Dust and Beer: O. Walters / R. Rummery / P. Roeterdink

Kalgoorlie and Boulder were surrounded by the slime dumps from the mines and whenever the wind blew it moved a fair bit of dust from one spot to another, which was often a miner’s throat.  The words are from the not-so prolific goldfields poet Oscar Walters, and the accompanying photo is of the Hannan’s Brewery.

Dust and Beer

Dark clouds of dust are blowing along the line of lode.

A stream of dust is flowing along the Boulder Road.

Dust sharp and irritating, dust fine and penetrating

Dust dry and suffocating, to vex and incommode

But for these things disturbing, for those which “get his goat”,

Yet are beyond his curbing, man finds an antidote.

He puts it to best uses, the best the land produces,

And with cool Big K sluices, his dry and dusty throat.

The whirling dust clouds travel, around each rattling town.

Before the flying gravel, all heads are bending down.

But greatly man is gifted, and troubles soon are shifted,

And heads are backward lifted, as the cool beer goes down.

They sweep the open spaces, these winds that whip and veer,

And bring from other places, the dust that they leave here.

With many a fierce gust that’ll, make the loose iron shake and rattle,

They come to stir the battle, between the dust and beer.