2026 PRESENTATION CEREMONY

The Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society wish to congratulate all the students that entered this years Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Competition. We received nearly 8,000 poems from over 5,500 students.

This year’s optional theme, “The Traveller,” sparked a whirlwind of imagination across all age groups, conjuring visions as grand as hot air balloons and as humble as a snail’s journey.

 

The 2026 digital presentation includes messages from:

  • Welcome for Country performed by the Lahni Natty from Gunnedah
  • Special guest speaker and patron, Heather Ewart
  • Federal Minister for Education, Hon Jason Clare MP
  • Jackie Hosking – Lower Primary Section Judge
  • Kristin Martin –  Upper Primary Section Judge
  • Joel McKerrow – Secondary Section Judge

The trophies were designed and created by local Gunnedah artist – Kristie Farquhar.

We also thank all the teachers, students and parents who entered this years competition, the poems have been inspirational.

We look forward to seeing next year’s entries!

For the list of shortlisted, highly commended and commended poems, please scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Presentation “Flip” Booklet

The Presentation Booklet has been created into a interactive flipbook containing all the winning and runner up poems.

Award winners ad placegetters

Congratulations to the students who captivated the judges with their imagination and creativity.

Click on the images below to view the list of winning poems:

2026 Anthology

The Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards Anthology is the complete collection of the winning, runner up, shortlisted, highly commended and commended poems from the 2026 poetry awards.

Scan the QR Code or click on this link to place you order for a soft copy version ($10) and / or hard copy version ($30).

Thank you to all the students, teachers and parents for once again making this years

Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards a hugh success!!