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 $30 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 2024 Cloncurry Prize Poetry Competition is ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants', through the lens of Outback Australia.
The inaugural Cloncurry Prize launched in 2020 to commemorate the 155th Birthday of Dame Mary Gilmore DBE, who returned to Cloncurry and was laid to rest with her husband in December 1962. The national competition pays tribute to Dame Mary, an Australian writer and journalist known for her prolific contributions to Australian literature and the broader national discourse. She is featured on the Australian $10 note.
The competition launches on 21 March 2024. The winner will be announced at the Cloncurry Prize Poetry Competition Award Evening held in Cloncurry on 21 June 2024.
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
-
Allan Cooney
-
Brenda-Joy Pritchard
-
Penny Lane
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 2024 at 9:00am AEST
- Entries close: 3 May 2024 at 11.45pm AEST
- Longlisting (selection of the top 50 entries): between 10 May 2024 and 20 May 2024
- Shortlisting (selection of each judge’s top three entries): between 22 May 2024 and 4 June 2024
- Final judging: between 5 June 2024 and 9 June 2024
- Prize announcement: 21 June 2024
Cloncurry Prize
Junior Competition
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 2024 is 'Standing on the Shoulders of Giants', through the lens of Outback Australia.
Longlisting Criteria (Top 50)
- Theme Relevance – Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, through the lens of Outback Australia = 60%
- Form – word choice, commas, stanzas = 20%
- Language – choice of words, and order is precise = 20%
Shortlisting criteria (Top 10)
- Theme Relevance – Shoulders of Giants, through the lens of Outback Australia = 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 on 07 4742 4100 or cloncurryprize@cloncurry.qld.gov.au
For general enquires, please contact Council's Events and Activities Coordinator, Deborah Fenton, 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