Alexander Vindex Vennard (1884-1947), collected yarns, ballads and anecdotes about bush life, which were published for about twenty-five years in a regular column 'On the Track' for the "North Queensland Register" and "Townsville Daily Bulletin". He adopted the pseudonym 'Bill Bowyang' after the straps buckled over trousers below the knees.
Disclaimer
The Race
By "Bill Bowyang."
Written in 1922.
Disclaimer
The Race
By "Bill Bowyang."
Written in 1922.
They were great days when bush beer went to its destination per horse-waggon, and the arrival of the chariot was an event that stirred township society to its depth. I remember one such town where the arrival of the cheering fluid was the signal for all the male population to turn out and help Mulloy, the publican, get his casks into position behind the bar. Then, as the glasses began to disappear down parched throats, old enemies became friends, and friends of long standing became enemies.
Old Jack Collins was generally the first to show the effects of the breaking of the drought. When I witnessed the last jamboree in the township he was standing on a stump outside the pub, clad only in hat, boots and fluttering shirt. At the foot of the stump sat an aboriginal, also in a hilarious condition, and singing in a cracked voice something about the plurry Gub'ment not giving him a blanket.
Inside the bar was to be heard the clink of many glasses, and presently a fierce argument started between Regan and Too-good about the racing abilities of their respective horses. This ended in a dash for the street, and presently Regan staggered back with a sorry looking piece of horseflesh. He was followed by Toogood leading a mare that had long since seen her best days.
Collins was pushed off the stump, and the publican, mounting the decayed piece of timber, announced that the horses would race twice around the block, and the owner of the losing animal would shout for the crowd. There was a slight delay in getting away from the starting post as Regan was found sleeping against the fence. Jim Barton, the only constable in the township, lifted him into the saddle, and away went both horses. Then the crowd adjourned to the bar to have another one, and promptly forgot all about the horse race.
An hour later someone remembered about the drinks that the loser was to shout, and after staggering nearly around the block the crowd found the two riders sleeping under the verandah of Martin's butcher's shop. The horses had returned to the homes of their owners.
Sources:
Old Jack Collins was generally the first to show the effects of the breaking of the drought. When I witnessed the last jamboree in the township he was standing on a stump outside the pub, clad only in hat, boots and fluttering shirt. At the foot of the stump sat an aboriginal, also in a hilarious condition, and singing in a cracked voice something about the plurry Gub'ment not giving him a blanket.
Inside the bar was to be heard the clink of many glasses, and presently a fierce argument started between Regan and Too-good about the racing abilities of their respective horses. This ended in a dash for the street, and presently Regan staggered back with a sorry looking piece of horseflesh. He was followed by Toogood leading a mare that had long since seen her best days.
Collins was pushed off the stump, and the publican, mounting the decayed piece of timber, announced that the horses would race twice around the block, and the owner of the losing animal would shout for the crowd. There was a slight delay in getting away from the starting post as Regan was found sleeping against the fence. Jim Barton, the only constable in the township, lifted him into the saddle, and away went both horses. Then the crowd adjourned to the bar to have another one, and promptly forgot all about the horse race.
An hour later someone remembered about the drinks that the loser was to shout, and after staggering nearly around the block the crowd found the two riders sleeping under the verandah of Martin's butcher's shop. The horses had returned to the homes of their owners.
Sources:
- On the Track. (1922, February 2). Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1907 - 1954), p. 2.
- A Late Cross Country Mail, c. 1850s, Samuel Thomas Gill, Dixson Library, State Library of New South Wales
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