The Ghosts of the Second Bridge by Ron Boughton brings together bush poetry, Australian history and a very modern problem in the Blue Mountains.
Written after the closure of the historic convict-built bridge on the Great Western Highway at Mount Victoria in 2026, Ron looks back to the hundreds of convicts who laboured on the road nearly two centuries earlier — and wonders what those ghosts might make of the predicament today.
The Ghosts of the Second Bridge (with apologies to Henry)
By Ron Boughton
With ankle chains now silent and so too the picks on rock,
where tears with blood and sweat permeate every hard stone block
float ghostly convict spectres numbering four hundred strong,
as spirits of their souls beneath the second bridge belong!
From Eighteen Thirty, in all adversity, they had slaved,
In harsh conditions that today would be declared depraved!
For two long years what they accomplished, done with basic tools,
was in those days when deemed the cat was master of the rules!
Now as we’ve crossed the bridge with ease, in befitting gears,
observance of their work, time-warps us back two hundred years!
To marvel with respect, at engineering of the time
realised to fruition by convicts charged with petty crime!
A road designed for horse and cart, the transport of the day,
with futuristic semi-trailers …many years away!
Eleven thousand vehicles now, crossed daily on this road
with many therein carrying, a fifty-odd ton load!
So does the bridge now suffer, an over-stressed broken back,
as would have many enslaved, when on bridging of the track!
(And does the ghost of Caroline Collits hold sway in this
with a curse that started with an adulterous cheating kiss!)
But back to reality, to this so called modern age
when, give the cake and eat it too is so often the gauge,
of promises, by boffins made, but really they should know
Cobb and Co. ceased existence …oh so many years ago!
So now the Pass is closed, indefinitely so they say
and any date projected is put forth in shades of grey,
And with alternate routes now strained, it begs the question posed,
the solving of the predicament, if they too were closed!
And those speed cameras on the Pass, now just what will they do
To make up for the millions in …all that lost revenue!
But is tomorrow governed by the trials of yesterday?
just ask the ghosts of convicts who toiled on the bridge causeway!
© Ron Boughton 14/3/26
Ron Boughton
Ron Boughton calls the Blue Mountains home, where he lives with Wendy, his wife and soulmate of more than fifty years. Together they enjoy a quiet family life and are particularly proud of their four grandchildren.
Now retired, Ron spent more than fifty years as what he jokingly calls an “Artist in Burnt Clay” — more commonly known as a bricklayer. As Ron puts it, while he may not consider himself much of a computer expert, he made a pretty good bricklayer.
Ron enjoys both writing and reciting bush poetry, particularly the challenge of finding successful rhyme and metre. He also loves visiting bush towns, discovering their history and combining that interest with another lifelong passion — motorcycling.
One saying has stayed with Ron over the years, an old Toastmasters line:
“Success should not be judged by where you are at, but how far you’ve come from where you started.”
Keeping The Verse Alive
The Ghosts of the Second Bridge is shared with permission from Ron Boughton as part of Keeping The Verse Alive, Country Campfire’s bush poetry preservation project.
By preserving poems like this, Country Campfire is helping keep not only Australian bush poetry alive, but also the local stories, history and moments in time captured within it.
Poems, recitals, photographs, stories and original works remain the property of their original creator and are shared by Country Campfire with permission.
