60 Classic Australian Poems for Children Read online

Poems of Adam Lindsay Gordon, Oxford University Press, London, 1913

  Freedom on the Wallaby

  The Worker, Federated Workers of Queensland, Brisbane, 16 May 1891 (p 8)

  Fur and Feathers

  The Animals Noah Forgot, Endeavour Press, Sydney, 1933

  Geebung Polo Club, The

  The Antipodean, George Robertson & Co., Melbourne, December 1893

  Going to School

  A Book for Kids, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1921

  Hist!

  A Book for Kids, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1921

  How M’Dougal Topped the Score

  The Bulletin vol. 19 no. 943, 12 March 1898

  Last of His Tribe, The

  Poems of Henry Kendall, George Robertson & Co., Melbourne, 1886

  Lights of Cobb and Co., The

  The Bulletin (Christmas edition) vol. 18 no. 930, 11 December 1897 (p 7)

  Man From Ironbark, The

  The Bulletin (Christmas edition) vol. 12 no. 670, 17 December 1892 (p 1)

  Man From Snowy River, The

  The Bulletin vol. 11 no. 532; 26 April 1890 (p 13)

  Mr Smith

  Bush-Babs: with pictures, Endeavour Press, Sydney, 1933

  Mulga Bill’s Bicycle

  The Sydney Mail, 25 July 1896

  My Typewriter

  The Bulletin vol. 38 no. 1960, 6 September 1917 (p 45)

  Native Companions Dancing

  Collected Poems of John Shaw Neilson, Lothian, Melbourne, 1934

  Old Granny Sullivan

  The Bookfellow, 17 January 1907 (p 8)

  Old Man Platypus

  The Animals Noah Forgot, Endeavour Press, Sydney, 1933

  On the Night Train

  Birth, A Little Journal of Australian Poetry vol. 6 no. 64, March 1922 (p 25)

  ‘Ough!’

  The Bulletin, vol 27 no. 1372, 31 May 1906

  Pieman, The

  A Book for Kids, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1921

  Pioneers

  The Song of Manly Men and other verses, David Nutt, 1908

  Pioneers

  Australian Town and Country Journal vol. 53 no. 1402, 19 December 1896

  Pitchin’ at the Church

  Around the Boree Log and other verses, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1922

  Poets

  The Herald, 22 December 1936

  Post-Hole Mick

  The Days of Cobb & Co. and other verses; Federal Printing Works, Parramatta, 1906

  Roaring Days, The

  The Bulletin (Christmas edition) vol. 10 no. 514, 21 December 1889 (p 26)

  Ruined Reversolet, A

  The Bulletin vol. 29 no. 1505, 17 December, 1908, The Red Page (p 2)

  Said Hanrahan

  Around the Boree Log and other verses, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1922

  Santa Claus in the Bush

  Australian Town and Country Journal vol. 73 no. 1923, 12 December 1906 (p 34)

  Shearer’s Wife, The

  The Bulletin vol. 28 no. 1431, 18 July 1907 (p 14)

  Snake Yarn, A

  The Bulletin vol. 19 no. 988, 21 January 1899 (p 14)

  Song of the Artesian Waters

  The Bulletin (Christmas edition) vol. 17 no. 878, 12 December 1896 (p 10)

  Swagman, The

  A Book for Kids, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1921

  Tangmalangaloo

  Around the Boree Log and other verses, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1922

  Teacher, The

  A Book for Kids, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1921

  Teams, The

  Australian Town and Country Journal vol. 39 no. 1040, 21 December 1889 (p 16)

  Tram-Man, The

  A Book for Kids, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1921

  Traveller, The

  A Book for Kids, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1921

  Travelling Post-Office, The

  The Bulletin vol. 14 no. 734, 10 March 1894 (p 20)

  Triantiwontigongolope, The

  A Book for Kids, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1921

  Waiting for the Rain

  The Men of the Fifties, Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, 1938

  Waltzing Matilda

  http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.ms-ms9065-2

  Waratah and Wattle

  When I was King and other verses, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1905

  Warrigal, The

  Leaves from Australian Forests, George Robertson, Melbourne, 1869

  Where the Dead Men Lie

  The Bulletin (Christmas edition) vol. 11 no. 618, 19 December 1891 (p 7)

  Where the Pelican Builds

  The Bulletin vol. 5 no. 59, 12 March 1881 (p 9)

  Women of the West, The

  The Brisbane Courier 14 September 1901 (p 13)

  Woolloomooloo

  A Book for Kids, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1921

  About the Editor

  Christopher Cheng worked as a teacher in city and country schools before moving to Taronga Zoo as an education officer for eight years, establishing Australia’s first Zoomobile. He has been National Children’s Development Manager at Dymocks and Education Advisor for the BioScope Initiative, a science-based CD-ROM project at Purdue University, USA.

  Chris has a Master of Arts in Children’s Literature and has been a Literacy Ambassador for the Federal Government’s Literacy and Numeracy Week initiative.

  He is an accomplished children’s author who writes fiction and non-fiction full time, conducts workshops and visits schools. He has also presented to students at schools and universities in the USA. His picture book One child, illustrated by Steven Woolman, won the Wilderness Society Environment Award for Picture Books (Australia) and the 2000 Skipping Stones Honour Book (USA). He also wrote 30 Amazing Australian Animals for Random House Australia and recently completed a libretto for a children’s Christmas musical.

  Chris lives in Sydney, Australia, near wonderful coffee shops and restaurants in a very old (newly renovated) terrace with his wife.

  Find out more about Chris at www.chrischeng.com

  About the Illustrator

  Gregory Rogers studied fine art at the Queensland College of Art and has illustrated a large number of educational and trade children’s picture books, including six books in the Random House 30 Australian… series. In 1995 he won the Kate Greenaway Medal for his illustrations in Way Home. His first wordless picture book, The Boy, the Bear, the Baron, the Bard, was selected as one of the New York Times’ Ten Best Illustrated Picture Books of 2004 and received numerous other awards and nominations. He also illustrated Nette Hilton’s Pyro Watson and the Hidden Treasure, published by Woolshed Press, an imprint of Random House Australia.

  Gregory lives in Brisbane, Australia.

  1 In some books and other publications this is known as ‘Shearing at Castlereagh’. The last stanza is often not included in collections.

  2 This stanza is not included in his published volume of poetry, Collected Poems of John Shaw Neilson.

  3 alternative verse

  4 The Wild Dog