The Roll of the Gold.
From the CD "WEST"
 

The discovery of gold led to the establishment of the Perth Mint and the production of sovereigns for the British Empire.  The Alchemy of coin began.

THE ROLL OF THE GOLD 

 ©  Bernard Carney Jan 2003 

1

From A Scatter Of Tents

 In An Ancient Land

There’s A Speck Of Hope

In The Dry Blown Sand

A Find A Strike A Rush

And The Race Is On

Big John Forrest With His Bold Designs

Said We Must Get Water To The Mines 

And  Build a Mint

To Push This State Along

Though The Papers Howled

At The Cost Of his Mint  

Their Voice Was Hushed

When The Sovereigns

Rolled Out Of The Doors

And The Profits Soon Appeared

And The Critics Carped

Of The Falling Yeilds

As The Pipeline Snaked

To The Eastern Fields

Forrest Won The Day

But It Cost Him His Engineer 

Ch   

FROM THE ROLL OF THE GOLD 

TO THE DECIMAL CENTS

THE BULLION BARS

TO THE  SHILLINGS AND PENCE

NUGGETS AND MEDALS

WITH THEIR COLOUFUL TINT    

THEY MADE THEM ALL AT THE MINT  AT THE MINT

THEY MADE THEM AT THE HAY STREET  MINT 

2

The Precious  Dirt Soon Repaid The  Toil

And The State Grew Fat

On The Miners Spoils

With The Deputy Master Campbell

At The Helm

They Melted And Poured

They Rolled And Stamped

Rimmed And Burnished

They Cut The Blanks

And The Dirt Became The Bright Coin Of The Realm

And The Furnace Glowed

As The Metal Ran

And The Alchemy Of Coin Began 

And The Polished Dies

Impressed Their Best Designs

A Coin Never Meant

That Much To Me

But When I Think Of The Wealth Of It’s History

I Marvel At The Stories I Can Find   

CHORUS

3

And Now All The Tourists

Flock To See

A Little  Bit Of  Minting Mystery

A Yarn A Tour A Pour

And The Show Unfolds

And They Stand Amazed

When The Gold Is Poured

Smile At The Tales Of Theft And Fraud

Taken In By The Romance Of The Gold

And There’s Gold In The Ironstone

Gold In The Quartz

Gold In The Ceiling And

Gold In The Floors

It Drove The World Of Money

From The Start

And If Juno Moneta Still Looks Down

Smiling From Her Heavenly Crown

We’ll Take A Little Gold Home In Our Hearts

CHORUS