Winners of the Clock Poem competition
Clock poem winner list
From Patti Crowley
Thank you to everyone who entered the Clock Poetry Competition. There were 16 entries in the Adult Section and a large number of school entries. There were 3 sections. Primary and Secondary Students and an Adult Section.
Thank you to the teaching staff at both schools for their support and encouragement of their students to write a poem. Thank you also to our judges, who had a very difficult task coming to a final decision. Congratulations to all entrants. Thank you also to our sponsors, the Barraba RSL & Recreational Club.
Placegetters were:
Primary year 2/3/4 highly commended: Myla Brown, Elkie Whyte, Dexter Urquhart & Gus Johnston
Primary year 2/3/4 runner up: Charlie Denyer
Primary 2/3/4 winner: Annabel Kanno
Primary year 5&6 highly commended: Hayden Crowley, Xavier Darlington & Thomas Gadd.
Primary year 5&6 equal runner up: Akira Kanno and Archie Johnston
Primary 5&6 winner: Jessica Woodhouse
Secondary winner: Jasmine Coombes
Runner up: Talah Davey
Adult highly commended: Adrienne Hancock and Mike Artis
Adult runner up: Stumpy Victor Turner
Adult winner: Sandra Allen
POEMS
Annabelle Kanno
As Time Ticks
Silence falls over our town, and a ceremony starts.
People young and old march through our streets, as we pay our respects to all the soldiers.
As time ticks, stories are told, flags are raised, and poppies are placed.
As years pass, brick by brick a memorial clock is built.
The war has ended, and some are home, but some have died.
Now speeches are told, in front of our clock and we honour those who had fallen.
Sandra Allen
100 Years On
The centre of town
The clock stands tall
A memorial to servicemen
Who gave it their all
With concrete and gravel
And sand on a shovel
The bricks were laid out
By bare hands, no doubt
To the men who sacrificed
For our freedom today
We honour them all
With the wreaths we will lay
The names on the list
Those we never knew
Their families prayed
That they would come through
The battles of war came at a great cost
With so many lives unfortunately lost
So out of respect the tower was built
To never forget those tragically killed
One hundred years on
It still stands tall
Let’s honour it now
Then in one hundred more.
Jessica Woodhouse
The Clock
In the heart of our beautiful town
The clock stands alone
Deafening silence
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It is time
11th month
11th day
11th hour
11th minute
Millions of people gather
For it is right to remember
Four sides
Four plinths – proudly bearing plaques of black.
WW1 honoured with three plaques,
WW11 honoured with one plaque.
Bold brown bricks
Built into beauty
The clock is a guardian
Watching over the land
Every day
Before she went to sleep
The clock would remind herself.
‘There name liveth for evermore’.
Jasmine Coombes
Town Clock
In the heart of Barraba, it stands so tall,
A clock that whispers tales of those who gave their all.
Its hands move gently, marking time’s endless flow,
A tribute to the brave, in sun, rain and snow.
Each tick a heartbeat of courage and might,
Echoing stories of those who took flight.
From distant lands where battle were fought,
To the quiet town where their memories are sought.
The clock’s face reflects the dawn’s gentle light,
A symbol of hope, of peace, and of right.
For those who returned and those who did not,
Their sacrifice remembered, never forgot.
In its shadow, we gather, in silence we stand,
Honouring the heroes who defended our land.
The Barraba clock, a guardian of lore,
A timeless reminder of the cost of war.