[1] The entry was entitled "A Real Australian Austra--laise", and won its author a special prize.

Originally published as a set of four verses in 1908, with blanks instead of dashes and under the byline "A. J. Dennis",[1] the poem was expanded later to its now-familiar 7 stanzas.

Dennis was rather staggered by the success of the poem, writing to William Moore, the art critic, "Without any guff it really surprised me to see the Australaise so popular.

Goodge refers to that author's poem "The Great Australian Adjective" published in The Bulletin on 11 December 1897.

Goodge's poem begins: The sunburnt ---- stockman stood And, in a dismal ---- mood, Apostrophized his ---- cuddy; "The ---- nag's no ---- good, He couldn't earn his ---- food - A regular ---- brumby, ----!"