Australia - The Great Nothing Poem by Paul Warren

Drive north of Port Augusta down Pimba way
You reach the Great Nothing you know straight away
The Stuart Highway is straight as a die
As it reached to the horizon and up to the sky
Millions of years ago it was the Artic Sea
With aquatic dinosaurs and as cold as can be

It was winter and so there was no angry sun
Where the plain stretched forever with no hills to be won
It was as flat as it could be and on the horizon far
You could see the curvature of the earth from afar
Every so often a Road Train passed by
With a prime mover and three trailers on the fly

We stopped for a rest and saw a wedge tail eagle
Perched on a stunted tree keeping watch quiet regal
They say that they watch you as close as they can
As they are hunters needing eye sight quite grand
Then it rose up and took to the wing
With a two metre wing span a magnificent thing

So we moved on and went to the Coober Pedy town
And saw that the townspeople lived underground
They mined the fire in the stone opal ore
And provided supplies from the main supermarket store
We stayed in an underground motel
And slept the night soundly and well

The next day we moved on through the great Outback
Seeing nothing but rocks and scrub as a fact
Stopping and seeing wild zebra finches to drink
At a road side stop whilst we had a rest and a think
Then to the Breakaways an eerie place
With the Dingo Fence stretching for miles to face


We continued on and to Ernabella town
And met the local police who came down
We spoke to the local school class
About road safety and keeping the safety brass
We watched a football carnival game
And handed out prizes for footballers fame

I spoke to one of the local coppers over a billy tea
Who told me when patrolling the outback you’d see
Wild donkeys who the local aborigines wouldn’t hunt
As the donkeys carried Mary into the Bethlehem front
It was the same with the wild camels living around
Because they carried the wise men over Holy ground

He told me when camping on long range patrol time
To keep you clean with no dirty uniform grime
Walk around in your jocks with the campfire its fine
Doing all the chores you have a mind
The only thing is to have your uniform handy
To put it straight on for visitors just dandy!

That night he cooked for us roast kangaroo tail
And it was great with a taste that did not fail
So we packed up and left them next day
After having a great three day stay
Back to Adelaide across the Great Nothing again
With some experiences for us to comprehend

© Paul Warren Poetry