Author: Banjo Paterson (Andrew Barton)

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Now the new chum loaded his three-nought-three,
It's a small-bore gun, but his hopes were big.
"I am fed to the teeth with old ewe," said he,
"And I might be able to shoot a pig."
And he trusted more to his nose than ear
To give him warning when pigs were near.

Out of his lair in the lignum dark.
Where the wild duck nests and the bilbie digs,
With a whoof and a snort and a kind of bark
There rose the father of all the pigs:
And a tiger would have walked wide of him
As he stropped his tusks on a leaning limb.

Then the new chum's three-nought-three gave tongue
Like a popgun fired in an opera bouffe:
But a pig that was old when the world was young
Is near as possible bullet-proof.
(The more you shoot him the less he dies,
Unless you catch him between the eyes.)

So the new chum saw it was up to him
To become extinct if he stopped to shoot;
So he made a leap for a gidgee limb
While the tusker narrowly missed his boot.
Then he found a fork, where he swayed in air
As he gripped the boughs like a native bear.

The pig sat silent and gaunt and grim
To wait and wait till his foe should fall:
For night and day were the same to him,
And home was any old place at all.
"I must wait," said he, "till this sportsman drops;
I could use his boots for a pair of strops."

The crows that watch from the distant blue
Came down to see what it all might mean;
An eaglehawk and a cockatoo
Bestowed their patronage on the scene.
Till a far-off boundary rider said
"I must have a look, there is something dead."

Now the new chum sits at his Christmas fare
Of a dried-up chop from a tough old ewe.
Says he, "It's better than native bear
And nearly as tender as kangaroo.
An emu's egg I can masticate,
But pork," says he, "is the thing I hate."

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Type of Poem: Narrative Poem

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: This poem is a vivid, humorous narrative that explores themes of survival, adaptation, and the clash between man and nature. The tone is one of good-natured irony, poking fun at the new chum's overconfidence and eventual humbling experience.

The structure is consistent, following a regular rhyme scheme and rhythm, lending a playful air to the narrative and drawing the reader in. The use of Australian vernacular and references to specific wildlife situates the poem distinctly in the Australian outback, giving a strong sense of place.

The poet effectively uses personification to give the pig a menacing and almost invincible quality, enhancing the humorous gap between the new chum's expectations and reality. Meanwhile, the new chum's dialogue and actions portray him as naive yet adaptable. The final twist of his aversion to pork, after his encounter with the pig, is an amusing end to his humbling adventure, encapsulating the poem's themes of survival and adaptation.

The poem also contains a subtle social commentary on the challenges faced by settlers in new environments, their struggle to adapt, and the resilience of nature. The vivid descriptions and clever use of humour make the poem an engaging read, while its underlying themes add depth and resonance.