When Last I Saw Old Selby Poem by Francis Duggan

The smoke of ' Puffing Billy' reeked up the Winter sky
As the tourist train from Belgrave went chug chug chugging by
And in the wood off Nation Road the black cockies did cry
And to the forest country 'twas time to say goodbye.

I travelled north to Sydney for want of better fame
To live in the big City and earn myself a name
But nothing in life comes easy and fame yet to come my way
And I work in Sydney factory for ninety bucks a day.

In my Homeplace in Selby the mountain ash stand tall
And early in the morning the Kookaburras call
The man may leave his mountain for the city far away
But the woodland and the valley in his memory seem to stay.

When last I saw old Selby the memory remain
The currawongs were calling and dark clouds promised rain
And I was bound for Sydney I had ambition then
And Sydney seemed the in place for young ambitious men.

The high paddocks of Menzies Creek forever will be green
And I will long remember such beauty I have seen
In the woodland off Nation Road the voice of whip bird ring
And yellow robin sing all year from Summer to the Spring.

The steam train 'Puffing Billy' went puffing up the hill
And in the silence of the morning his whistle sounded shrill
And the mountain ash and blackwoods in the southern winds did wave
As I waited for the taxi to the station at Belgrave.