Ballad Of Bobby Whitelaw - lyrics
Raised in the town of Minmi
When times were hard and tough
He never had much schoolin'
Yet they said it was enough
To gain a job in the old 'Duck Mine'
Spraggin' underground
His name was Bobby Whitelaw
Now he's a legend from our town
As young Bobby grew to be a man
His sporting prowess showed
As a brilliant soccer player
And foot runner we are told
But in the hempen square
where they separate boys out from the men
That's where he rose up to become
A world class Champion
Chorus
So Bobby Whitelaw we salute you
You were a fighter game and fast
Bobby Whitelaw, we salute you
A great fighter from our past
In them battling days through city and bush
There were many great fighters around
'Especially young Les Darcy
Who hailed from Maitland Town
Darcy had beaten many men
That he fought with in the past
Some reckoned that he'd KO
Bobby White Law hard and fast
The 'Old Vic' theatre was packed that night
When Darcy and Whitelaw met
The Maitland camp were eager
On Darcy to place their bet
That fight gruelled on for twenty hard rounds
But Whitelaw proved to be king
Retaining his welterweight title
Against Darcy in the Northern ring
Chorus
So Bobby Whitelaw we salute you
You were a fighter game and fast
Bobby Whitelaw we salute you
A great sportsman from our past
Now if ever you're in Minmi
Or Perhaps just passin' through
Call into their Local
And enjoy a cool beer or two
For there you can hear the story's
From them old time Mining men
'Bout the days when Bobby Whitelaw
Was Australia's Welterweight Champion
(c) Bob Skelton 1986
Glossary of terms
Old Vic - Newcastle's Victoria Theatre
Spragin' - Choking the wheels on the Coal Skips
Hempin Square - Boxing Ring
This work by Lake Macquarie City Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License