William Thomas Goodge

William Thomas Goodge Poems

William Thomas Goodge Biography

William Thomas Goodge was born in London in 1862, the son of a Law Courts clerk. and arrived in Sydney in 1882 after working his passage aboard the ship 'The Cathay' as a steward. His first job on his arrival in Sydney was with one of Cobb & Co's properties - Windagee Station in Western New South Wales.

He roamed around outback New South Wales for twelve years before settling into life as a jounalist.He began to contribute verses to the Dubbo Express and later was offered a full-time job as a reporter and writer of verse for the Lithgow Mercury. For a time he was Editor of the Orange Leader while contributing to the now famous Bulletin. For the nine years prior to his death he wrote a weekly piece for the Sydney Truth concerning the actions of an imaginery drinking group, the Gimcrack ...

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The Best Poem Of William Thomas Goodge

A Snake Yarn

"You talk of snakes," said Jack the Rat,
"But blow me, one hot summer,
I seen a thing that knocked me flat -
Fourteen foot long or more than that,
It was a reg'lar hummer!
Lay right along a sort of bog,
Just like a log!

"The ugly thing was lyin' there
And not a sign o' movin',
Give any man a nasty scare;
Seen nothin' like it anywhere
Since I first started drovin'.
And yet it didn't scare my dog.
Looked like a log!

"I had to cross that bog, yer see,
And bluey I was humpin';
But wonderin' what that thing could be
A-lyin' there in front o' me
I didn't feel like jumpin'.
Yet, though I shivered like a frog,
It seemed a log!

"I takes a leap and lands right on
The back of that there whopper!"
He stopped. We waited. Then Big Mac
Remarked: "Well, then, what happened, Jack?"
"Not much," said Jack, and drained his grog.
"It was a log!"