A great line up of top notch poets from all over Australia had made their way to town for the annual event, which is also a major highlight in the Australian Bush Poets Calendar.

Compere for the night, accomplished poet and author Frank Daniels had done wonders with the stage of the Mechanics transforming it via a beautifully painted rural scene that was to be the backdrop for the night’s performances.

Following an introduction by Frank and Connie McFadyen a beautiful meal was served up by Rob and Kerry Provan and members of the Harden Rotary Club.

After the meal the evening got underway with the Traditional Poetry section.

Former Harden resident and former employee at the Harden Shire Council Chambers, Neil Smith made a welcome return to the Poets Dinner and delivered a heartfelt poem about living in the place he now calls home, Junee during their devastating bushfires. It was full of the kind of passion that undoubtedly assisted Neil in gaining a position as a councillor on the Junee Shire.

The major standout performance in the traditional section was that of Robyn Sykes from Binalong. Robyn’s job as the editor of the Yass Tribune really came through in the poem she wrote about the problems facing farming families, especially the big issue of who the family farm will be handed on to. Her poem really struck a cord with the audience and as a first time performer at the bush poet’s dinner she was pleasantly shocked at the end of the night to learn she finished first in the section, followed by Neil Smith who came second. Other results from the traditional poetry section were, 3rd Susan Carcary from Canberra, 4th Garry Lowe from Berkley Vale and 5th place went to Greg Broderick from Young.

Because of the high number of poets performing, 11 in total, Frank Daniels urged the poets to cut out the long preambles and moved things swiftly along for the Humorous Section.