FROM HAY - the shearers cook

Chris and myself are in Hay exploring the social history past and current of the wonderful world of shearers cooks. We spent two nights and a day out at Coonibul Station where Denise Baker and her potwalloper Karen are cooking 5 meals a day for up to 50 people. She gets up before five and its often after 10 pm before she gets to close her door - a ninety hour week! I've been bitten by a yabbi, helped crumb 200 lamb cutlets and helped a 60 year old shearer write a poem (see below). It's been an eye opening and belly expanding exercise. This footage has been added to interview with two old time shearers cook Maggie and Eunice to make a 13 minute digital film.This film will be part of an exhibition at Shear Outback - The Shearers Hall of Fame called "Bait Layers and Babbling Brooks." This Exhibition will open sometime in July/August before being taken on Tour.

Extract from Micks poem "I'm the big wide world"

There worked a cook
by the name of Johnny Cole
He was a good cook
Depends how many flagons he had
By the same token he lost his family

The cooking was good till Wednesday
Coles always had his flagon of plonk
Sometimes you’d see him cooking
Sometimes you’d see him
Flat on his back
All wood
Stoves no gas.

DUNLOP GIRLS,
Museum of the Riverina
May, 2005

"The Dunlop girls are happy,
The Dunlop girls are free
The Dunlop girls are happy,
when they are on the spree
We never ever argue,
we neer disagree,
But we'd all drop dead if old Joe said
Come and have a beer with me" (song)

"It doesn't matter that i don't speak english
I might pick it up straight away. I didn't
say good morning I didn't say nothing when
I started work. I started putting buttons on,
you know....putting mens buttons on coats"

""So I said ot my sister "The Office Boy like you,
The good looking one" 'cause we called him
the good looking one,
"Don't be silly" she said "he's too youg ofr me!""