POETRY & BUSH MUSIC
AUSTRALIA’S FINEST POEMS, YARNS & SONGS
From Thursday the 10th – Sunday the 13th April 2025
Banjo’s Block (Strezelecki Way)
&
The Lions Club Youth Hall (Donaldson Street)
Clancy’s Overflow Camping
500m from the Lions Club Youth Hall, Poets’ base, 10m x 9m sites. Book online with ticketing.
MFSR Bush Festival Office
p. 02 60761992
e. [email protected]
“There was movement at the station for the word had passed around”
2025 VICTORIAN BUSH POETRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
“The Man from Snowy River is a household word today”….and Bush Poets tell the story of his ride! And that’s not all the Bush Poets will be talking about when they take the stage for the Victorian Bush Poetry Championships 2025.
No doubt they’ll all be chatting about the $8000 in cash and prizes that will be available over the course of the festival weekend. Indeed, the Championships in 2025 will be a ‘landmark’ event in the annals of Australian Bush Poetry history.
As well as the $4000 worth of prizemoney usually offered for the various competition sections there will be (for the first time) 3 separate $1000 prizes on offer as well. These will be for the Overall Written Champion, the Overall Performance Champion & the Overall Grand Champion (best combined score over both the Written & Performance sections). (These prizes will be accompanied by $1000 in trophies).
All the regular Performance Championship sections will be on offer in which competitors vie to show their skills over a range of subject matter including Classical, Modern, Original Serious & Original Comedy. In addition, there will also be Yarnspinning & Novice competitions as well. Our “Man from Snowy River Recitation” competition will also be held on the Friday evening of the festival itself.
No, we haven’t forgotten our writers. The ‘Silver Brumby’ (Original Serious) & Corryong Larrikin (Original Humorous) plus the Junior written competitions are also being held and will be judged pre-festival as per usual.
Other regular features of the event are the 3 Poet’s Breakfasts (hosted by those rascals “The Rhymer from Ryde” & his sidekick Matthew Hollis) our “Anzac Tribute” concert and our Thurs night “Meet & Greet” “Open-Mike” show.
For those wishing to take a more leisurely approach to things “Banjo’s Block-Singalong Campfire Sessions” hosted by Kevin McCarthy & Simon Dillon ramble along into the later hours of the evening.
Senior Judge & Assistant Poetry Events Manager Graeme Johnson will be joined by “Featured Poets” Gregory North (3 times Australian Champion) Geoffrey. W. Graham, The Rhymer from Ryde & Tim Sheed (who will also assist him on the various judging panels as well).
*NB* Entry forms and information (for the various competitions) are to be found on this webpage.
Your official version of the Man from Snowy River Poem for MFSR Recital purposes.