- My
life has been long, full and rich spent in one of the earth's most
beautiful
spots, I
thank him who gave me life and decreed that this is where my life
- should
have been spent. Many of you I know, but you remember me not; spare
- a
thought for my son who, when first born, was carried by the birds up
to the
- banks
of the higher Kowmung. Pause beneath him now and then let your
laughter,
your
talk and your enjoyment of the Australian Bush drift up to him.
Ode to
Harry's Humpy
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"Old
Father Cox" seems to be peculiarly popular. Apart from the fact
that the Cox - in its lower
reaches
at least - seems to have the same solid serenity I imagine the
original O.F. Thames
- possesses,
the parody is not a good one.
- It
has to be "squeezed" to fit it into anything like the
original metre. Still, walkers just have
- to
sing about their will-beloved stream and I submit it to you as a
Poor Thing - but mine own.
-
- Old
Father Cox
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- A
bend of the Cox's River
- A tumbledown old
shack
- A
view of the wild dog mountains
- Hobnail
prints along the track.
-
- Smoke
pall all along the stream
- Whine
of buzz saw' pon the ricks
- Satellites
around the earth
- Caterpillar
tracks across the Cox.
-
- The
broken down slab fence
- A
quiet and peaceful region
- Citrus
trees around the Humpy
- Black
snakes and Bushwalkers in season
-
- Crash
of steel, clank of chain
- Ponderous
monsters lurch and slither
- Two
way radio, four wheel drive
- Diesel
boat plying down the river
-
- Moody's
track is gone
- Oaky
creek is never dry
- A
city's thirst is quenched
- A
way of life slips by.
-
Paul Manahan.
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- Hailing
from Lithgow, joining kowmung,
- Down
to the Wollondilly,
- Old
father Cox keeps rolling along,
- Down
to the mighty sea.
- Walkers
may come, and stockmen may go.
- Whatever
the end may be.
- Old
father Cox keeps rolling along,
- Down
to the Mighty Sea.
-
- He
never seems to hurry,
- Doesn't
care for fortune's fame.
- he
never seems to worry,
- But
he gets there just the same.
-
- Call
him Warragamba-Nepean - what you will,
- Call
him even Hawkesbury.
- 'tis
the spirit of father Cox that rolls, rolls, along,
- Down
to the mighty sea.
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