The Maids of the Mountains

In the wild Weddin Mountains
There live two young dames;
Kate O’Meally, Bet Mayhew
Are their pretty names;
These maids of the mountains
Are bonny bush belles;
They ride out on horseback,
Togged out like young swells.

They dressed themselves up
In their brothers’ best clothes,
And looked very rakish
As you may suppose.
In the joy of their hearts
They chuckled with glee–
What fun if for robbers
They taken should be.

Just then the policemen
By day and by night,
Were seeking Frank Gardiner,
The bushranger sprite.
Bold Constable Clark
Wore a terrible frown,
And thought how Sir Freddy
By Frank was done “brown”.

They sought for the ‘ranger,
But of course found him not,
When suddenly Katy
And Betsy they spot.
“By Pott!” shouted Clark,
“That is Gardiner I see!
The wretch must be taken
Come boys, follow me.”

“Stand!” shouted the bobbies
In accents most dread,
“Or else you will taste
Our infallible lead.”
But the maids of the mountains
Just laughed at poor Clark,
And galloped away
To continue their lark.

The troopers pursued them
And hot was the chase,
‘Tis only in Randwick
They go at such pace;
Clark captured the pair,
Then, to show his vexation,
He lugged them both off
To the Young police station.

The maids of the mountains,
The joke much enjoyed
To see their brave captors
So sadly annoyed;
Next day they still smiled
As they stood in the dock;
Their awful position
Their nerves did not shock.

But Constable Clark
Did not look very jolly,
He had no excuse
For such absolute folly;
He admitted the girls
Were just out on a spree,
And hoped that His Worship
Would set them both free.

And so the farce ended
Of Belles versus Blues,
Which caused no great harm
And did much to amuse;
But the Burrangong bobbies
Will place in their cells,
No more maids of the mountains–
The bonny bush belles.

Kate was a sister of Johnny O’Mealley (who worked with Gardiner, Gilbert & Hall)

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