A passion for poetry

Bush poet Helen Wangmann was born in Mungindi, which straddles the NSW/ Queensland border, on February 12, 1947 and was a Year 2 graduate of the School of the Air, meaning she had some “readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic” catching up to do, as all the kids did in those days.

She “married” Jim in 1967 and her daughter Kate, now of Goondiwindi, describes the occasion as “not formal, but rather unofficial in the company of their closest friends and with the blessing of the local minister.”

In time Helen and Jim welcomed four girls into their family – Kate, Nikki, Emily and Ali and two boys - Luke and Jack.

One would have thought looking after six children would have been too exhausting to consider many other activities, but Helen surrendered to a secret love - poetry!

To quote Kate again, “With no formal education, Mum would spend hours buried in a dictionary to find the perfect word to use in her poetry. She would often ask Dad, a word wizard, or one of her children for words that might work”.

“Sometimes we couldn’t find the word she wanted and for the most part it was the lack of the perfect word that gave Mum’s poetry such depth.

“Her words were sincere… it’s the feeling she evokes with her words that resonates, rather than the perfect word itself.”

Helen’s poems are many and varied from “The Drover and The Judge” to “The Truth About Growing Old” and it is likely they number in their hundreds.

Sadly, Helen died on March 28 last year. Her funeral was held at her Chinchilla home under her beloved Jacaranda tree, which was no doubt the subject of many poems.