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As you may guess SWMBO and I went up the Canning Stock Route this year and she has written a couple of poems I thought you might like
Canning Stock Route
There’s a legendary track that everyone knows
In the west’s dry heart where the spinifex grows
Named for the man who first blazed the trail
To bring stock from the north to Wiluna for sale
Canning and his men endured hardship and thirst
To mark what became the Canning Stock Route first
The stock route is for those with an adventurous heart
It will challenge who dares along its length from the start
Across red sand dunes a plenty and lumpy whoop-tee-doo
Over corrugations and rocks that’ll shake the life out of you
Through hummocks of spinifex under azure blue skies
A different vista will greet you after every new rise
The clean desert air and the clarity of light
The contrasting colours so vivid and bright
The prettiest flower that ever was seen
Is the Tinsel bush dressed in purple and green
Red avenues of Holly bush to drive slowly through
Here wild flowers grow in every colour and hue
The wary eyed dingoes at the side of the track
Watch hungrily to see if you will leave them a snack
The ships of the desert that helped open this land
Their children now roam over the parched desert sand
There are insects and lizards and birds that will call
On the track you will find creatures great and small
Wide open skies and the red ochre sand
Hazy blue ranges that cover this land
Rainbows of colour in every sunrise and sunset
Are seared into your mind so you’ll never forget
The tales of the wells and the beautiful springs
Are there in the songs the drovers would sing
Even today with our modern equipment and cars
The Canning will leave you bearing some scars
Some caused by joy and some caused by pain
But sure as shootin’ you won’t leave it the same
The memories you’ll keep will never grow old
For it renews your spirit and fills up your soul
And
The Desert Oak’s Lullaby
There is a tree that grows under a wide blue sky
In the deep ochre sand their roots do lie
It stands like sentinel guarding the track
Watching and waiting looking forward and back
It was there when the dark skinned cared for this land
Watching their children as they played in the sand
It was there when white men came carrying a pail
To find water and drive the stock down to sale
It was there to see both men’s trouble and strife
And watched as they struggled to hold on to life
Holding the secrets of days long since past
Of cruelty and murder in this country so vast
Round the camp fire at night or in your beds as you lie
Stay silent and listen for that soft gentle sigh
As the wind moves leaves on this tree by the track
It will sing you a tale of the lonely outback
When soft breezes blow under a bright starry sky
That’s when you can hear the Desert Oak’s lullaby
I hope you enjoy\
Canning Stock Route
There’s a legendary track that everyone knows
In the west’s dry heart where the spinifex grows
Named for the man who first blazed the trail
To bring stock from the north to Wiluna for sale
Canning and his men endured hardship and thirst
To mark what became the Canning Stock Route first
The stock route is for those with an adventurous heart
It will challenge who dares along its length from the start
Across red sand dunes a plenty and lumpy whoop-tee-doo
Over corrugations and rocks that’ll shake the life out of you
Through hummocks of spinifex under azure blue skies
A different vista will greet you after every new rise
The clean desert air and the clarity of light
The contrasting colours so vivid and bright
The prettiest flower that ever was seen
Is the Tinsel bush dressed in purple and green
Red avenues of Holly bush to drive slowly through
Here wild flowers grow in every colour and hue
The wary eyed dingoes at the side of the track
Watch hungrily to see if you will leave them a snack
The ships of the desert that helped open this land
Their children now roam over the parched desert sand
There are insects and lizards and birds that will call
On the track you will find creatures great and small
Wide open skies and the red ochre sand
Hazy blue ranges that cover this land
Rainbows of colour in every sunrise and sunset
Are seared into your mind so you’ll never forget
The tales of the wells and the beautiful springs
Are there in the songs the drovers would sing
Even today with our modern equipment and cars
The Canning will leave you bearing some scars
Some caused by joy and some caused by pain
But sure as shootin’ you won’t leave it the same
The memories you’ll keep will never grow old
For it renews your spirit and fills up your soul
And
The Desert Oak’s Lullaby
There is a tree that grows under a wide blue sky
In the deep ochre sand their roots do lie
It stands like sentinel guarding the track
Watching and waiting looking forward and back
It was there when the dark skinned cared for this land
Watching their children as they played in the sand
It was there when white men came carrying a pail
To find water and drive the stock down to sale
It was there to see both men’s trouble and strife
And watched as they struggled to hold on to life
Holding the secrets of days long since past
Of cruelty and murder in this country so vast
Round the camp fire at night or in your beds as you lie
Stay silent and listen for that soft gentle sigh
As the wind moves leaves on this tree by the track
It will sing you a tale of the lonely outback
When soft breezes blow under a bright starry sky
That’s when you can hear the Desert Oak’s lullaby
I hope you enjoy\
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