If you want to turn back the clock
Then pay a visit to the Boulder Block
The last pub left of the famous four
That graced the place in days of yore.
The ‘Dirty Acre’ they called the square
Formed by pubs that traded there
The miners came from Miles away
By tram, by bike, by cart and dray
Their thirst was something to behold
Its bloody hard work this diggin for gold
The pubs did alright, they got their share
But one got more, and I’ll tell you from where.
The Boulder Black had an extra door
Well concealed, it opened up from the floor,
For at the Perserverence, closest mine by far
The boys had dug a shaft that led to the bar.
And when they got tired of drilling in rock
They’d climb a ladder to the old Boulder Block,
The Blocks been done up real flash since then,
And visited as much by women as men,
The shaft’s still there but the hole in the floor
Is covered by a grill instead of a door,
The ladder looks as good as it was back then,
It took the weight of a dozen big men.
But if you stand real still and listen real good
You might hear the sound that the barman could,
When the miners knocked three times on the door
To get the ‘all clear’ a stamp on the floor.
Yes turn back the clock, go visit the square
While the pub with the shafts still standing there,
For the way our fortunes wax and wane
You might never get to see it again!
By Tom Young
Moya Sharp
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