2025 Awards
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.
Runners Up videos
Celebrating the runners up from this years awards. Congratulations to: Meredith Butler (Lower Primary section), Abbey Fu (Upper Primary section), Ashton Thorne-Small (Assisted Learning Primary section), Nicola Sun (Junior Secondary section), Caroline Brown (Senior Secondary section) and Amrut Mogarkar (Assisted Learning Secondary section).
Click on the videos below to watch this amazing poets recite their poems.
Award winners and 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).
Presentation Booklet
The presentation booklet is a celebration of the outstanding young poets recognised in this year’s national competition.
Featuring the winning and runner-up poems across the Award categories, together with the judges’ comments and insights, the booklet provides a wonderful snapshot of the creativity, imagination and voices of young Australians.
The booklet also shares the story of the Awards and the work of the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society, including highlights from the year, our judges and patrons, and the people and organisations who help make the Awards possible. With close to 8,000 poems entered in 2026, the works selected for these pages represent an exceptional achievement.
