Travelling the highways and byways of Australia for months and years on end, grey nomads are often among those who best understand the spirit of the Outback … and now they have a chance to spread the word!
The remote Queensland town of Cloncurry has just launched one of Australia’s richest poetry competitions as it seeks to uncover ‘the next bard of Australia, to celebrate our past, our present and our future’.
‘The Cloncurry Prize ~ Spirit of Cloncurry’ is expected to become an annual event with a cash prize of $10,000 for the successful winner. The runner-up will receive $1,000; and there will also be a People’s Choice award.
The national competition pays tribute to Dame Mary Gilmore DBE, an Australian writer and journalist who features on the $10 note, known for her prolific contributions to Australian literature and the broader national discourse. The announcement of the competition coincides with what would have been the 155th Birthday of Dame, who returned to Cloncurry to lay rest with her husband in December 1962.
Dame Mary is actually the great-great aunt of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has thrown his weight behind the competition,
The Prime Minister said he couldn’t think of a better place than Cloncurry ‘to uncover the next bard of Australia, whoever she or he may be’.
“Our poets tell our stories and show us who we are,” said Mr Morrison. “Sometimes, as the days race by, we forget to stop and listen to those voices … I’m grateful to the people of Cloncurry who have endured so much in recent years, for encouraging us to change that – to hear our stories anew and celebrate the spirit they represent.”
Entries to the Cloncurry Prize will be accepted from December 15 until February 1 next year, with the prize announcement on March 22. The competition is open to any Australian citizen living in Australia, with all entries to be assessed by a select panel of judges.
More information can be found here.
