Wee Jasper School

by @danielkelly

Liner Notes

This nearby school had their 125th anniversary yesterday, the whole school only has four students.

Lyrics

D G
Two hours out of Canberra,
D A
On a long and windy road,
G D
Once you cross the Taemus Bridge
D A’
Where the Murrumbidgee flows,

D
You’ll find some magic country,
G D
Shaped a million years ago,
A’ D
Rocky hills and crystal rivers,
A D
Where the eucalyptus grows,

D A’
And there’s a tiny school,
D G
With a giant heart,
A D
For the big big world,
G A’
There’s no better start,
D A’
With community,
D G
In a world apart,
G A’ D
Here at Wee Jasper School

We rode to school on horseback,
Left our ponies to the grass,
Unless your name was Harold Carey
And rode straight into the class,

Though often small in number,
We are always taught with care,
For a century and a quarter,
Young lives were started here.

The school house is still standing,
Despite bureaucracy and years,
A 1000 students through the doors,
All off on their careers,

When the Education Minister,
Arrives by chopper once again,
He’ll see the school is thriving,
And may it never end,

Comments

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@greengrassgirl the story, which I only found when I was actually at the school on Saturday, was that the Education Minister was planning to close the tiny school, so flew to the capital city and had his chauffeur start driving him. About an hour into the winding road he gave up and said the school could stay open if it was that hard to get to. The next time he visited he flew in by helicopter. Could find no digital collaboration, but they had the photos of the helicopter visit at the school.
[avatar]
Gary, Harold Carey was a child of one of the larger land owners in the area, most likely not known outside this part of Australia, but an ancestor did discover the fabulous limestone cave formations that share the same name (and are well worth the visit, much more primitive than the one I visited in Virginia (Luray Caves) . @gmcgath
[avatar]
Wonderful imagery. The thought of Harold Carey (should I know that name?) riding a horse into class makes me laugh.
[avatar]
Great use of place names! You really paint a picture. I really liked "left our ponies to the grass." Perhaps my favorite line was "When the Education Minister/Arrives by chopper once again..." What a great image! So glad I found this!
[FAWM]