Ben Says Goodbye: Debacle at Gunn's Gully

Publication: Melbourne Herald
Date: 18 March 1929

melbin
march 18

deer sir
wel orstralia as wun the in-
jurince test
i ad ideers wen i cum down
ere to report this match for you
that if the ossies wun i was goin
to be to ixited to old me pen an
rite about it
i oan i was ixited down there
on saterdy wen that grate
scorer mr bye got a forer an
wun the match for us
but today i ave ad a orful
nock back
i ave ad a shok to me sistem
wot as robbed me of all the joy
of the ossies victry
orstralier as won all rite but
wot is fur more importint gunns
gully as lost
for the fust time in thre (3)
yeers my ole teem as been beet
jist becos i wasent there um-
pirin in my oan just and impar-
shil manner
no less than six (6) of our men
was giv out lbw by a underand
skoundril wot is trine to curry
favor with the captin of the
uther side so as to git a stiddy
job with the council
but wate til i git ome
thers goin to be a protest an if
i aint maid ed serang an sole
arbitrater akount of me ixperk
nolege gained at this ere test
there is goin to be sumpthing
doin up at the gully
six out lbw
its perpostris

an yule agree with me that
thers sumpthink crook wen i
tell you that wun of them men
as a woodin laig wot the bail
appened to it
ow can a man be out lbw wen
the laig aint there but is berrid
up in is back paddick for goin on
seventeen yeer
e tuk it ome from the orspitle
an planted it there so as e cud
say e was the onley man on erth
wot looked after the flours on is
own grave
an then thay goes an gives im
out lbw for a laig that as been
ded for seventeen yeer
jist wate til i git ome

* * * *

wel i aint in no mood to rite
you a long letter
i was ixited enuf on saterdy
an i shud ave rit you then an
sung me peens of joy on
orstralias victry
i ung about the ground for to
(2) ours after the match to trine
see mr bradman abowt jinin up
with the gunns gully teem but i
never seen im
it was like lookin for a needil
in a aystack
owever i will rite im persnil
today i am ketchin the trane
for ome an i cant say ime sorry
i taik this operchunity to wish
you an yure reeders manny
appy returns of the day as it is
an oliday and o revor
an i want to thank all them
peepil wot as rit to me sayin
nice things about my jurnalist-
tick wurk
it makes a man feel good to
no is wurk is not in vane but
wen i think of that gunns gully
match i go all ot up the neck

hoppin you are the saim
yures truly
Ben Bowyang
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