Produced by Blue Trumpet for Radio 2RRR, Jove’s Pearls is a collection of verse 'chiefly in the Australian vernacular' by Jovial Mark ... painter, poet, dilettante, and ratbag, hailing from the deep south of South Australia...
The poem...
I was a young man back in the 40s
When they struck at Coolgardie
And diggers came from miles around
To see what they could see
But the heat and flies both got to them
And they dropped dead on the road
I’m just an old cunt of a prospector
Still looking for that mother lode
I took ore to the Torrens battery
Crushing at the quartz
The boss cocky there was a real good bloke
A man by the name of Schwartz
But there wasn’t a trace of gold in it
Not even in one flint node
I’m just an old cunt of a prospector
Still looking for that mother lode
In west Victoria I made me stand
In ‘61 it was
Menzies had put on his credit squeeze
And we’d all suffered loss
I worked over some of the diggings
In the nineteenth century mode
I’m just an old cunt of a prospector
Still looking for that mother lode
I made me way back to Jupiter Creek
That’s where you’ll find me now
I dig the soil, I carry it
But I’ve never used a plough
Yes, over much of Australia’s arid turf
I have most manfully strode
I’m just an old cunt prospector
Still looking for that mother lode
I’ve dwelt many years in Hewlett’s Hut
In the middle of the fields
Some say I may be round the bend
That to old age I yield
But I’ve a hunch that ‘ere too long
Fine yellow gold will glow
I’m just an old cunt prospector
Still searching for that mother lode
Notes...
'The discovery of gold in the 1850s started a series of rushes that transformed the Australian colonies. The first discoveries of payable gold were at Ophir in New South Wales and then at Ballarat and Bendigo Creek in Victoria. In 1851, gold-seekers from around the world began pouring into the colonies, changing the course of Australian history. The gold rushes greatly expanded Australia’s population, boosted its economy, and led to the emergence of a new national identity.' Source: National Museum Australia
Music...
Music featured in the poem comes from 'The Wild Colonial Boy' as sung by Patrick O'Hagan, 1957.
Credits...
Produced by Blue Trumpet for Radio 2RRR
Original verse by Jovial Mark
Adapted for radio by James Benn
With special thanks to Johnny Boxer
Poems interpreted by…
- Johnny Boxer
- James Benn
Introductions and credits by Amie Maguire