ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Look this story up - I think it's good fodder for something-
not sure what yet...

I'm a camel drover you hear,
they call me the mad cameleer.
My Harry's the one
what discharged the gun
and spoilt John Horrocks' good cheer!


Harry was the name of the first Camel to be used in an expedition
and John Horrocks was the explorer.

nine camels were bought from Canary
this might sound a little contrary
the other eight died
but Harry he thrived
but of rifles ever after was wary

with very good reason it seemed
for in truth he was not esteemed
the shot was a fluke
when the camel did spook
the result nobody could have dreamed

Horrocks said to shoot Harry dead
a bullet direct to the head
Harry got in first bite
which I think is all right
but he failed in the battle with lead.

Well done Maureen,

It's a great story isn't it.
Truth stranger than fiction?

Could be really funny if it wasn't so tragic!

Sorry to hijack Wendy but that's very interesting that you mention Horrocks.
There was a man on that expedition by the name of Samuel Thomas Gill who later published a diary of the events in the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register.

Gill was an English born artist, mainly of watercolours. Between 1846 and 1880 Gill did many wonderful little watercolour pictures of scenes in the outback ( from Horrocks expedition ) life on the gold fields, pictures of swaggies, bush dances, drovers and gold prospectors, and whaling in South Australia, which are well worth having a look at, for anyone interested in bush poetry or the wild colonial days. I have had a plan to post something in the yarns section on S.T. Gill, I'll get round to it one day.

Hi Nev,
Yes, I had a great time reading about Gill too.
Such an interesting expedition, one that I hadn't known of before.

I got bored so did a Harry with a hump Probably not up to Gils standards but ain't technology wonderful