There are few who don’t recognise the names Dorothea Mackellar, Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson, Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Rupert McCall and their spine-tingling odes to Australia’s ‘sweeping plains, ragged mountain ranges, droughts and flooding rains’.
It’s fitting therefore, that one of the nation’s richest poetry competitions is staged in one of the nation’s most beautiful Outback towns – Cloncurry.
Inspired by iconic Cloncurry local Dame Mary Gilmore, the Cloncurry Prize poetry competition is calling on amateur, inspiring and renowned poets alike to put ink to paper for their chance to win the $10,000 cash prize.
The annual poetry competition attracted more than 160 entries in 2023 and was won by New South Wales poet Penny Lane with Remembering Mary, a beautifully painted picture of an outback hero worthy of much praise.
All styles of poetry are accepted and this year’s theme is ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’, through the lens of Outback Australia.
Also, there is a junior Cloncurry Prize, open to all Queensland school-aged students, with a cash prize of $250.
“This year’s theme could see poems about a 30-metre-long Sauropod or an unrideable horse or even a child remembering their father,“ said Cloncurry Mayor Greg Campbell.
“The Outback provides limitless inspiration and it’s exciting to call both adult and junior poets, amateur and published to enter.
“The competition shines the light on the Outback, promoting its natural beauty, larger-than-life characters and their stories and the theme this year will generate some fantastic reads.
“The prize was created to remind people of the wonderful country we live in and to ignite a sense of national pride.
“Dame Mary Gilmore had a very strong connection to Cloncurry and was a true hero of the Outback, a pioneer in education and literacy; her powerful writing continues to inspire.
“This competition hopes to find the next iconic Australian poet, who can capture the essence of our Outback way of life.”
“We are so proud to host this competition each year, a competition perhaps worthy of calling Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane home, but no; it’s ours. It’s The Cloncurry Prize!”
The winner will be announced at a ceremony held in Cloncurry on 21 June 2024.
For more information and to enter, please visit the Cloncurry Shire Council website.
