Poetry
Grenfell is the birthplace of Henry Lawson, one of Australia’s most prolific authors who excelled at both short story and verse. Each year, at the Weddin Mountain Muster, a poetry competition is held in honour of Henry and other bush poets. Participants write their poems during the week of the muster, capturing funny stories from the week’s rides and the essence of the Muster in verse. The poems are read out at the finale dinner on the Friday night and the hand-carved emu egg trophy for the best poem is presented.
Below are some examples of the poetry entered in the 2025 Weddin Mountain Muster Poetry Competition. You can also read poetry written for years gone past here.
2025 Poetry
2025 Winner: The wee bare bum of the briar patch
By Peter Robinson
Two men they sat a chatting, sitting in their ute,
When they saw something special, something very cute,
Something through the briar bush came, pushing with a plum,
They saw the naked visage, of a skinny bare white bum,
They wondered wide eyed at the sight, filled with shock and awe,
They realised someone had no patience, to wait for a toilet stall,
It is a fact that we all must wee, and the toughest one that we will see,
Is the one with courage, who will back their bum amongst the briar trees.
2025 Runner up: My Muster Week
By Carol Files
Sunday is here it’s finally time to go,
To head to the Weddin Muster, I’ve heard is a good show.
Three kids, two horses and a five hour haul -
I really hope the kids don’t have a brawl….
Set up camp right next to the old neighbours;
Far out, there’s more of them, God save us!
The horses are a-go, they are all so keen,
Well who wouldn’t be when riding with the A Team!
Rocky mountain tracks and steep declines,
The views are still amazing especially when the sun shines.
Walking along for ages like we got minutes to bum,
Whoopsie daisy we missed the bloody turn!
Had to stop for wees and multiple riders,
Only to have our fearless leader remind us
‘We didn’t come here to f#*k spiders’
Whacky Wednesday is here, Australiana is the theme,
My goodness, what a flaming scene!
We had Dame Edna’s, koalas and a cockatoo,
Pink Galahs, lifeguards and the flying kangaroo.
Sheep, wattles and a queen bee.
Even a bee keeper, Steve Irwin and Mick Dundee.
You all looked amazing, fantastic to see
My costume was the best….I went as me!
With only two days to go, Thursday put on a good show,
The weather turned nasty, felt like we were at the snow.
The bird watchers are great, they gave us a good sneak peek
Of our wonderful antics throughout the week.
The week has come to an end and we’ve all had a blast,
Good thing no-one ended up in a cast.
Old friends we will catch you next year,
Enjoy the rest of your night and have some more beers!
Runner up, Carol Files (left) and Winner, Peter Robinson (right) of the 2025 Poetry Competition with Weddin Mountain Muster Committee President, Melanie Cooper (centre).