Cloncurry Prize Poetry Competition

The Cloncurry Prize is one of Australia’s richest poetry competitions with a cash prize of $10,000. The competition aims to showcase the essence of outback Australia. The Cloncurry Prize has a $25 entry fee and is open to Australian Citizens, living in Australia with all entries to be assessed by a select panel of judges.
The theme of the 2023 Cloncurry Prize Poetry Competition is “Outback Heroes”.
The inaugural Cloncurry Prize launched in 2020 to commemorate the 155th Birthday of Dame Mary Gilmore DBE, who returned to Cloncurry to lay rest with her husband in December 1962. The national competition pays tribute to Dame Mary, 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 competition is now closed for judging. The winner will be announced at the Cloncurry Prize Poetry Competition Award Evening held in Cloncurry on 23 June 2023.
They came when the colours of season were turning
from green to magenta and burgundy red.
They came when the sun was a demon and burning
the souls of the living and bones of the dead.
On camels and horses, they rode in formation,
abreast of each other, together as one...
in silence they shuffled, without conversation,
immersed in the haze of a merciless sun.
T’was Robert O.Burke who elected to lead them
through desert and scrub where the skies never rained,
and William J.Wills who neglected to heed them,
when camels and horses and men had complained.
“If only we’d come when The Cooper was flowing,
we might have been able to follow its course,
instead of just wandering north without knowing
its true destination or primary source.”
If only they’d come at the start of September,
they may have been welcome and given respite
from summer’s inferno and hell of December,
that bleaches the Spinifex grasses to white.
Perhaps they were destined for fortune and glory,
these heroes who’d ventured to places unknown.
ut history tells of a different story
of men who had died in the outback alone.
Soon others were able to venture and follow
the tracks that were laid by these brave pioneers;
as one would appear like a mi ratin swallow
a hero, to conquer unchartered frontiers.
When Ernest J.Henry retired as a cropper,
his future and fortune were set to unfold.
Prospectin for metals he’d come upon copper,
as perfect as jade and as precious as gold.
The town of Cloncurry arose from the rubble
of diggings by miners and back-breaking toil;
as cattle and sheep came to graze on the stubble
of grasses that sprung from the newly tilled soil.
As stations were settled and numbers expanded,
the outback had seemed to be conquered at last.
For many had come with their swags empty-handed,
to bury the bones of an uninterred past.
The women and men who had come were rewarded
with treasures more precious than metals and ore.
For those who remained, would be duly afforded
a freedom they’d never ima ined before.
The outback is more than just wide open spaces;
it’s more than just copper and cattle and sheep;
there’s somethin still sacred in unchartered places,
where spirits and heroes of yesterday sleep.
Judges
-
Tania Kernaghan
-
Allan Cooney
-
Brenda-Joy Pritchard
Junior Cloncurry Prize
The Junior Competition is open to Queensland school aged individuals with a cash prize of $250. Entry is free.
- Entries open: 21 March 2023 at 9:00am AEST
- Entries close: 1 May 2023 at 11.45pm AEST
- Longlisting (selection of the top 50 entries): between 8 May 2023 and 21 May 2023
- Shortlisting (selection of each judge’s top three entries): between 22 May 2023 and 4 June 2023
- Final judging: between 5 June 2023 and 9 June 2023
- Prize announcement: 23 June 2023
Cloncurry Prize
Junior Competition
Shortlist 2023 (note: poems are in no particular order in relation to their score)
- The Women Of The Outback
- Outback Legend Of The Sky
- Out The Back
- Heroes Of Yesterday
- Unsung Heroes
- Remembering Mary
Top 50 Entries 2023 (note: poems are in no particular order in relation to their score)
- Unlikely Hero John McDouall Stuart
- Follow The Wind
- The Enduring Legacy And Spirit Of The Outback Heroes
- Oceania
- A Life Of Service
- Rain Dreaming
- Devastation
- Outback Legend Of The Sky
- The Swagman Gone
- Dad
- Outback Heroes Coming Through
- Desert Sestina
- Unsung Heroes
- Trials Of Outback Heroes
- Remembering Mary
- Unsung Heroes
- A Braver Breed Than Me
- Kidman Lingering
- The Swagman
- Jim
- The Women Of The Outback
- The Squeaky Gate
- Hero Of The Highway
- My Outback Hero
- The Wonomo Yowie
- The Kalkadoon Reistance War
- It's A Boy
- Outback Bushfire Heroes
- Our Outback Heroes
- Knowing
- Old Granny Stubbings
- Condamine Tree
- The Outback Heroes
- A Ballad For A Bushman
- Heroes Of Yesterday
- Where Heroes Prevail
- Those Who Went Before
- Out The Back
- Outback Heroes - God's Gift
- The Outback Child
- Heroes Of The Sky
- King Of Cooper Creek
- The Ballad of Catherine Lucas
- Sturt's Dream
- Everyday Outback Heroes
- Outback Heroes - Then And Now
- The Unsung Heroes Of The Outback
- Our Own Heroes
- Salute To The Bullocky
- The Heart
Entries must be submitted observing the following formatting and stylistic elements:
- Each entry must be a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF (.pdf);
- The document file name should be the title of the poem only
- Entries must be a single poem of no more than two pages written in English. Pages must be numbered.
- Entries must be typed in Calibri or Times New Roman font, no smaller than size 11
- All stanza breaks must be clearly spaced
- The poet’s name should not appear anywhere in the document body unless it is relevant to the work (entries are judged anonymously)
The theme of the Cloncurry Prize Poetry Competition in 2023 is “Outback Heroes”.
Longlisting Criteria (Top 50)
- Theme Relevance – Spirit of the Outback = 60%
- Form – word choice, commas, stanzas = 20%
- Language – choice of words, and order is precise = 20%
Shortlisting criteria (Top 10)
- Theme Relevance – Spirit of the Outback = 60%
- Form – word choice, commas, stanzas = 15%
- Language – choice of words, and order is precise = 15%
- Legacy – timelessness of Poem = 10%
The competition Terms & Conditions contain valuable information including key dates, eligibility and formatting. A copy of the Terms & Conditions can be found HERE.
I am delighted that Cloncurry Shire Council has initiated the ‘Cloncurry Prize ~ Spirit of Outback’ Poetry Competition.
Dame Mary Gilmore was my great-great aunt. She was a beloved family member, and a source of pride - for her poetry and her place as a voice of our people.
When I see her wise face looking out from our $10 notes, I imagine her surveying modern Australia with wonder, and I suspect with a few helpful suggestions.
Much of what she spoke for has come to pass, so much of what she valued remains, and so much of our nation's promise has been fulfilled. I can't think of a better place than Cloncurry, where Aunt Mary rests with her husband William, to uncover the next bard of Australia, whoever she or he may be.
Australia is an ancient land of stories that reach back for millennia. The rich oral and visual imaginings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, the poems of colonial Australia, and the verse that grew from our developing nation reflect the epic narrative of our history. In times of trouble and challenge, these are the stories we turn to for comfort and hope.
The stories of Australia come from the city and the bush. They are made in the past and the present. They are our beacon for the future. They are the words of our national spirit, which transcends politics, religion, ethnicity or capital. Aunt Mary wrote once 'I see the world as one'. It's my belief that true poetry comes from that vision and brings people together.
Our poets tell our stories and show us who we are. 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.
The Hon Scott Morrison MP
Prime Minister of Australia
September 2020
For media enquires, please contact Council's Media and Public Relations Officer, Ella Thompson on 07 4742 4100 or cloncurryprize@cloncurry.qld.gov.au
For general enquires, please contact Council's Community Activities Officer, Celene Franklin on 07 4742 4100 or cloncurryprize@cloncurry.qld.gov.au
2023 Cloncurry Prize Poetry Competition Winners
Winner
Remembering Mary ~ Penny Lane
Runner Up
Heroes of Yesterday ~ Tom McIlveen
Third Place
Unsung Heroes ~ David Campbell
Highly Commended
The Women of the Outback ~ Bronwyn Blake
Commended
Outback Legend of the Sky ~ Barry Desailly
2023 Cloncurry Prize Poetry Junior Competition Winners
First Place
Where Outback Heroes Roam ~ Mateo Leclerc
Second Place
Outback Heroes Live Forever ~ Eloise Brown
Third Place
In the Heart of the Outback ~ Jayden Sherwood
Winner
Where Heroes Abide ~ Brenda-Joy Pritchard
Runner Up
The Spirit of the Outback ~ David Judge
*PDF poems linked
Winner
The Heart and Soul of Australia ~ David Campbell
Runner Up
Broken Down ~ Jennifer Harrison
Meritorious Mention
a portrait in the theatre of desire ~ Brian Obiri-Asare
*PDF poems linked



