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 Contemporary Bush Poets:
    A Grave Situation | A Round Tooit | A Second Glance | Chasing Your Dreams | Daybreak Over The Bay | Dingo |
    Down Memory Lane | Good Looker | Hey, Banjo, Have You Heard, Mate? | Infidelity | I Said | Mary |
    On the Banks of the Richmond River | Not Gone | Retiring | Riding with My Children | Rocky Creek | Seven Miles from Sydney |
    Small White Crosses | The Amway Man | The Bachelor | The Cattle Dog's Revenge | The Child & the Horse |
    The Day They Came Together | The English Rose | The Horse's Slave | The Hut | The Last Pit Pony | The Last Red Gum |
    The Old Wongoondy Hall | The Outback Cattle Drive | The Pontiff's Eyes |Valour Rode The Range | Westerly |
    You'll Win If You Can Grin

Melanie Hall

mellanieMelanie Hall is a third generation Australian Bush Storyteller. Her Grandfather, Arthur Fayers, 'The Galloping Ghan' was a legendary outback character who used the experiences of his career as a shearing contractor, cane cutter and fencer in rural Queensland to craft his stories. Melanie's Father, Frank Fayers inherited Arthur's skill and has been writing poetry for over forty years. The grounding that Melanie received from her Grandfather and Father shows in her writing, where the basis of some of her poems stem from the events and characters spoken of by them.

Reared in Townsville, where she still lives, Melanie is also well equipped to write on topics concerning city and suburban life. She presents her stories from the perspective of a wife and mother whilst retaining the bush style of her forbears.

Melanie began performing poetry at Country Music Festivals in 2001 where she relished the opportunity to relate her families' stories. In a short space of time she has developed into one of Bush Poetry's most accomplished performers, having been successful in many competitions. Including winning the title of Australian Champion 3 years running, she represented Australia at the National Cowboy Gathering in Elko, Nevada, and the Colorado Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Denver USA, after winning the Qantas Waltzing Matilda Poetry Championships in Winton, QLD.

As a yarn spinner Melanie has been successful in National Championships in this genre, and this talent shows in her on-stage presentations, where she delights audiences with her combination of yarn and verse.

From her school days she has developed a love of written poetry, especially the verse of the Classic Bush Poets. But it was not until the early 2000's that she attempted to write her own. From her initial efforts she has progressed to writing poems that have achieved great success for her both as competition and entertainment pieces.

Melanie has written a series of poetry for children and uses these poems in her schools workshop, where she receives immense satisfaction from the response she gets from both the Australian and American kids.

Her first CD "From the Bush to the Beach" is in its' third print, and a second album, "Big Words" has been released in January 2007. With her number of written poems steadily increasing Melanie also expects to have an anthology of verse published sometime in the near future. Although she maintains it is most unlikely to happen, as she is a superb procrastinator.

Melanie Hall's poem The English Rose

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Australian Bush Poetry Champions 1995 - 2009
Bush Poetry Championships
2010
Australian Bush Poetry Championships
NSW Bush Poetry Championships

2009
Australian Bush Poetry Championships
Queensland Bush Poetry Championships
Victorian Bush Poetry Championships

Past bush poetry championships

Bush Poetry Championships    Results   red a
Bush Poetry Championship Results
2009
Australian Bush Poetry Championship Results
Queensland Bush Poetry Championship Results
New South Wales Bush Poetry Championships Results
Victorian Bush Poetry Championships Results

2008
Australian Bush Poetry Championship Results
New South Wales Bush Poetry Championships Results
Queensland Bush Poetry Championship Results
Victorian Bush Poetry Championships Results


Results of past bush poetry championships
Blackened Billy 1987 - 2008
Bronze Swagman 1972 - 2008
Australian Bush Laureate Awards 1996 - 2009
Longyard Legends 1992 - 2009
Bush Poetry Competitions
2010
Tamworth Blackened Billy & Golden Damper
written & performance Competitions

Dunedoo Bush Poetry Festival

2009
Bronze Swagman Competition
Bush Lantern Award at Bundaberg
Little Swaggies' & Winton Junior Competitions
Dunedoo Bush Poetry Festival
Gympie Muster Bush Poetry Competition
Wool Wagon Awards

Past bush poetry competitions & festivals

Bush Poetry Competition     Results   red a
Bush Poetry Competition Results
2010
Blackened Billy & Golden Damper Results

2009
Blackened Billy & Golden Damper Results
Gippsland Bush Poets Club Championships
Gulgong Henry Lawson Festival Results
Snowy River Festival Bush Poetry Results
Waltzing Matilda Bush Poetry Awards - Winton
Wool Wagon Awards Results

2008
Beaudesert Bush Poetry Results
Bundy Bush Poetry Muster Results
Junior Online Bush Poetry Competition Results
Blackened Billy & Golden Damper Results
Wool Wagon Awards Results

Results of past bush poetry competitions
Competitions Organiser's Information
Information for Organisers
of Bush Poetry Competitions
Competition Rules
ABPA Bush Poetry Competition Rules
       1   ABPA Rules - Introduction
       2   Terminology and Definitions
       3   Categories
       4   Classes
       5   Poets' Brawl
       6   Yarn Spinning
       7   Closing Date
       8   Written Competitions
       9   Performance Competitions
      10  Championships
Contemporary Bush Poets
Bobby Miller
Bruce Simpson
Carmel Wooding
Carol Heuchan
Charlee Marshall
Claude Morris
David Campbell
Denis Kevans
Ellis Campbell
Gary Fogarty
Glenny Palmer
Graham Fredriksen
Gregory North
Guy McLean
Helen Avery
Jack Drake
Janine Haig
Keith Lethbridge
Kerry Lee
Marco Gliori
Mark Kleinschmidt
Max Merckenschlager
Maxine Ireland
Melanie Hall
Milton Taylor
Murray Hartin
Naked Poets
Neil Hulm
Noel Stallard
R M Williams
Ray Essery
Ron Liekefett
Ron Stevens
Rupert McCall
Shirley Friend
Terry Regan
Veronica Weal
Zita Horton

Contemporary Poems  red a
Contemporary Bush Poems
A Grave Situation
A Round Tooit
A Second Glance
Chasing Your Dreams
Daybreak Over The Bay
Dingo
Down Memory Lane
Good Looker
Hey, Banjo, Have You Heard, Mate?
I Said
Infidelity
Mary
Not Gone
On the Banks of the Richmond River
Retiring
Riding with My Children
Rocky Creek
Seven Miles from Sydney
Small White Crosses
The Amway Man
The Bachelor
The Cattle Dog's Revenge
The Child & the Horse
The Day They Came Together
The English Rose
The Horses Slave
The Hut
The Last Pit Pony
The Last Red Gum
The Old Wongoondy Hall
The Outback Cattle Drive
The Pontiff's Eyes
Valour Rode The Range
Westerly
You'll Win If You Can Grin
History of Bush Poetry
History of Bush Poets' Breakfasts
   Classic & Traditional Poets' Index

John O'Brien (Monsignore PJ Hartigan)
Henry Lawson

Classic & Traditional Poems  red a
About Ellis Campbell
Rhyme and Reason
Rhyme
Metre
Pattern
Words
Poetic Terminology
Inverted Phrases
Don't Make Your Poems Too Personal
Terminology
Importance of First Stanza
Metaphors and Similes
Finally...
But...
   Classical & Traditional Poetry

Where the Dead Men Lie
The Play
The Women of the West
How We Beat The Favourite
Said Hanrahan
Bell-Birds
Banjo, of the Overflow
Faces in the Street
My Country
Who's Riding Old Harlequin Now
The Riding of the Rebel
The Man From Snowy River
How McDougal Topped The Score