Cirrus@Austlit

Author's note: The 'Palmerston' is a highway. Access to the Atherton Tablelands isvia the Palmerston Highway. Milla Milla is a township in the tablelands. My mother inspired this poem when she told me on the telephone that she had just returned from Barcaldine. She actually did read the poem over the phone, which she saw in the museum and wrote down, thinking I'd appreciate it.

Barcaldine is a small town in central Queensland. Barcaldine played a significant role in the Australian Labour Movement and is considered the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party. There is/was a tree there called The Tree of Knowledge under which striking workers held their meetings. This tree was poisoned in 2006 by parties unknown.