Wicked Witch.

[Rimeriter]

Wicked Witch
of
Wattle Flat.

Does she exist ?
One cannot be sure,
but her presence was near,
in days of yore.
*
Let’s now go back to that dreaded time
to the day we were sure all was not sublime.
The weather was fine, the trip most extensive,
until this day we are still very pensive.

We set out early from old Bathurst Town
to travel to Hill End, a place of renown
for miners and ‘spivs’ and glittering gold,
to visit the diggings and their relics behold.

It was during this journey that we made a stop
for relief and refreshment from the only shop
along the old road to Sofala and Hill End,
when - suddenly as happens we rounded a bend.

The old broken sign was lopsided and sat
up on a post and told us that
we had without knowing, reached Wattle Flat.

It was not a township - hardly even a village -
not much around for even bushrangers to pillage.
Just a few houses - no bus stop - no ‘phone
all we could hear was a flys steady drone. In the Aussie bush as the locals will tell,
the bloody bush flys will sure give you hell.

But if you wear that very sensible hat,
with corks all around when in Wattle Flat,
bushflys will not get into your eyes or your ears
you can grin broadly at others whose fears
keep them at home to avoid the nuisance
of bushflys and blowflys and great big bull ants.

But now to the witch --
we must explain
before your tempered patience begins to wane.
Does she exist ?
by crikey she does.
How do we know that ? Well it is becuz --
from a nearby house emanated a ‘cackle’
causing everyones hair to raise in a hackle.

“It’s the witch” “It’s the witch”
somebody cried,
we all looked around for places to hide.
We peered and we probed through the deepening gloom
and then came another - from the very front room,
of a ramshackle cottage with a roof made from tin.
We wondered what could be causing the din !

Now,
we know a good story is structured in truth
so, if you want to hear - a witch say “forsooth”
then you too must visit old Wattle Flat
then you will know how in time - it begat
a continuing saga retold many times,
committed to verse with words making rhymes,
which continued a fable - ‘mongst family and friends
then you will know too how this story ends.

(c). Rimeriter. 2/8/97.
Revised from WriteNow 7/9/10.

[Neville Briggs]

I first went to Sofala and Hill End in 1964. We didn't find any witches or any gold, but we went for a swim in the river at Wallaby Rocks...freezing.