Robert Burns (1759 – 1796) is, quite simply, the most famous of Scotland’s poets. The statue in the Treasury Gardens which comemorates his life some £1,400 and it is rumoured that every Scot in Melbourne contributed to its construction. Burns stands, larger than life, on a granite pedestal embellished with various farming and agricultural scenes to symbolise the contribution Scottish migrants made to early settlement of Melbourne.

Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833 – 1870), was an Australian poet, jockey and politician. Back when one could have a more eclectic curriculum vitae. One of the earliest Australian poets, success eluded him during his lifetime and Gordon shot himself on Brighton Beach, the morning of the release of his final and most acclaimed book of poetry, Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes.

Though it is said that Gordon was a temperate man who refrained from excessive drinking and Burns is renowed for the love of a wee dram, John McKelvie is happy for you to join them both, whether you’re opening the best bottle of scotch of just having a cup of tea.

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This poem is a part of The Long Story.