The Bush Beyond the Range
From Crow's Nest here by Sydney town,
Where crows had nests of old,
I see the Range where day goes down—
The dim blue in the gold.
And sometimes wonder, half in doubt,
Has there been so much change
As pictured in the prints about
The Bush beyond the Range.
There's motor-cars and all the "frills,"
But none of my old mates —
The Bush seems run by Buff'lo Bills
And Hayseeds from the States.
I miss the homesteads and the scrub,
The stock and fences too,
The horse and swagtman from the pub
That Minns and Mahoney drew.
I miss the drovers, diggers—sheep,
And—lots of things. Ah well!
I wonder if the Kellys keep
The Carriers' Camp Hotel,
If that still stands by hill and plain
As old Man Kelly's pride,
Or if he did pull round again —
When Mary Kelly died —
And Andy Kelly took to drink,
And Barney took a horse
(And two years' hard without a blink),
And each one took his course.
And what become of Andy Mack,
Tom Browne, and Pat "O'Brine"?
It must be twenty seasons back
Since last I had a line.
I wonder if—but I forget
And wonder like a fool,
Is Bertha Lambert teaching yet
A wretched half-time school.
I hope — Ah! how the memories come
To bother and defer —
I only hope my boyhood's chum,
Fred. Spencer, married her.
I wonder, and the more it seems
So far away and strange,
For I have lost, except in dreams,
The Bush beyond the Range.
I wonder, too, in fear and shame,
Do they, like me, forget—
I wonder if they mind the name
Of Henry Lawson yet.
This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired. According to Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright, the following works are public domain:
- published non-government works whose author died before January 1, 1955,
- anonymous or pseudonymous works and photographs published before January 1, 1955, and
- government works published more than 50 years ago (before January 1, 1974).
This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days), and it was first published before 1989 without complying with U.S. copyright formalities (renewal and/or copyright notice) and it was in the public domain in Australia on the URAA date (January 1, 1996). This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.
Because the Australian copyright term in 1996 was 50 years, the critical date for copyright in the United States under the URAA is January 1, 1946.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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