Brigalow Mick

Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant 1864 (Bridgwater, Somerset) – 1902 (Pretoria)



A dandy old horsernan is Brigalow Mick-
   Which his name, sir, is Michael O'Dowd -
Whatever he's riding, when timber is thick,
   He is always in front of the crowd.

A few tangled locks that are fast turning white
   Crown a physog. the colour of brick,
But as keen as a kestrel's-as bold and as bright -
   Is the blue eye of Brigalow Mick.

He is Martin's head-stockman, on Black-Cattle Creek -
   All the boys there are rare ones to ride -
But Mick is the 'daddy'; and far you may seek
   Ere you find such an artist in hide.

He'll turn out a halter, or stockwhip can make,
   As you've seldom cast eyes on before;
And never the 'nugget' was calved that could break
   Michael's whips, which he plaits by the score.

All the lads on the station are handy enough,
   Nor are frightened of grafting too hard,
But Mick, if the cattle are rowdy and rough,
   Is the pick of 'em all in a yard.

A bad colt to tackle - a mad one to steer
   Through thick timber - you'll hear Martin boast -
Mick yet is unrivalled, there isn't his peer
   Right from Camooweal in to the coast.

Ay! long may it be ere the scrubs are bereft
   Of the clearskins that give us the sport,
And long may the station have stock-riders left,
   Of the build of old Brigalow's sort.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 01, 2023

1:14 min read
36

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CACA DEDE FGFG HIHI JKJK LMLM
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,231
Words 237
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant

Harry "Breaker" Harbord Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902) was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, bush poet and military officer, who was convicted and executed for murder during the Second Anglo-Boer War. While serving with the Bushveldt Carbineers during the Second Anglo-Boer War, Lieutenant Morant was arrested and court-martialed for war crimes—one of the first such prosecutions in British military history. According to military prosecutors, Morant retaliated for the death in combat of his commanding officer with a series of revenge killings against both Boer POWs and many civilian residents of the Northern Transvaal. more…

All Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant poems | Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant Books

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