Bob Skelton calls his mate Colin Talbot "the last of the bushies".
Colin recently celebrated his 90th birthday and Bob, a bush poet, paid tribute to him with a poem. Colin still works on his farm in the Karuah district.
"I don't know how he does it," Bob said.
"He's a real bushie and a real good bloke. Ninety! Not a bad effort, eh."
Ninety and Not Out
Happy big ninetieth Colin, old mate
I hope you're birthday is truly great
It amazes us all how strong and active you are
Still cutting timber and drivin' tractor, dozer and car.
We first met at the old farm in the late fifties, I'm not too sure of the actual date
But from that day I first shook your hand
You became a lifelong friend and good mate
When you cut your leg with a chainsaw as a young bloke
Many said your days of workin' in the bush were done
But you were soon back workin' as usual
To the utter amazement of everyone.
You lost your wife Norma quite a while back; we know you miss her a lot, now she's no longer around
But you carry on regardless in the home you built, where many fond memories of her still abound.
Yes still cutting timber at ninety years young, so I kinda reckon that says it all.
You might be a bit slower than you used to be, but ya' still an inspiration to one and all.
You're a real living legend in the timber game
I'd say the oldest still doing the hard yakka you do.
You started off with a Kelly axe and crosscut saw
Working for just three quid a week, it is true.
Now for your ninetieth birthday Col, old mate
These good wishes to you I give
May you always live as long as you want
But never want as long as you live.
World War Football
Port Stephens butcher Steve Barnett has picked teams of western leaders and villains for a historic match of rugby league.
Wests: Donald Trump and Winston Churchill (front row), John Howard (hooker), Boris Johnson and Ronald Reagan (second row), Margaret Thatcher (lock), Bob Hawke (halfback), Charles de Gaulle (five-eighth), Nelson Mandela and Paul Keating (centres), General Douglas MacArthur and Tony Abbott (wing). Coach: Bronwyn Bishop.
The villains are: Osama bin Laden (fullback), Gaddafi and Bashar al-Assad (wing), Vladimir Putin and Ivan Milat (centres), Adolf Hitler (five-eighth), Saddam Hussein (halfback), Idi Amin and Henry VIII (front row), Pol Pot (hooker), Kim Jong-un and Mao Zedong (second row), Xi Jinping (lock). Coach: Megan Markle [bit harsh, that one].
