Bob Magor grew up with a love of Banjo Paterson, thanks to his dad who recited Banjo’s poems to him as a small boy. As an only child and with no kids on the adjoining farms his early years were spent in a mainly male environment listening to all the stories told by neighbours and his dad.

Upon leaving school at 15 he picked up a handpiece and went shearing for the next ten years as well as breeding fat lambs on the small family farm. The shearing sheds were full of fun and yarns and Bob began putting these experiences into verse to amuse his dad. In his mid-twenties he purchased some adjoining land, built a dairy on the growing property and spent the next 20 years milking cows as well as breeding sheep.

When his sons told him they didn’t like 5.30 starts every morning and they were going to seek employment other than farming Bob had a mid-life meltdown and began writing bush verse in the dairy between batches of cows.

In an effort to get him to regain his sanity Bob’s wife encouraged him to lease out the dairy part of the farm and pursue his dream of becoming a bush poet.

While distributing his first book in 1991 Bob discovered Tamworth and the fledgling bush poet breakfasts at the Longyard. He was blown away by some of the poets who had memorized their poems and were performing them. This sent Bob home from his first festival highly enthused to lift his game.

As an inaugural member of the Australian Bush Poets Association established in the early 90’s Bob strapped himself in and took off with this new movement.

Now with nine books of his verse in the stable he has become one of the popular new generation bush poets in Australia.

Twice winner of the prestigious Bronze Swagman award for written bush poetry at Winton Queensland and collecting four Bush Laureate awards for written and audio verse at Tamworth Bob is in demand for festivals and corporate work all over Australia.

The impoverished sheep farmer from Myponga finds this a lot more enjoyable than chiselling dags from an upturned sheep or standing under the business end up a herd of dairy cows twice a day!