Commonwealth of Australia | Moreton Bay

From True Patriots All , by Geoffrey C. Ingleton, who notes that the ballad is "very old and possibly was contemporary with Logan's death". The manuscript was obtained in Queensland by J.R.Scott in 1916. Simon McDonald from Creswick in Victoria sings a variant of these words to a related tune, see 'Moreton Bay 2' in this collection. Patrick Logan became Commandant of the Moreton Bay penal settlement in 1826. He was hated by the convicts for his harsh methods. He did some exploring and was surveying the Upper Brisbane river when he was killed by Aborigines in 1830. Logan was a relentless flogger as shown in a sample record of his floggings that were noted in the diary of one of the prison clerks. This records that from February to October in 1828 Logan ordered 200 floggings with over 11,000 lashes. When Logan's body was brought back to Moreton Bay, the convicts "manifested insane joy at the news of his murder, and sang and hoorayed all night, in defiance of the warders." Bushranger Ned Kelly used lines from the ballad in his "Jerilderie Letter" in 1879 ("Port McQuarrie Toweringabbie Norfolk island and Emu plains and in those places of tyranny and condemnation many a blooming Irish man rather than subdue to the Saxon yoke were flogged to death and bravely died in servile chains.") In 1911, Bushranger Jack Bradshaw printed a version in his True History of the Australian Bushrangers . Bradshaw printed the song again in Twenty Years of Prison Life in the Gaols of NSW attributing it to "poor old Frank McNamara". Francis MacNamara (Frank the Poet) recited it as he stepped off his convict ship in 1832 at Sydney Cove. MacNamara was subjected to all the brutality of the convict system in Australia, and was to spend years in various penal settlements. He served time in Port Arthur in Van Diemen's Land concurrently with John Kelly, Ned Kelly's father. No doubt it was there that Kelly learnt MacNamara's 'The Convict's Arrival' or 'The Convict's Lament on the Death of Captain Logan' which we now know as 'Moreton Bay'. Francis MacNamara wrote many fine poems including 'The Convict's Tour of Hell', 'The Cyprus Brig' and one of the many versions of 'The Wild Colonial Boy'.

Lyrics:

One Sunday morning as I went walking
By Brisbane waters I chanced to stray
I heard a convict his fate bewailing
As on the sunny river bank I lay
I am a native from Erin's island
But banished now from my native shore
They stole me from my aged parents
And from the maiden I do adore

I've been a prisoner at Port Macquarie
At Norfolk Island and Emu Plains
At Castle Hill and at cursed Toongabbie
At all these settlements I've been in chains
But of all places of condemnation
And penal stations in New South Wales
To Moreton Bay I have found no equal
Excessive tyranny each day prevails

For three long years I was beastly treated
And heavy irons on my legs I wore
My back from flogging was lacerated
And oft times painted with my crimson gore
And many a man from downright starvation
Lies mouldering now underneath the clay
And Captain Logan he had us mangled
All at the triangles of Moreton Bay

Like the Egyptians and ancient Hebrews
We were oppressed under Logan's yoke
Till a native black lying there in ambush
Did deal this tyrant his mortal stroke
My fellow prisoners be exhilarated
That all such monsters such a death may find
And when from bondage we are liberated
Our former sufferings will fade from mind

[LoganHimesShow]

Anyone else here cause of Lucky’s dad on Bluey?

[ryuusei]

Who would've thought that a kid's show like Bluey would bring me to this dark piece of music.

[notsox]

Who all came from bluey and Lucky's dad singing this in an episode

[KatSports-lqgx]

The courage Ludo had to put such a dark and heavy song in my wholesome tater tot dog show... I respect it!

[j.d.stubbs]

Makes me proud as an Australian of Irish convict descent and relative of this song’s author (Francis McNamara a.k.a Frank the Poet) to see so many people interested and learning about our colonial history and songs. Especially since it has been sparked from such an unlikely place as a children’s television program like Bluey. Most people tend to discover this song through the 2003 Ned Kelly film or the man from snowy river.

[laureltaitano]

I came here from Lucky’s dad singing this

[HailingSailor]

Hold on, I gotta show this to Lucky's dad.

[louisiananlord]

Irish Aussies know how sad it was they slew our boys and girls on the afar isle. God bless these brave souls. Also, thumbs up if you knew this song before Lucky's Dad (Pat) from Bluey. 🇦🇺🇮🇪

[timaeustestified]

This is such a great tune. I want to learn all our traditional folksongs to sing to my kids one day!!

[TheCSC]

Watching this from the other side of the world, but listening to such beautiful folklore makes us feel just a little closer. Much love from Toronto:)

[Nikkidafox]

Damn I can't wait to hear Bluey next do "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda"

[popboyz]

From bluey i hear this song and im beside myself Didn't know john Denver sung this aswell i learned so much watching this but my heart strings are pulled for AU

[SkysAlienAtlantis]

Stranage how such dark lyrics can be in a song that sounds so calm and poweful

[oldtyres]

I feel sorry for these people that had to endure the wrath of this corrupt and cruel system. Because it's so long ago, nobody really cares to sympathize with them, and believes it to be nothing more than unimportant history. Little do they know or care that that same system runs the show today....

[Astralfirework]

I imagine this as a description of what befell Michael from the song “The Fields of Athenry”. The two songs are both terribly sad, but catchy too.

[Randomlabrat]

I knew Lucky's dad was singing the same tune

[ReluctantReader]

Beautiful somber song, up there with northwest passage.

[callanightshade]

People talk about coming here cause of Lucky's dad on Bluey, I think the creators wanted that. Maybe it was a way to peak people's interest about Australia's history

[justjulia]

I heard this in Bluey and I thought the lyrics were beautiful, so I decided to see if it's a pre-existing song. The lyrics are indeed very beautiful, and I love of they communicate these terrible atrocities from the perspective of a victim. I can just imagine myself living in those conditions because of how vivid the inagery is. Not to mention how nice the composition itself is.

[flowersnme]

I came here from luckys dad singing this song