The award winners were selected in December — the then grade 6 student receiving the award for her poem A Quiet Place.
As the winner of the Junior section, Layne received a trophy and $100 for her work.
Kyabram and District Bush Verse Group president Greg McKenzie said the group was delighted that a local person had won the Junior award.
“It’s just terrific, it’s an Australia-wide award so we’re really pleased the local schools and kids take the effort to put something in,” he said.
“We really want to encourage schools to look at bush poetry and to keep the spirit alive.”
Mr McKenzie said members of the Bush Poets Group had regularly interacted with Kyabram and district schools to pass on tips and advice for bush poetry, even though this had been difficult in the past two years due to COVID-19.
Running for six years, the group’s annual Betty Olle Bush Poetry Awards attracted 60 entries for 2021 from all parts of Australia, covering both senior and junior sections.
The aim of the awards is to provide an opportunity for poets to share their work, to encourage the writing of new work, to acknowledge the skills of junior poets, and to keep the spirit of Bush Poetry alive.
The awards are named after a past foundation member, Betty Olle.
Betty was instrumental in spreading the word about bush poetry, and was passionate about ensuring younger people were aware of bush poetry and its place in Australian culture.
The awards were initiated by her family making a donation to the group following her death.
Runner-up in the Junior section was Methuki Bogatapitiya from Cranbourne West with her poem Nature’s Secrets.
The Senior section of the award was won by Terry Piggott from Western Australia for his poem Top Camp, runner-up was Brenda Joy with her poem Reflections of the Kimberley – Circa 1950.
The opening dates for submissions for the 2022 awards will be published in the Australian Bush Poets Association bi-monthly magazine.
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