ABPA — The Australian Bush Poets Association Inc.

Welcome to the Australian Bush Poets Association

WELCOME. Membership of the Australian Bush Poets Association (ABPA) is comprised of writers, performers and individuals who are interested in bush poetry and enjoy written and live stories in rhyme and metre. If you have an interest in this piece of Australian culture called bush poetry, you have come to the right place.

Aims
The objectives of the Australian Bush Poets Association are to foster and encourage the growth of bush poetry in Australia. By definition, Australian bush poetry is metred and rhymed poetry about Australia, Australians and/or the Australian way of life.

Membership
To join the Australian Bush Poets Association and receive our bi-monthly magazine, go to our Membership page.

The ABPA keeps in touch with its members through this website (and forum) and our bi-monthly magazine of bush poetry news, events, results of written and performance competitions as well as samples of contemporary bush poetry. Many members have books, CDs and other products. These can be advertised in the magazine. For rates, click here. The deadline for ads and other content for the magazine is the 22nd of the month preceding publication. Magazines are published at the beginning of February, April, June, August, October and December.

Check out our Facebook page.

2024 Tenterfield Oracles of the Bush Festival

The Yellow Shirt volunteers and professional performers close the Tenterfield Oracles of the Bush event.

Newly-awarded Lifetime ABPA member, Marion Fitrzgerald, encouraged students to perform at the Oracles competitions through workshops at schools prior to the big event.

A bittersweet Tenterfield Oracles Of The Bush 2024. Sell-out crowds and their biggest ever lineup, was soured by the fact that after twenty seven years, they were pulling up stumps.
A remarkable run by a purely boutique Bush Poetry Festival, and leaving behind a wonderful lineup of past winners of the Looming Legends Performance Competition as well as a Who’s Who of local inductees into the Oracles Legends Hall Of Fame.
Sadly, weather came to thwart the weekend and the traditional opening, the Bush Poets Breakfast, was moved from Bruxner Park to the Showground Pavilion, as was the Friday Night Campfire Yarns and the Sunday Breakfast in the Park. All other events went ahead as scheduled.
The Bush Poetry fraternity and the town of Tenterfield should be extremely proud of what they have achieved for Bush Poetry in those twenty seven years, and the Oracles were the first Bush Poetry Festival to reemerge after the Covid days and put Poets back on the stage after a couple of years absence. And all through the tireless work of the Yellow Shirts, Tenterfield’s Volunteer Brigade!

The work put in by this group over the years has been phenomenal and to have events in Paul Petrie’s barn (pictured above) once more, took the memories back a long way.

With the Bush Poetry Troupe of (l to r) Bill Kearns, myself, Melanie Hall, Marco Gliori, Susan Carcary, Gary Fogarty, Kylie Castle (muso), Greg North and Ray Essery, it was great to see sold-out concerts, lunches and breakfasts.
It started with the Welcome Dinner at the Transport Museum on the Thursday Night. Friday saw the Lion’s Club Brekkie, the Children’s Concert and Competition then the first heats of the Looming Legends competition and campfire yarns.
Saturday had Poets Breakfasts at the Tenterfield Golf Club, The Tenterfield Motor Inn and at Paul Petrie’s Barn, all sell outs. Lunch shows were full at Paul’s Barn, Arajay Downs, the Ivy Chapel and the Tenterfield Transport Museum. Next up was the second heats of the Looming Legends and then the major event, The Saturday Night Poet’s Concert, a night or laughter, tears, reminiscing and catching up.
Sunday Morning Poetry In The Park was again moved indoors and for the last time, the Walk-Up Poets battled it out in the One Minute Cup, fighting for this year’s Trophy, a metal rain gauge (which was handmade and donated by Paul Petrie). The winner was 92-year-old Melba Austin who wrote her poem on toilet paper!

Winner of the Looming Legends 2024 Competition of Oracles of the Bush, Lara Flanagan, pictured with 2015 Legend Perry Condrick.

The Looming Legends Competition was one of the most closely fought yet, but it was the Ladies triumphing, with local, Lara Flanagan, taking out both sections. She defeated Claire Reynolds in the Previously Published Section and Debby Berryman in the Original Section. Debby Berryman also took out the Audience Award for most popular performance of the Oracles with here rendition of Milton Taylor’s ‘The Saga Of Cecil’.
So sadly, another era comes to a close, but the memories left behind by the Oracles of the Bush, has forever put Tenterfield into the heart of Australian Bush Poetry.
Macpoet (Neil McArthur).

See full results here.

Victorian State Championships at The Man From Snowy River Festival

The winners.

Poets on parade.

The Man From Snowy River Bush Festival in Corryong, Victoria, once again hosted the Victorian State Championships of Bush Poetry.

See full results here.

Past Magazines now online

The historic magazines of the ABPA from its inception in 1994 are now available here. See how we used to look!