The Ballad of Tom Dale
I was born in the land of Xmas pudd, fish’n’chips and grass so green and lush,
One morn I stole a teacake and was grabbed, slapped and sent to jail
E'bah gum the judge exclaimed you’re off to the land of the bush,
A farmer’s lad to Portsmouth I was sent, the next wind and tide we set sail.
So sick was I on the high seas on this tall sailing ship,
Down in the hold with thieves, vagabonds and unlucky sods like me,
Two by two in leg irons held in a vice like grip,
No more running after new born lambs and holding high with glee.
The mighty swell of the ocean rolled us up and down,
As the captains call to man the sail could be heard above the wind,
Time eroded days, as we with legs apart'n'heads bowed like a sleeping clown,
The storms encompass faded into calm, surely now we've paid our sins.
Wake up Tom Dale off with irons; you must answer the captain’s call',
The master of arms pulled and dragged me up and onto deck,
A bucket of sea water thrown over me to rid me of any gall,
Then scrubbed and rubbed till of dirt t'was not a speck.
'Enter' boomed the captain as weathered fist rapped upon his cabin door,
With a push a tumbled step stood me a trembling mess,
'Are young Tom a sheep farmers son, pities sake you broke the law,
A task for thee, we on load merino sheep at the Cape in two days or less,
You will tend in good fettle, for Macarthur we must please.'
Jumped heart filled my mouth, in joy my body full,
A thousand thankyou's sir, al tend 'em wi' mi' life across these mighty seas.'
'Take him on to bunk now, and make company for the bull.'
Dark colored men, camels, soldiers, thriving dock a sight to behold,
Sweat toil and shouting, sheep, goats and chickens scatter amok,
The sun bears witness as my eyes gazed on merino gold, memories flooded of seventeen summers among the Yorkshire flock.
Fresh food water and citrus fruit quickly loaded onto deck,
My feet on Terra Nova grabbing rams to scramble all aboard,
The ewes surely followed to account the captains check,
Now all secure we sail on with providence of the lord.
The Great Australian Bight tossed us like a cork
As bobbing little ship held course for Sydney town,
Captain Cook to thank for charting out this course,
Seems the course of my life has now been set down.
Shouts awaken' Land ahoy! Sydney cove ahead',
Waving people, soldiers of the corps, convicts’n’
Squawking seagulls 'Ho too my lads. Throw down the lead'
Tying down as the sea caressed the hull with gentle laps.
I knew it was he with that strong chiseled face,
As eye's surveyed his merino stock with beckon hand
Macarthur held my shoulder, Elizabeth in cotton and lace
'Wonder wonders what a stock to grace this sunburned land.'
The gates of 'Elizabeth Farm stood by a billabong,
With water fresh to quench the thirst of a dry merino throng,
A welcome face did Elizabeth convey this historic day,
Convict lads and I will work and toil and forever stay.
This land of endless sunshine peeling shadows every morn,
As shears fleeced and danced the clickerty clacks,
Sheds to build and land to clear working from the dawn,
To feed this nation thru' strong hard yakka backs,
On nearby gum trees the kookaburras sang,
'Clickerty clackerty coo, clickerty clackerty coo,
See the fleece fall ever so rackerty,
Clickerty clackerty coo, clickerty clackerty coo
Macarthur left for England to seal the trading game,
And Elizabeth in his absence built a vast farming frame,
I felt proud for the future of the Ozzie world beating flock,
Who would believe it to grow to a one hundred million stock.
Now
From the ice curtained sky gazing down from heaven
My most cherished joy right from the start of,
Seventeen-hundred and ninety-seven, was
To see the mighty industrial revolution devouring our wool,
For warmth against winter’s dart,
For little babies at life's start and,
Warming the cockles of many an Anzac's heart,
poem by Ken e Hall
Added by Poetry Lover
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