ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Hello all,
This is just a 'heads up' as the lingo goes, for a time slot reservation -

THE CAMOOWEAL DROVERS' CAMP FESTIVAL
is being held this year from 24th to 26th August.

The festival includes a street parade, a mail race, a drovers' ball, art and photography exhibitions, traditional camp cooking and horsie events like bronco branding all in the ambience of a genuine outback town.
There is country/ballad type music all day Saturday at the Drovers' Camp and on Sunday there is BUSH POETRY Yahoo! It begins with a poet's breakfast and goes into a Talent Quest. Last year the talent quest featured poems, yarns and songs all judged together. The idea, as yet to be finalised, for this year in to have three separate sections with a prize for the winner of each one and then for the best competitor over 2 sections to be awarded the coveted Drovers' Camp Talent Award trophy.

You can get details of the festival direct from Liz Flood http://www.droverscamp.com.au and if it is the competition you are interested in, then you contact me as the co-ordinator.

Just thought it would be a great little outing for all you southern folk to come and join us on the border of the N.T. and Queensland
- not all that far!! Last year we had a great time.

Cheers
Brenda

Brenda,

May get there next year, will be at Gympie this year.

G'day Peter,
2013 will do fine - look forward to seeing you both again whenever.
Brenda

G'day Brenda,

Is there a caravan park? And would we need to book very far in advance? We will probably still be travelling at that time and you never now where we will end up.

So how far are you from where? (Please ignore my ignorance) How big is the town? Is the festival held in town or in the local sports oval? What are the ticket prices?

Zondrae, I'm replying here as others might like the information too.

It would be wonderful if you could make it to Camooweal. I go out there from Charters Towers. I'm not going to say how far as I don't want to put you off.

Right on the Queensland/N.T. border it has 1 pub, 1 small grocery shop, 1 3 class primary school, 1 caravan park...etc. get the picture?

You might have to book in to the caravan park just for the festival dates. You do it through the Post Office pub but if you were to approach Liz Flood the co-ordinator of the Drover's Camp Festival, closer to the date when she knows the capacity of the camp, she might even allow you - as a poet - to stay at the camp itself but that does get a bit noisy. Many of us just stay down on the river where there are no facilities but lots of bird life. Liz can be reached by going on to the Camooweal Drover's Camp Website.

The street parade, ball, etc. are in the town, the horse race is at the racecourse, but the music and poetry and camp drafting events are at the Drover's Camp itself which is 2 kms from town. Not sure of the entry cost - that's Liz's department, my part is only the talent quest and bush poets breakfast so best to go direct - but it's not an arm and a leg.

I can't give details of the poetry as yet as nothing has been finalized but I will pm you when I know and once again, it would be SOOOO GREAT to have you along. The trophy is a beautiful figurine - bronze I think - of a man and his horse - different each year so no-one knows what it will be until it arrives at the festival, but it will be worth competing for.

Kind regards and I'll keep in touch
Brenda