - fit as any trout,
The Constable he had his say, 'foul play' was not ruled out.
There were theories at the inquest of snakebite without trace,
Of redbacks quietly creeping and death from outer space,
No-one had a clue at all - the judge was in some doubt,
When Dad was called to have his say as to how it came about,
'I reckon I can clear it up,' said Dad with trembling breath,
'You see it's quite a story - but it could explain his death.'
'This here exploration mob had been looking at our soil,
And they reckoned that our farm was just the place for oil,
So they came and put a bore down and said they'd make some trials,
They drilled a hole as deep as hell, they said about three miles.
Well, they never found a trace of oil and off they went, post haste,
And I couldn't see a hole like that go to flamin' waste,
So I moved the dunny over it - real smart move I thought,
I'd never have to dig again - I'd never be 'caught short'.
The day I moved the dunny, it looked a proper sight,
But I didn't dream poor Granddad would pass away that night,
Now I reckon what has happened - poor Granddad didn't know,
The dunny was re-located when that night he had to go.
And you'll probably be wondering how poor Granddad did his dash--
Well, he always used to hold his breath
Until he heard the splash!!

by Grahame Watt aka Skew Wiff

To hear an Aussie reading it, here at the ABC.

Glebe Weir

Glebe Weir would not be one of my normal stops.  I prefer to camp where there is no one within cooee¹. But, I was stuffed², so stopped for a couple of days.

It's marked as a spot for grey nomads to camp. and gets a listing as a great fishing spot. Some are refusing to fish there now. During my time, no one was catching anything. The recently opened Woleebee Creek to Glebe Weir Pipeline was getting the blame. It will be discharging up to 100 megaliters of Coal Seam Gas (CSG) water per day into the weir for the next 25 years.

I wouldn't be getting the cozzie³ out for a swim in it.

Long drop

Just through the gates at the weir, you can't miss seeing the dunny⁴. Unlike the modern ones, it has a good long drop built into it to ensure no splash back.


Australian Slang

1. cooee: nearby
2. stuffed: tired
3. cozzie: swimming costume
4. dunny: toilet