Jim Haynes OAM (born 1946,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

) is an Australian entertainer,

bush poet The bush ballad, bush song, or bush poem is a style of poetry and folk music that depicts the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. The typical bush ballad employs a straightforward rhyme structure to narrate a story, often one of ...

, historian and songwriter. As of May 2025, he has published more than 30 books, all of which focus on

Australian history The history of Australia is the history of the land and peoples which comprise the Commonwealth of Australia. The modern nation came into existence on 1 January 1901 as a federation of former British colonies. The human history of Australia, ...

Australiana Australiana is anything pertaining to Australian culture, society, geography and ecology, especially if it is endemic to Australia or has reached iconic status. It includes people, places, flora, fauna and events of Australian origins. Austr ...

and bush poetry. As a musician, he is best known for the songs "Mow Ya Lawn" (1989), "Don't Call Wagga Wagga Wagga" (1994) and "Since Cheryl Went Feral" (1997). In 2016 he received a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

for service to the performing arts as part of the

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Early life and career

Haynes' father was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer stationed in Australia during the Second World War. After the war, he settled there with Haynes' mother, also a British migrant, who he had met during his service. Haynes grew up in

Botany, New South Wales Botany is a suburb in the south of the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Botany is 11 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Bayside Council. Botany sits on the northern ...

and attended

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School ('SBHS'), otherwise known as Sydney High School ('SHS') or simply High, is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Moore Park, New South Wales, a s ...

and

Sydney Teachers College The Sydney Teachers College was a tertiary education institution that trained school teachers in Sydney, Australia. It existed from 1906 until the end of 1981, when it became the Sydney Institute of Education, a part of the new Sydney College o ...

. He later earned two master's degrees in literature, one each from the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...

and the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

. Haynes worked as an English teacher at Macintyre High School, Inverell High School and Gunnedah High School, as well as in

Menindee Menindee (derived from Minandichi, the original Indigenous name for Lake Menindee, and frequently but erroneously spelled "Menindie") is a small town in the far west of New South Wales, Australia, in Central Darling Shire, on the banks of the Da ...

. He was one of the original staff members at Macintyre, which opened in 1974. He retired from teaching to work full-time as a musician in 1988.

Career

Music

While teaching in Inverell in 1977, Haynes formed the Bandy Bill & Co Bush Band. He left the group but returned in 1985. They recorded ''Modern Day Swaggies'' (1986) and ''Spinnin' Yarns'', both on the indie label Hadley Records. At the same time, he worked weekends at 2NZ radio station and began contributing to the show '' Australia All Over'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. He moved back to Sydney in 1988 and released "Mow Ya Lawn", a comedy song, on

Festival Records Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...

the following year. It was a finalist for a 1991 Tamworth Songwriting Association Award. Its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

was a song about airline deregulation in Australia. He signed onto Festival's Kookaburra label in 1990 and subsequently wrote ''That Rugby League Album'', which was the label's first release. In 1991, he and Russell Hannah released ''Sleepers and Rails'', also on Kookaburra, an album of "railway music" inspired by

rail transport in Australia Rail transport in Australia is a component of the Transport in Australia, Australian transport system. It is to a large extent States and territories of Australia, state-based, as each state largely has its own operations, with the interstate ...

. Its tracks featured other Australian folk singers include Ted Egan, Judy Small,

Eric Bogle Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is an Australian folk music, folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25 to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of to ...

and John Broomhall. In 1994, Massive Records released the song "Don't Call Wagga Wagga Wagga", which was co-written and produced by

Greg Champion Greg Champion (born 1955) is an Australian songwriter, guitarist, and radio personality. Biography Born in Benalla, Victoria, Champion is most recognised for his work as part of the Coodabeen Champions as a songwriter and guitarist. Greg often ...

and performed by Haynes, Champion, and Ted Egan. The song charted at number 2 and Warner/Chappell Music then signed Haynes to a deal that included both songwriting and publishing. "Since Cheryl Went Feral", a single about

Cheryl Kernot Cheryl Zena Kernot (née Paton, formerly Young; born 5 December 1948) is an Australian politician, academic, and political activist. She was a member of the Australian Senate representing Queensland for the Australian Democrats from 1990 to 199 ...

, spent 26 weeks in the country music charts, five of which were at number one. In 1994, he was also involved in the Bridge of Love Project along with other country artists to raise awareness of children's issues, such as homelessness, in Australia. The 1995 album ''Here I Am'' was composed primarily of songs written or co-written by Haynes. Felicity Urquhart made a guest appearance on the album. In 1997, he released ''It's Nothing Serious'', also produced by Champion, on

ABC Music ABC Music is Australia's largest independent record label. It operates under the ABC Commercial division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It covers a wide range of music genres, including classical, children’s and adult contempo ...

. Haynes has toured with artists including

Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon, referred to universally as Australia's Ki ...

, Adam Brand,

Melinda Schneider Melinda Schneider (born Melinda-Jane Bean; 7 October 1971) is an Australian country music singer. She has been performing since she was three and sang with her mother, yodelling country artist Mary Schneider, on the album ''The Magic of Yodell ...

Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars ...

Greg Champion and Beccy Cole. In 2012, he released an album of new songs, ''Galah Occasion'', featuring duets with Wayne Horsburgh and Melanie Dyer. Haynes spent 15 years touring schools around the country with his children's educational show Singabout Australia. Singabout Australia is also the name of his label, on which he has released several of his albums and at least one book. Haynes served on the board of the

Country Music Association of Australia The Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) is an association formed in 1992 that promotes and represents the Australian country music industry. As the peak national industry body, its activities include organisation, promotion and stagin ...

for 15 years and hosted the Big Bush Brekky Variety Show at the

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales, Tamworth, New South Wales. The f ...

for 32 years until his retirement in 2017. Haynes also co-founded the Stone The Crows Festival in Wagga Wagga with Grant Luhrs and Chrissy Eustace. It was held annually from 2013 to 2022 and was host to the gReyVee Awards, which recognised bush poets over 50.

Poetry and history

Haynes wrote his first book in the early 1990s and has since published more than 30 books. His first publications were bush poetry and centered on the imaginary town of Weelabarabak and its residents. This included ''I'll Have Chips!'', which he debuted at the Tamsworth Festival in the mid-1990s. It won Book of the Year at the Australian Bush Laureate Awards in 1996. ABC Books published his short story compilation ''Memories of Weelabarabak'' in 1999. His subsequent books focused on Australian history, including the anthology ''The Book of Australian Popular Rhymed Verse'' (2008), which the Australian Bush Poets Association claimed was the "largest collection of Aussie rhymed verse ever", exceeding 800 pages. It was nominated for an award in the Australian Rhymed Verse (Book Form) category at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. He won Book of the Year awards at the Bush Laureates for ''An Australian Heritage of Verse'' (2001), ''An Australian Treasury of Popular Verse'' (2004) and ''The Book of Australian Popular Rhymed Verse'' (2009). Haynes also wrote a weekly column called ''Aussie Verse'' for the ''

Australasian Post The ''Australasian Post'', commonly called the ''Aussie Post'', was Australia's longest-running weekly picture magazine. History and profile Its origins are traceable to Saturday, 3 January 1857, when the first issue of ''Bell's Life in Victori ...

'' until the paper's closure in 2004. His other books cover a wide range of topics and include ''All Aboard – Tales of Australian Railways'' (2004), ''On All Fronts – Australia's WW2'' (2010), ''Australia's Most Unbelievable True Stories'' (2013) and ''Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags'' (2022). Haynes joined

2UE 2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales. History 1920s 2EU Electrical Utilities applied to the P ...

's ''George and Paul'' show, hosted by George Moore and Paul B. Kidd, in 2001 as an

expert. He remained on the show until it ended in 2019. In the 2020s, he has appeared on '' Overnights'' each week to talk about Australian history. Haynes also leads History and Heritage tours in different parts of Australia through Travelrite. Haynes arranged the first Bush Poetry Fireside Festival in 1993 and co-founded the Australian Bush Laureate Awards in 1995. Both events are held annually at the Longyard Hotel in Tamworth.

Personal life

Haynes and his wife Robyn McMillan curated an art show about the

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

together in 2023. They lived in the Sydney suburbs of Kingsford in 2001 and Moore Park in 2024. Haynes is a supporter of the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

Awards and honours

Solo albums

* 1990 :''That Rugby League Album'' * 1990: ''Jim Haynes Live'' * 1990: ''I Lobster and Never Flounder'' * 1991: ''Sleepers and Rails'' * 1994: ''Here I Am'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

) * 1997: ''It's Nothing Serious'' (

) * 1998: ''Dipso Dan & Other Silly Buggers'' (with John Kane) * 1998: ''Ratbag'' (

ABC Country ABC Country is a digital radio station, available on mobile devices, DAB+ digital radio, digital TV and online. A small number of self-help retransmissions, mainly in Western Australia and Queensland also carry the station's programme stream. ...

) * 1999: ''It's Not Cricket'' (ABC Music) * 2002: ''Live - Life's a Laugh'' (Singabout Australia) * 2004: ''Words of Wisdom'' (Compass Bros Records) * 2011: ''The Decline Effect'' * 2011: ''The Complete Jim Haynes Collection'' * 2012: ''Galah Occasion'' (Singabout Australia) * 2023: ''Inauspicious'' (Helen Scarsdale Agency)

Books

* 1997: ''I'll Have Chips!' - The Weelabarabak Ballads'', Singabout Australia. * 1999: ''Memories of Weelabarabak – Stories of a Bush Town'', ABC Books. * 2000: ''An Australian Heritage of Verse'', ABC Books. * 2002: ''An Australian Treasury of Popular Verse'', ABC Books. * 2003: ''Great Australian Drinking Stories'', ABC Books. * 2004: ''All Aboard – Tales of Australian Railways'', ABC Books. With Russell Hannah. * 2005: ''Cobbers – Stories of Gallipoli 1915'', ABC Books. * 2005: ''Great Australian Racing Stories'', ABC Books. * 2006: ''Great Australian Aviation Stories'' (with Jillian Dellit), ABC Books. * 2008: ''The Book of Australian Popular Rhymed Verse'', ABC Books. * 2009: ''The Big Book of Verse for Aussie Kids'',

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It became one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and established an Australian ...

. * 2009: ''The ABC Book of Australian Country Music'', ABC Books. * 2010: ''On All Fronts – Australia's WW2'', ABC Books. * 2010: ''The Great Australian Book of Limericks'' (second edition), Allen & Unwin. First edition published 2001. * 2012: ''The Best Australian Sea Stories'', Allen & Unwin. * 2015: ''The Best Gallipoli Yarns and Forgotten Stories'', Allen & Unwin. * 2015: ''The Best Australian Yarns'' (second edition), Allen & Unwin. First published 2013. * 2016: ''Australia's Best Unknown Stories'' (second edition), Allen & Unwin. First published 2014. * 2017: ''The Big Book of Australian Racing Stories'' (second edition), Allen & Unwin. First edition published 2015. * 2017: ''Great Australian Scams, Cons, and Rorts'', Allen & Unwin. * 2018: ''The Best Australian Trucking Stories'' (second edition), Allen & Unwin. First edition published 2011. * 2018: ''Best Australian Drinking Stories'', Allen & Unwin. * 2018: ''Best Australian Racing Stories'' (second edition), Allen & Unwin. First edition published 2010. * 2018: ''Australia's Most Unbelievable True Stories'' (second edition), Allen & Unwin. First edition published 2016. * 2019: ''The Best Australian Bush Stories'' (second edition), Allen & Unwin. First edition published 2013. * 2019: ''The Big Book of Australia's War Stories'', Allen & Unwin. * 2020: ''Adventurers, Pioneers and Misfits: Australia's Most Amazing True Life Stories'', Allen & Unwin. * 2022: ''Great Australian Rascals, Rogues and Ratbags'', Allen & Unwin. * 2023: ''Heroes, Rebels and Radicals of Convict Australia'', Allen & Unwin. * 2022: ''Great Furphies of Australian History'', Allen & Unwin. * 2024: ''The Big Book of Australian Yarns'', Allen & Unwin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Jim Living people 1946 births Australian people of British descent Musicians from Sydney Writers from Sydney People educated at Sydney Boys High School Alumni of the University of Wales Radio personalities from Sydney Australian country singer-songwriters Australian male singer-songwriters People from the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) University of New England (Australia) alumni Poets from Sydney Australian male poets Humorous poets Spoken word poets Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian historians 21st-century Australian historians 20th-century Australian writers 21st-century Australian writers 20th-century Australian singer-songwriters 21st-century Australian singer-songwriters 20th-century Australian poets 21st-century Australian poets 20th-century Australian folk musicians 21st-century Australian folk musicians