Being more or less a stranger
Walking up and down the street
I received an inspiration,
While being on the beat;
So I’d better tell the story,
How I rambled to and fro,
And how I met those shearers
All shearing in a row.
Now two gentlemen were talking,
On a corner in the town
And I heard their conversation,
As I wandered up and down.
So at last I got darn’d cheeky,
And butted in the frame,
To here the latest highlights,
In the good old shearing game,
Seems they got me—and inspired me
‘Til at last I had to go
To those ‘Cromdale’ shearers,
All shearing in a row.
There were Eveston and Halligan,
Both racing in the lead,
While Knight and old Jack Hutchens,
Were clapping on the speed:
And another ‘gun’, named Boucher
Was fighting hard to win,
And take the cherished title
Back far Deniliquin:
Seems they,re shearing for the honor;
Being set in earnest race
To be the ‘Cromdale’ ringer,
And hold the pride of place
While wishing them good fortune,
A tribute I must pay,
To the sterling Beveridge brothers,
Should I ever go their way.
And while there’s crayfish in the Murray,
And there’s nice girls in the town,
I’d always be contented
To be wandering up and down. Anon.
My husband and I are now the current owners of the site where the the Cromdale Shearing Shed once stood. Sadly it burnt to the ground sometime in the late 1980s. We have cleared much of the debris from the fire and what was left of the old stock yards but the concrete sheep dip still remains. The original shed site is now the site of a working blacksmith and a large number of native trees have been planted where once the yards stood. They are thriving on the beautiful soil left from the manure of many sheep. Thanks for posting these photos. It was a thrill to find them.
Christine, it was so good to hear from you. We are back from a long holiday away to the NW Passage and Europe and I am still posting piece by piece of the trip in the Blog. I was so pleased to from you and an update from Cromdale. Is the old Homestead still standing. I have a feeling it is no longer there.
Hi Neddy,
Sounds like it was a fabulous trip. In answer to your question, the old homestead is long gone. I think it may have burnt down too but not sure when . I remember it as a young girl. The old charcoal cool room was still standing in the early 90s ( not sure about now though) and some of the old sheds associated with the house are still surviving. A rather poor little house has been placed over the site of the original homestead and it sits in amongst a large collection of beautiful old gums. It certainly was a lovely setting for a home.