Kooweerup His Old Hometown Poem by Francis Duggan

He's been all around Australia he's been there and he's done that
Shorn merinos in Queensland and laid pipes in Ararat
And the outback of Australia he has travelled up and down
But he'll go home to grow old in Kooweerup his old Hometown.

In Kooweerup in old West Gippsland where he spent his boyhood and teenage years
He had his teenage crushes and he sampled his first beers
And the World out there was waiting he had places for to see
And the wanderlust was in him and he left friends and family.

In the outbacks of south and western Australia he worked as a jackeroo
And for to earn an honest living such hard work he had to do
And he's worked on building sites in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide
And he will tell you that out of hard work a fortune is never made.

He has been around Australia worked his way from place to place
And he is one of a dying breed one of the nomadic race
And he is in his early fifties and seeming the worst for wear
With his sun tanned face quite wrinkled and much gray in his brown hair.

His great travels and adventures did not lead him to renown
And he is going home to grow old in Kooweerup his old Hometown
In the flat coastal country of West Gippsland just five or six miles from the sea
And the roads will lead him back to where he left in seventy three.