The Coo-ee Reciter

Recitation was a vital part of the curriculum in education in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. It not only enabled students to gain practice in addressing groups in public, but also provided models for the study of accent and elocution – vital skills in the days before public address systems were universally available. Accordingly, a number of “reciters,” or collections of texts suitable for recitation, were published in this period. The Coo-ee Reciter, published in 1904, was one of the most popular of these collections in Australia. In the words of the anthologist it contains a variety of "humorous, pathetic, dramatic and dialect recitations and readings" by Australian, British and American authors.

Inevitably, these collections featured many items that featured the events and attitudes of the period. While many of the pieces can make no claim to be great literature, they do have great value as windows into the experiences, expectations and aspirations of the people at the time.

01 - I Killed a Man at Graspan by Montague Grover - Montague Grover 02 - Kitty O'Toole by W.L.Lumley - W. L. Lumley 03 - The Ballad of the Drover by Henry Lawson - Henry Lawson 04 - The Rescue by Edward Dyson - Edward Dyson 05 - Saltbush Bill by A.B. Paterson - Andrew Barton Paterson 06 - Drought and Doctrine by J. Brunton Stephens - James Brunton Stephens 07 - The Martyr by Victor J. Daley - Victor Daley 08 - The Carrying of the Baby by Ethel Turner - Ethel Turner 09 - The Old Gum by Florence Bullivant - Florence Bullivant 10 - Murphy shall not Sing To-night by Montague Grover - Montague Grover 11 - Christmas Bells by John B. O'Hara - John Bernard O'Hara 12 - Wool is Up by Garnet Walch - Garnet Walch 13 - Wool is Down by Garnet Walch - Garnet Walch 14 - The Highland Brigade Buries its Dead by Lieut -Col W T Reay - William Thomas Reay 15 - Australia's Call to Arms by John B. O'Hara - John Bernard O'Hara 16 - Good News by Garnet Walch - Garnet Walch 17 - Free Trade v Protection by Garnet Walch - Garnet Walch 18 - The Lion's Cubs by Garnet Walch - Garnet Walch 19 - The Little Duchess by Ethel Turner - Ethel Turner 20 - Australia's Springtime by W.L.Lumley - W. L.Lumley 21 - The Man that saved the Match by David McKee Wright - David McKee Wright 22 - Ode for Commonwealth Day, 1st January, 1901 by George Essex Evans - George Essex Evans 23 - A Desperate Assault by Donald MacDonald - Donald MacDonald 24 - The Game of Life by John Godfrey Saxe - John Godfrey Saxe 25 - Prejudice by Charlotte Perkins Stetson - Charlotte Perkins Gilman 26 - The Poor and the Rich by James Russell Lowell - James Russell Lowell 27 - The Engineer's Story from the Denver Post - Anonymous 28 - Seeing's not Believing by Thomas Haynes Bayley - Thomas Haynes Bayly 29 - Caudle has been made a Mason by Douglas Jerrold - Douglas William Jerrold 30 - Mrs Caudle's Lecture by Douglas Jerrold - Douglas William Jerrold 31 - Jim Bludso by Colonel John Hay - John Hay 32 - How Uncle Mose Counted the Eggs by anonymous - Anonymous 33 - The Negro Baby's Funeral by Will Carleton - Will Carleton 34 - Der Shpider und der Fly by Charles Follen Adams - Charles Follen Adams 35 - Lariat Bill by G W H - G. W. H. 36 - The Elf Child; or, Little Orphant Annie by James Whitcomb Riley - James Whitcomb Riley 37 - Alonzo the Brave and the Fair Imogene by Matthew Gregory Lewis - Matthew Lewis 38 - An All-around Intellectual Man by Thomas Masson - Thomas Masson 39 - Her Ideal by Kate Masterson - Kate Masterson 40 - The Happy Farmer by Mortimer Crane Brown - Mortimer Crane Brown 41 - The Son of a Soldier by Owen Oliver - Owen Oliver 42 - The Mile by David McKee Wright - David McKee Wright