‘The Man from Marble Bar’
By Victor Courtney
Satan sat by the fires of Hell
As from endless time he’s sat,
And he sniffed great draughts of the brimstone’s smell
That came as the flame-tongues spat;
And he watched the writhing forms of men
And also of women too,
And the screams rang out in this dismal den,
As they rushed in each victim new.
Satan looked with a pleasure keen
At each tortured human face,
For this to him was a heartening scene
Where agony found its place;
And some cried out in their fear and dread
And cursed at their guardians vile,
But whatever they did and whatever they said
Made the satisfied Satan smile.
Then all at once the devil looked stern
For there in the depths of hell
Was a fellow whom never a flame could burn
Or goad to an anguished yell;
He sat unmoved in the fiery pit
Alone in a picture grim,
And while on each face the pain was writ
There was only a grin from him.
So Satan stalked to the lonely scene
And growled with a stormy brow,
‘Now stranger, tell me, what’s this mean?
You should be well scorched by now’.
But the bloke replied and laughed out loud
‘This place is too cold by far,
Just chuck on an extra log or two
I’VE COME IN FROM MARBLE BAR!’
Victor Desmond Courtney (27 May 1894 – 1 December 1970) was a Western Australian journalist and newspaper editor. From small beginnings in a partnership (with Jack Simons) in a weekly sporting newspaper, The Call, through to a Saturday-evening paper, The Mirror, Courtney ended up as the managing director of The Sunday Times and owner of a network of thirty regional newspapers
We decided to publish this rhyme after a record spell of hot days this month; November, 2019.
Victor Courtney wrote this rhyme in 1940 as Marble Bar had broken the Commonwealth record for a town that had over 130 consecutive days of temperatures over 100 degrees fahrenheit in the 1930’s.
This page is dedicated to, Mining & Hydraulic Supplies, proud sponsors of the Kalamunda Football Club.
11 Boulder Road, Malaga WA 6090 (08) 9249 2511 http://miningandhydraulics.com.au
