"Bullocky" (1944) is a poem by Australian poet Judith Wright.
[1] It was originally published in The Bulletin on 27 September 1944,[2] and was subsequently reprinted in the author's single-author collections and a number of Australian poetry anthologies.
[1] The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature states the poem "links the bullock driver in his pioneer role of unlocking the land with Moses, leading his people into the promised land...The poem indicates that the continuing fruitfulness and progress of the coiuntry depend upon the past as much as the present; that Australia of the future will be shaped by its traditions and history.
called the poem "a splendid example of [Wright's] mastery over words and vigorous, unusual imagery.
"[4] Critic "E.M.", writing in The Age (Melbourne) about Wright's poetry, stated that the poem "could only have been written by someone who had seen the flickering firelight on a ribbon gum or a candlebark—by one who knew many nights in the bush...And the poem is ourselves, our country, our life.