There’s trouble out there as I speak made up of wind and dust It howls around the homesteads and raintanks gone to rust The animals are dying, all choked up with flies and sand And though the folks aren’t saying much, they need a helping hand … So spare a thought next time you’re driving down a country road For all those sunburnt people out there carrying the load Stop and listen for a second and I’ll bet your pulse starts racing That’s the spirit of the bush my friend, the heartland of our nation. Bruce Venables, author, actor, entertainer and popular Australia Day ambassador, has long been delighting crowds with performances of his poetry, written under the pen name of ‘The Larrikin’. Patriotic, funny, sentimental and heartfelt, his verse pays tribute to the Australian spirit and sense of humour, celebrating such iconic subjects as The Bush, The City, War and Remembrance and Sport. Collected in print for the first time due to popular demand, a percentage of proceeds from sales of THE SPIRIT OF THE BUSH will go towards Paula Duncan’s Wayside Chapel Drought Appeal.