Along a sandy watershed aligned with noble gums
Was something of an enigma amongst the northern runs
Until the 1860s when in no apparent hurry
Birkenwells just wandered down and called the place Cloncurry
From the Flinders Plains to the Selwyn Range
From Bull Creek to the Gulf
From the Turpentine to Birramine
We'd chase the Mickeys out
From the Kitchie Scrub to the Kwonga Pub
To the creeks of Cubbaroo
Ah, the cattle in the curry are the best we ever knew
But a poor attempt at pasture turned Ernest Henry West
And Copper in Cloncurry put his weary horse to rest
He bribed the local cult to dune to wear big balaclava knives
And they found the great Australian mine
Cloncurry began to thrive
From the Flinders Plains to the Selwyn Range
From Bull Creek to the Gulf
From the Turpentine to Birramine
We'd chase the Mickeys out
From the Kitchie Scrub to the Kwonga Pub
To the creeks of Cubbaroo
Ah, the cattle in the curry are the best we ever knew
But the copper didn't last long
And men fled north for gold
But some stayed back to try the hand
With mobs like men of old
There was Kennedy at Carlton Hill
And sheep out at the port
And they watched their bullocks
Thriving on the country they had sought
From the Flinders Plains to the Selwyn Range
From Bull Creek to the Gulf
From the Turpentine to Birramine
We'd chase the Mickeys out
From the Kitchie Scrub to the Kwonga Pub
To the creeks of Cubbaroo
Ah, the cattle in the curry are the best we ever knew
Stoke-on-Curry's raising cattle now
And she turns them off the best
As men on stock camp bring pets in
And truck them from the west
The mining days are all long gone
We're content to mill behind
The lingering larling cattle
And thank Henry for his mind
From the Flinders Plains to the Selwyn Range
From Bull Creek to the Gulf
From the Turpentine to Birramine
We'd chase the Mickeys out
From the Kitchie Scrub to the Kwonga Pub
To the creeks of Cubbaroo
Ah, the cattle in the curry are the best we ever knew
Oh, I've lived on lamb and lived on pork
And tasted caught on blue
But the cattle in the curry
Make the greatest pot of stew
© 2013 University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences UGA Extension