Contents:
A convict’s tour to hell / Francis Macnamara (‘Frank the Poet’) p16.
The beautiful squatter / Charles Harpur p22.
Taking the census / Charles R. Thatcher p23.
The sick stockrider / Adam Lindsay Gordon p25.
My other Chinee cook / James Brunton Stephens p30.
Bell-birds / Henry Kendall p32.
Are you the cove? / Joseph Furphy (‘Tom Collins’) p34.
How McDougall topped the score / Thomas E. Spencer p35.
The wail of the waiter / Marcus Clarke p38.
Where the pelican builds / Mary Hannay Foott p40.
Catching the coach / Alfred T. Chandler (‘Spinifex’) p41.
Narcissus and some tadpoles / Victor J. Daley p44.
Nine miles from Gundagai / Jack Moses p48.
The Duke of Buccleuch / J.A. Philp p49.
How we drove the trotter / W.T. Goodge p50.
Our ancient ruin / ‘Crupper D’ p52.
The Brucedale scandal / Mary Gilmore p53.
Since the country carried sheep / Harry Morant (‘The Breaker’) p56.
The man from Ironbark / A.B. Paterson (‘The Banjo’) p58.
The old whim-horse / Edward Dyson p60.
Where the dead men lie / Barcroft Boake p62.
Australia / Bernard O’Dowd p64.
The stockman’s cheque / E.W. Hornung p65.
The bullocky’s love-episode / A.F. York p67.
The bastard from the bush / Anonymous p70.
When your pants begin to go / Henry Lawson p72.
The fisher / Roderic Quinn p74.
The mystery man / ‘NQ’ p75.
Emus / Mary Fullerton p76.
The death of Ben Hall / Will H. Ogilvie p77.
The coachman’s yarn / E.J. Brady p80.
Fire in the heavens, and fire along the hills / Christopher Brennan p83.
The orange tree / John Shaw Neilsen p84.
Dummy Bridge / C.J. Dennis p86.
Morning / Hugh McRae p90.
Said Hanrahan / P.J. Hartigan (‘John O’Brien’) p94.
The Victoria Markets recollected in tranquillity / Frank Wilmot (‘Furnley Maurice’) p97.
Sea music / W.J. Turner p104.
Dusk in The Domain / Dorothea Mackellar p106.
Kangaroo / D.H. Lawrence p107.
Women are not gentlemen / Harley Matthews p110.
Day’s end / Lesbia Harford p115.
The jester in the trench / Leon Gellert p116.
On having grown old / Ernest G. Moll p117.
South country / Kenneth Slessor p120.
Football field: evening / J.A.R. McKellar p121.
Country places / A.D. Hope p122.
They’ll tell you about me / Ian Mudie p124.
Death of a whale / John Blight p126.
A country song / Douglas Stewart p127.
Bullocky / Judith Wright p128.
The Australian dream / David Campbell p129.
The tomb of Lt. John Learmonth, A.I.F. / John Manifold p131.
Song cycle of the moon-bone / Wonguri-Mandjigai People, translated by Ronald M. Berndt p133.
Because / James McAuley p140.
A curse on Herod / Amy Witting p142.
A simple story / Gwen Harwood p144.
The cliff / David Rowbotham p148.
Lament for St Maria Goretti / Francis Webb p150.
Stroke / Vincent Buckley p152.
All friends together / R.A. Simpson p158.
Affair of the heart / Peter Porter p160.
Life-cycle / Bruce Dawe p162.
Defeat / Evan Jones p164.
Bequest / Philip Martin p165.
Balmoral summer ’66 / Vivian Smith p166.
Early discoveries / David Malouf p167.
Threnody for Patrick White / Barry Humphries p169.
Melbourne / Chris Wallace-Crabbe p170.
At the baths / Graeme Kinross Smith p171.
A lifetime devoted to literature / Judith Rodriguez p173.
The quality of sprawl / Les Murray p176.
Bring me the sweat of Gabriela Sabatini / Clive James p178.
Smalltown memorials / Geoff Page p181.
The old colonist / Andrew Taylor p182.
The old rifle / Geoffrey Lehmann p184.
The blizzard / Roger McDonald p186.
Anyone home? / John Tranter p188.
In departing light / Robert Gray p192.
Sestina on taking a bus into Perth past the Narrows Bridge / Hal Colebatch p197.
Kidding myself in Kuta, Bali: a pantoum / Alan Smith p198.
Learning to write / Gary Catalano p199.
Profiles of my father / Rhyll McMaster p200.
Barbecue / Peter Kocan p202.
My grandmother’s ghost / Kate Jennings p203.
Ballade for Alan Gould / Alan Wearne p204.
Pliers / Alan Gould p206.
On seeing the first flasher / Vicki Raymond p208.
Ode to Karl Marx / John Forbes p212.
Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis / Stephen Edgar p213.
The members of the orchestra / Kevin Hart p215.
The Ferris wheel / Jennifer Harrison p216.
The domesticity of giraffes / Judith Beveridge p218.
When I consider / Gig Ryan p219.
Sky writing / Sarah Day p220. Life / Kathleen Stewart p221.
The big goanna / Philip Hodgins p222.
Holy Sydney / Harry Cummins p224
Kristallnacht / Jemal Sharah p226.
After Wendy Cope / Stephen McInerney p227.