Oh! Who Could Paint a Goldfield – Henry Lawson

I came across this poem many years ago, and it is still my favourite:-

Oh! Who could paint a Goldfield and paint the picture right?
As old adventurers saw it in early morning light.
The yellow mounds of mullock with spots of red and white
The scattered quartz that glistens like diamonds in the light

Hear the fall of timber from distant flats and fells
The pealing of the anvils as clear as clear as little bells
The rattle of the cradle, the clack of windlass poles,
The flutter of the crimson flags above the golden holes

Ah! Then their hearts were bolder and if Dame Fortune frowned,
Their swag they’d lightly shoulder and tramp to other grounds
Oh! They were lion-hearted, who gave our country birth
Stout sons of Stoutest Fathers born from all the lands on earth.

Those Golden Days have vanished, and altered as the scene,
The diggings are deserted now, the camping grounds are green.

By Henry Lawson – The Roaring Days

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Moya Sharp

Owner at Outback Family History

My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.

Latest posts by Moya Sharp (see all)

• Blood on the Mulga Plains: The Last Day of John Sutherland - 28/02/2026
• A Brother’s Return in Mourning: Tragedy on the Coolgardie Goldfields - 28/02/2026
• The Contract at Old Warden Shaft - 28/02/2026