Is that a Coolibah tree beside the abandoned house? Every Australian knows about Coolibah trees because the bush ballad Waltzing Matilda is nigh on our unoffical national anthem but most of us live nowhere near the inland where they grow. Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, Under the shade of a Coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me. Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
"To muse, to creep, to halt at will, to gaze ... such sweet wayfaring"
William Wordsworth
When my father was 10 - in 1931 - his teacher at Hornsby Public made them learn the 50 main towns of NSW. These towns went along each of the arms of the rail system as it was then. Many of these towns have fallen into disuse as the deployment of rail has altered. From memory the first town on the list was Picton. I will see how much he still remembers ...
ReplyDeleteThat list would be very interesting to see what has risen and fallen in the past 80 years.
ReplyDeleteI will take my recorder next Saturday ... better still I will video him as he tries to recite them ... he will enjoy that ...
ReplyDeleteHow nice it would be if we could see this working in the old days...
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